Stereo fried, what's the expected job?

[Marlin7]

A couple months ago the battery was overcharging, due to a faulty alternator. (Look out for a rotten egg/sulphur smell...and stop driving!) The faulty alternator was also overcharging the stereo circuit, and my stereo blew up in an elaborate show of flashes and smoke. I'm looking at fixing this now, and before i start thought i'd ask: what could be the extent of the damage? Limited to just the stereo, or much much more?

Rock On,
Marlin7

[Grey Vw]

Was it the original stereo? I don't know about the oem festiva radio but most have fuses in the back to prevent it from blowing up. Have you checked them?

[crazyrog17]

Probably just the stereo. Replace it.

[1988festivazoom]

if the proper fuses are in place it should prevent any failure from happening ie your stereo. its on the room circut that runs a ton of things so i think your stereo just crapped out or u would have smoked wires all over.

[Marlin7]

I think the damage is more severe than just fuses, because there was a lot of smoke hissing out the cracks around the stereo (non-oem) when all hell broke loose. But i'll check the fuses etc. There are other things that stopped working as well; defogger, cabin light.

Thanks for the replies!!

Festivas Forward!!

[crazyrog17]

Sounds like the room fuse then.

If not a fuse, some wires are fried under the dash. Dangerous and... not fun to fix.

[89newb]

Check all your fuses and if there fine try putting an after market unit in. After you do the wiring harness and the aftermarket headunit don't turn on or work properly I would look for melted and damaged wiring.

[89newb]

Wait you said sparks....there might have been a wire where the plastic coating was off or worn and the wire itself touched metal to create the spark just a thought

[perucho]

Make sure you have the right fuse rating. The fuse should have tripped/melted before your stereo wiring. Sounds like your fuses may be rated for higher amperage.

The hot stereo wiring may have gotten too hot, melted the plastic coating and given you a spark/smoke party when they touched each other or ground.

Time for a new stereo and fuses, hopefully not new wiring.