CJ Jeep Radio Drains Battery

[grunt]

I have a new radio installed in my CJ. It is the type with a detachable face with CD player. Anyway I do the parasitic draw test with a test light. (Clamp test light to negative cable and then touch the negative post of the battery with the point side). It lights up dim. I pull the 12 volt power from the radio to the + of the battery and with my test and no light comes on. So now I know my radio is draining my battery. Thinking it might be a "ground " I dedicate a new wire to the frame and still my test light goes on. The radio (red wire) is wire to the "radio" fuse spot in the fuse box. The radio is wired directly to the battery + for its power.....I don't get it. Is my new radio supposed to draw power when the ignition is off ? ( maybe for the radio memory?) Somebody Help Please!...and by the way is 0.05 milliamps draw acceptable?

 

[hdgapeach]

Most radios I've installed had two Battery + wires; one that connected directly to a constant "hot" source (Battery +), the second to a switched on power source.

The direct hot connection would be for the radio preset, clock and settings memory. The switched hot enables you to turn the radio on when the key is on or in accessory position.

The direct hot connection is supposed to draw minimal amps and shouldn't kill a good battery. If the radio is straight wired to the battery so you can turn the radio on without a key in run or accessory, either the radio is not turning off or it could have an internal problem. Properly connected, a radio shouldn't drain a good battery.

 

[wm69]

Any modern digital stereo with a clock and/or memory for presets is going to drain a little power to keep those presets and clock running.

Hook red wire up to fuse box slot "radio" for key-on power. Hook yellow wire directly to battery or plug into the slot on the fuse box marked "clock"

 

[grunt]

Thanks hdgapeach and wm69....appreciate all the info

 

[frankandbeans]

Thanks hdgapeach and wm69....appreciate all the info

I had the same issue and put a "kill switch" under the dash to shut off the power but left my memory+ wire staying hot.

 

[DHugg]

I have a radio in my Jeep, with a CD player. I also have 35's with mud lugs, and bad hearing from jet engines. At 35 MPH and higher, I can't hear it if it thunders. I don't know if the radio plays or not; the PO said it did.

Get some 35's on your Jeep, unhook the radio, and listen to the roar of the big lugs that will pull you out of any mudhole you can find. Or you can listen to the radio when you get stuck while you wait for your buddy with a good winch.

I am being facetious; I actually delight in good rock on the radio while I'm driving, but only on slow sand roads where the music competes with the wind through the pine tops. Otherwise I can't hear diddly!

 

[hdgapeach]

I have a radio in my Jeep, with a CD player. I also have 35's with mud lugs, and bad hearing from jet engines. At 35 MPH and higher, I can't hear it if it thunders. I don't know if the radio plays or not; the PO said it did.

Get some 35's on your Jeep, unhook the radio, and listen to the roar of the big lugs that will pull you out of any mudhole you can find. Or you can listen to the radio when you get stuck while you wait for your buddy with a good winch.

I am being facetious; I actually delight in good rock on the radio while I'm driving, but only on slow sand roads where the music competes with the wind through the pine tops. Otherwise I can't hear diddly!

"the PO said it did"------That's funny as all get out . I know where you're coming from. My significant other wants me to install a radio in the CJ5 , but I keep insisting it's a waste of time. Tires, headers and glass pack Thrush side pipes make a radio worthless going down the road.

 

[Suz]

"the PO said it did"------That's funny as all get out . I know where you're coming from. My significant other wants me to install a radio in the CJ5 , but I keep insisting it's a waste of time. Tires, headers and glass pack Thrush side pipes make a radio worthless going down the road.

My old Jeep use to roar like a Lion. I mounted my speakers on the rollbar just beside my head. Sound was pretty decent at any speed. My current CJ just eats radios like cookies. Have been through 4 in 5 years...

Sent from my GT-I9152 using Tapatalk

 

[hdgapeach]

My old Jeep use to roar like a Lion. I mounted my speakers on the rollbar just beside my head. Sound was pretty decent at any speed. My current CJ just eats radios like cookies. Have been through 4 in 5 years...

Sent from my GT-I9152 using Tapatalk

That's another reason I'm not too keen on installing one. Too many leaks behind the instrument panel when it rains. Mucho H2O is also the reason I don't have floor coverings and DO have a ridiculously easy to remove plug in the passenger side floor .

 

[Suz]

Heck, I don't even use the plugs. Gotta have the carpet though. Don't drive with shoes on- floor gets too hit w/o it...

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[hdgapeach]

Yeah, those factory "standard" floor heaters are nice in the Winter, ain't they?