battery drain

[timhorrigan]

i have a backdraft installed radio/cd player...even when i remove the red battery key the radio/cd is still on...and if i dont start the care for a couple weeks, it kills the battery..im no rocket scientist, how can i stop this outside of removing the radio..is the radio installed improperly (why would it still be on if the battery key is removed)...little help please

[Tim Brewer]

Just remove the radio, you won't be able to hear it when you drive anyway, or install an electric cut off switch and shut it off when you park.

[traveler]

Tim ,
Your radio probably has another wire connected to the battery from the radio for the memory . If you dont have to reprogram your radio everytime you rekey the battery to crank your car then the memory wire is connected direct to the battery . This might be part of your problem .

Rick

[Dinobyte]

Check your alternator to make sure it is pumping out the right amount of amps...12-14.

You may also need to replace the voltage regulator.

[mln385]

Originally Posted by traveler

Tim ,
Your radio probably has another wire connected to the battery from the radio for the memory . If you dont have to reprogram your radio everytime you rekey the battery to crank your car then the memory wire is connected direct to the battery . This might be part of your problem .

Rick

Ditto...the radio is draining the battery over time.
You have 2 options:
1- put sometype of Battery maintainer on it for storage months.
2- put a shut off switch inline with the radio which in turn will loose any preprogrammed memory for the radio.

Marc

[patrickt]

Tim, I'll skip over the fact that a radio shouldn't be draining your battery and, instead, post this picture of the battery disonnect switch that I have on my Cobra. It mounts on the battery post and you just turn the green knob to disconnect. Actually, the green knob is completely removable as an anti-theft device, but I never bother with that. These cost about ten bucks, as I recall, and you can put them on in five minutes or less.

[Don]

Tim

I use a Battery Tender on my vehicles:

http://www.batterytender.com/

[Ron61]

I guess I am overkill. I have one car with the setup like patrickt has and I still use the battery tender on it as it just sits for long periods and once in a while the tenders I have will kick on for a few seconds just to stir the electrolyte around. Then in one of my other cars I have a switch mounted on the side that is required for track use that you just flip and it shuts the juice off. I also use a battery tender on that car too.

Ron

[madmaxx]

The memory on your radio is about 2 amp hour per day. so when you roll out 10 days that is 20 amp hour, soooo if your alternator is 55 amp hour it will charge for 21 minutes to replenish the battery. You should not be having a problem unless your batter is old. If there is an amp make sure it is turning off with the radio, the radio should have a sensing wire that goes to the amp and your radio should have an auto off feature so that 30 seconds after you turn it off it completely powers down except for the memory. I installed a radio a couple months back, absolutely love it.

[madmaxx]

to answer your question they wired the radio directly to the postive terminal of your battery, your cuttoff switch is after that or they wired the radio to the battery side of your battery cuttoff switch,, very likely. You should easily be able to trace the wire from your radio to the battery and pull the fuse if you do not want the radio.

[timhorrigan]

gentlemen,
thx for the input...i think i will just disconnect the wire...i find i dont listen to the story too often

[mickmate]

I used to disconnect the battery and connect a test light between the battery and the cable. If the test light is lighting there is a draw. Now you go through and disconnect fuses, wires whatever one at a time till you find the one that shuts the test light off.