Yes this may be the problem. crimping implies that you took solder-less connectors and CRIMPED them together with crimpers. you have simply connected the wires with duct tape (not even close to correct). now please dont take any offense to this but you need to focus on 3 main wires:
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black
Make sure that you get connectors from your local radio shack or other electronic retail store and correctly crimp these together. if you dont have these connections mated correctly they can get loose and spark or just give you nothing.. give that a try. I think this may solve your problem.