Radio turns on by itself/battery drain

Tiny
TOMUSRY
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE
  • 115,000 MILES
I turn the car off and open the door. The accessories cut off as they should. About 20 minutes later, the radio comes back on and drains the battery. I pull the radio fuse and the battery still drains over night. I have had the instrument cluster and the radio both reprogrammed. My mechanic had a 4 amp draw before the reprogram and it went away at the shop. Next morning, dead battery. GM says to "try" replacing the radio for $500.00.

Question: does anyone know if there is anything in the radio itself that allows the radio to independently wake itself up.

It seems to me that some other component would have to "decide" to deliver power to the radio. Not to mention that the battery still dies with the fuse out. New battery, alternator good.
Sunday, August 3rd, 2014 AT 5:35 AM

4 Replies

Tiny
CADIEMAN
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,544 POSTS
Remove the negative battery cable then hook a test light from the post to the negative cable. Start by removing the red wire on the alternator. Does the test light go out? If it is still on then you will need to start removing the fuses 1 by 1 until the test light turns off. When the test light turns off that's the fuse the draw is on. You can remove the negative cable when not using the car until you find the draw.
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Sunday, August 3rd, 2014 AT 5:11 PM
Tiny
TOMUSRY
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The testing has all been done. They have come to the conclusion that it is either the radio or the instrument cluster. I am trying to find out if there is anything internal to the radio that would allow it to turn itself on.
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Monday, August 4th, 2014 AT 4:42 AM
Tiny
CADIEMAN
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If you unplug the radio and the light goes out then it in the radio. If the light stays on the draw is somewhere else.
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Monday, August 4th, 2014 AT 1:49 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,867 POSTS
Hi,

This is an interesting issue. Here is what I suggest: There is a radio fuse in the fuse box under the dash. Remove it. See if the battery draw is gone. I attached a picture of the fuse I am referring to. If you look at picture 2, it shows the location of the fuse.

Try this and let me know the results.

Take care,
Joe
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Wednesday, April 1st, 2020 AT 8:03 PM

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