new stereo draining car battery

Kristok

I put a new stereo in my car (a 206) i had the problem where i turned the car off and it lost all the settings on the radio so i switched the wires around like i did the last time i had this problem witha previous stereo and that solved that but now im finding its draining my battery if i dont use the car for a day or so the battery is dead. Any idea what ive done wrong ?

StRiKeR

does the radio switches on when the ignition is off? I mean, can you switch it on and off without turning on the ignition

ballooba

I have a similar problem with my new (to me) Passat but haven't changed the wiring yet. Should my dealer fix this under warranty?

stevenmu

ballooba wrote:

I have a similar problem with my new (to me) Passat but haven't changed the wiring yet. Should my dealer fix this under warranty?

I think dealer warranties for used cars usually only cover major parts and problems. You could give him a call about it but I'd expect him to say radios (especially aftermarket ones) aren't covered.

Kristok

if you stick the keys in and do one turn the radio can be turned on but not without the keys in. There is also a small flashing led on the stereo when the keys are taken out which was not on before I switched the two wires areound to get it to save the settings.

5500

Your wiring seems fine,

If when there are no keys in the ignition and you cant turn on the radio then its wired correctly.

Has the battery only started to die since you changed the wiring around?If not then its more than likely your battery that needs replacing,If you have a multimeter check across the terminals and see what voltage its at.

That small led wouldnt drain your battery on its own either

louie

if your radio goes off after turning the ingnition off then as Eireal said, is wired right. it seems your battery is on it's way out. get a new one.

Also if you have a phone kit in your car make sure that's not wired permanently. should go off as well.

Kristok

no dont have a phone kit. Ok thanks for the advice the battery isnt great maby the extra 2 speakers i put in with the stereo are draining it faster than the car can recharge it or something. I used a trickle charger to recharge it and it wouldnt go past 50% so id say its going or gone.

5500

Again the extra speakers wouldnt drain your battery,especially with the car running.Try replacing the battery anyways and see how you get on then

AMurphy

Kristok wrote:

I put a new stereo in my car (a 206) i had the problem where i turned the car off and it lost all the settings on the radio so i switched the wires around like i did the last time ...?

The first question would be;
You switched what wires around.

There are a few live wires to most radios. One that is permanently live to keep the presets alive.
Another that comes from the lights of the car, so as to illuminate it at night when the lights are on, but the radio off. and the main power, which is wired to both the Ig and Acc setting of the key switch.
You may have permanently wired up on of the switched supplies.

The Presets draw should only be a few mA at most, not enough to drain a small dry cell, let alone a car batt.

5500

AMurphy wrote:

The first question would be;
You switched what wires around.

There are a few live wires to most radios. One that is permanently live to keep the presets alive.
Another that comes from the lights of the car, so as to illuminate it at night when the lights are on, but the radio off. and the main power, which is wired to both the Ig and Acc setting of the key switch.
You may have permanently wired up on of the switched supplies.

The Presets draw should only be a few mA at most, not enough to drain a small dry cell, let alone a car batt.

Id say he switched around the permanent live with the acc wire's,im guessing his headunit is a sony aswell as ive had the same problem any time ive installed one of there Hu's.

lazylad

I dont know if this is related to it but I find when I have the radio turned on while car is off, it causes electrical problems. Possibly battery, but I done it once where I left the radio cassette play while car was off, the coil in the car went, it was a new coil.only changed 2-3 months before. I dont know to be quiet honest.

AMurphy

lazylad wrote:

I dont know if this is related to it but I find when I have the radio turned on while car is off, it causes electrical problems. Possibly battery, but I done it once where I left the radio cassette play while car was off, the coil in the car went, it was a new coil.only changed 2-3 months before. I dont know to be quiet honest.

Might be because whomever wired it, took the power ariel output wire and connected it to something which is feeding the coil, hence the coil is drawing current when the car is essentially "off"