Car Radio turned on after car had been off over night!

[Hollyhawke]

I found my car radio blasting one morning when I went outside. No key, just the radio blaring. It had not been playing the night before when I spent a while in the yard right next to it and would have heard it. I got in the car, and close the door...the radio still played. I turned off the radio power and it stopped.

I leave the radio on all of the time. WHen I turn the car off, the radio goes off, as it did the last time I drove it.

I've had to replace the battery and now suspect this is why.

Any hints??

[CDJr]

Ever see that movie named "Christine"?

[Hollyhawke]

Originally Posted by CDJr

Ever see that movie named "Christine"?

Yes, and I'm getting pretty nervous! When I got in to turn off the radio...I looked around just like the kids did in Christine...and I live in an area that Steven King visits frequently....YIKES!!!

of course...if I was making out in the car parked in a dark back driveway, I might have been distracted enough to not notice the radio!!

Thanks for the fun.

Holly

[CDJr]

Wowee, that IS wierd. Will it come on now without the key? The only thing I can think of would be a short somewhere thats letting the radio pick up power when it shouldnt. But just like working on computers...ANYTHINGS possible lol. Ive seen them do things that defied the laws of physics; makes ya scratch ya head sometimes. Lemme know what ya find out, Im kinda curious now lol.

[Hollyhawke]

The radio works normally when the key is in the ignition...no problems. The question I have if it is a short, is what made it go on...rather than stay on when the key is removed? Oh well...still searching for the clue.

[randman1]

Depending on the year of your car, you might have a Retained Accessory Power circuit. This maintains power to certain accessories after the ignition is turned off. RAP will be active for 10 minutes or until a door is opened. If the RAP relay contacts became stuck, I could see the radio playing all night but it wouldn't explain if the radio came on by itself at some point.

Also note, if you have a remote starter, the RAP circuit will be active for 10 minutes after shutdown via the remote or a timeout.