That would be wired incorrectly then(except for a Vanagon of course) per the radio's spec's. She would need to tap into the fuse block to a switched circuit if that is the case. Or if it's a camper then she could put in a second isolated aux battery and wire the radio to it.
On 5/31/2012 8:38 AM, Eric Woodall wrote:
Remember though, this is in a Vanagon.In mine, the radio power was not on the ignition switch path so you had to turn the radio all the way off when you turned the van off.So you can listen to the radio while camping maybe?On May 31, 2012, at 8:21 AM, Mike Hayes <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:I think in this case her radio is wired incorrectly. When the power wire connected to the ignition switch is turned off she should not have any display lights powered on. I have 4 cars with aftermarket radios 2 are VW's and have never had my batteries go dead in 4-5 days or even a month. I have let my Bay go as long as 3 months and it started right up. My dodge truck only gets driven maybe twice a month with no problems.I'm not saying it can't happen especially if you have an old battery that is not up to par but, in this case I think it's the wiring. That radio should look dead with the ignition off. Unless your really good with a multimeter and tracing circuits I would disconnect the radio for a few days and see if the problem goes away. It might be your battery is in bad shape and a new radio was just too much for it. If you don't drive it much you can also get a battery tender to keep your battery topped off but, don't get a Harbor Freight tender you need a smart tender that won't overcharge your battery.On 5/30/2012 10:10 PM, sammie smith wrote:Yep Ronnie: You said it; a very small amount of drain to keep the memory set. The ones to which I am referring were wired correctly. The problem: that "small" drain was enough to discharge the battery over a period of 4 or 5 days without the cars running. It isn't supposed to happen, but I have seen too many of them. It does happen and I think it is a problem with the radios requiring so much power that they are useless in a car that is not driven often.--- On *Wed, 5/30/12, Ronnie Hughes /<fracdogii@xxxxxxxxx>/* wrote: From: Ronnie Hughes <fracdogii@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: [tcb] Re: New radio= dead battery? To: "tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 3:45 PM Most new stereos have two power feeds. One to keep the memory and clock running which requires a very small constant voltage, then the ignition switch controls the radio on off. Usually you can tell when you have it wired wrong because the radio stays on. Yes, I know this from experience and a dead battery. *From:* sammie smith <bugcollections@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *To:* tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx *Sent:* Wednesday, May 30, 2012 1:41 PM *Subject:* [tcb] Re: New radio= dead battery? OK Sarah; have not looked at the other responses yet, but here is probably the problem. These "new" radios are always pulling just a bit of power to keep the programming in the radio intact. i.e., the internal settings for stations that you pre-select, the clock and etc. All the new cars have them and they work and do not drain the battery. The juice they should be pulling should not drain the battery. HOWEVER, I have lost count of the number of VW owners I have encountered that put one of these new radios in their VWs and then encounter after a few days a dead battery. It happened to me. Could not figure outwhy the battery kept going dead after 4-5 days of non-driving. Now when a VW owner tells me of their story my answer is thesame. The radio is pulling too much juice from your battery to maintain it's settings and is draining the battery. It's the radio's fault, not your car or battery. Cure: Only one I have found is to wire your radio through the ignition switch so that it is only getting any power at all when the switch is turned on. Problem with this is that every time you turn off the switch and kill all power to the radio you loseall your settings on your radio that you have preprogrammed. Only other solution is to take your radio back to your supplierand complain and see if they have an answer. The radio is drawing too *(%^&(%*%*(^& power when it is sitting there doing nothing. --- On *Wed, 5/30/12, photofreakk@xxxxxxxxx /<photofreakk@xxxxxxxxx>/* wrote: From: photofreakk@xxxxxxxxx <photofreakk@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: [tcb] New radio= dead battery? To: "Vanagon Mailing List" <vanagon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 10:48 AM Hey All, I have a question: Why is my new radio always "lit up" even when turned off and ignition is off also? And after 2wks (from installation of radio), now my battery is dead, even though I started it several times including for 10minutes the day it "died"? So if the radio maybe drained my battery-Why does my radio still work and have power, even this morning?!? I am a newbie and looking @ my Bentley guide, but why doesn't it show 1985 wiring? Do I just look at the 1983 wiring on 97.20/97.21?? (I obviously didn't do the install - I paid the previous owner to do it and he had done several but is on the road to Grandcanyon as we speak to ask him) It is a 1985 Westy vanagon GL 1.9 Thanks, Sarah in Tx 1985 Westy vanagon GL 1.9 "Lennon" Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>Version: 2012.0.2178 / Virus Database: 2425/5034 - Release Date: 05/30/12No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com> Version: 2012.0.2178 / Virus Database: 2425/5035 - Release Date: 05/31/12
