Stereo & Electronics - Electrical Issues.....HELP!

Alright, so here is the deal. I have an 00' T/A w/ completely upgraded stereo (deck, speakers, subs, amps, etc.) everything worked great until the other day when something seemed to short out in the dash, I don't know if it is because of the stereo or not but I am having a hard time figuring it out. I have checked all fuses w/ a tester and everyone seems to be good, I even re-wired the deck just to make sure all connections were good. These are the quirky little things wrong that I have noticed so far.

~No Radio, won't even power on.
~No Speedometer, Odometer, Tachometer, fuel or temp gauges (volt and oil pressure still work and gauge backlights work as well)
~Hatch release doesn't work at all, I have to use a key
~Fog lights/parking lights no longer blink when I lock/unlock the car though they work fine when I turn them on and my keyless entry still works...


Any idea what might cause all these misc. little things to go wrong, it is quite annoying. Thank you for your help.

~Paul

I've only read about some of these issues and the majority of them they say to you may have a bad ground wire. May want to check all the ground wires. Sorry I can't help more.

did you check the fuse, i know on several cars the gauge cluster and radio are on the same fuse, hatch release on my car is funky...

I am not sure if I will be able to solve all your problems but I can give you a few insights into what I found when investigating my own personal electrical gremlin. I am assuming here that your wiring is the same as in my 98 Formula. I know that you indicated that you checked your fuses, but it sounds to me like you have a blown fuse 7. Fuse 7 is a 15 amp fuse in the drivers door fuse panel labelled power accessory. A blown fuse here will cause loss of power to your odometer and radio. It will also cause you to lose the flashing lights when you use your keyless entry system. The keyless entry lights flashing is wired through fuse 7 and a relay while turning on your headlight switch powers the lights through fuse 5 (20 amp Tail Lts). This is why you can lose the keyless entry flashing but not the normal usage of the lights. If fuse 7 is good, check that you have power to that location of the fuse block when the ignition is on.

As for the hatch release, there are a few possible issues. First, I believe that this is also routed through fuse 7 but I can not confirm that. Other requirements for hatch release are an engaged emergency brake (manual trans) or shifter in park (automatic). If these requirements are met and it still doesn't work, it may be that your battery is too low to cause proper release. In my case, I ran down my battery by having the lights on while troubleshooting my issue. When I finished the trunk wouldn't release until I charged the battery. I hope this helps.