radio bat fuse pulling 260 mA in Caddy

[OceanSpray]

My grandmother's Cadillac has been eating batteries the past 3 or 4 years. It recently discharged the battery again and I decided to do some checking as I'm tired of replacing batteries.

The past couple of mornings when I checked the voltage after the car has sit overnight the voltage has been around 12.2 V. With the car sitting at rest there is a 260 mA draw on the battery. I pulled the radio bat fuse because the rear speakers have been cutting in and out the past year and I figured this was the problem. Sure enough the draw went down to 12 mA. I'm not sure if I should be looking for a bad ground or if the radio is bad.

 

[Gary S]

Don't waste your time looking for a bad ground. The basics of electricity tell you that a bad ground will cause whatever is connected through that ground to draw less electricity, not more. If you want it to drain the battery faster, look for a bad ground.

 

[Brownsfan]

I have seen this when the cd eject gets stuck and is constantly running. Also what other circuits are on that fuse? What year and model Caddy? If it shares a circuit with other components there are other places to look. LMK year and model and I can tell you where you can look

 

[bgott]

Junk the radio. I've disconnected a few GM radios due to draws.

 

[OceanSpray]

I have seen this when the cd eject gets stuck and is constantly running. Also what other circuits are on that fuse? What year and model Caddy? If it shares a circuit with other components there are other places to look. LMK year and model and I can tell you where you can look

It's a 94 cadillac deville. I don't think anything else is on the circuit but I'll take a another look. The fact that the rear speakers have been cutting in and out and mostly not working for the past year leads me to believe that it is the radio that is causing the problem.

 

[Zeke]

I think your logic is flawed. But the actions recommended are correct. At least disconnect the radio and observe.

 

[G_P]

Does the radio have a display that constantly shows the time even when the car is off?

You could always throw an aftermarket radio in there or pull another stock unit at the junkyard.

 

[nehog]

1. How long did you wait to measure the draw? You need to wait at least 20 minutes in many cases for things to shut off.

2. Is there an external amplifier for the rear speakers, perhaps located under the rear package shelf (maybe under rear seat, front seat, or dash?) If yes, disconnect that and see what happens. I've seen external rear speaker amps that failed to shut off.

3. Is there an external CD changer? If yes, again disconnect that and see if the draw goes away.

4. Like others say, if nothing else works, consider upgrading the radio to an aftermarket one from your favorite store.

 

[OceanSpray]

1. How long did you wait to measure the draw? You need to wait at least 20 minutes in many cases for things to shut off.

2. Is there an external amplifier for the rear speakers, perhaps located under the rear package shelf (maybe under rear seat, front seat, or dash?) If yes, disconnect that and see what happens. I've seen external rear speaker amps that failed to shut off.

3. Is there an external CD changer? If yes, again disconnect that and see if the draw goes away.

4. Like others say, if nothing else works, consider upgrading the radio to an aftermarket one from your favorite store.

1. The car had been sitting several hours before I checked the draw.

2. No external amplifier. There isn't even a place for a fuse on the block where it says amplifier.

3. No cd changer.

4. I'd rather just put another stock one in as Ive had problems from having aftermarket radios installed. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to find a stock radio so I guess I'll have to find someone who won't butcher the wiring.

I'm going to pull the radio today and plug the fuse back in and see if I still get a draw. If I don't I'll know what the problem is for sure.

 

[bgott]

4. I'd rather just put another stock one in as Ive had problems from having aftermarket radios installed. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to find a stock radio so I guess I'll have to find someone who won't butcher the wiring.

You can buy wiring harnesses that plug into your factory wiring harness and the aftermarket radio. No muss, no fuss and no cut wiring

3. Is there an external CD changer? If yes, again disconnect that and see if the draw goes away.

You can have problems with the internal CD changer. I ended up with a draw problem that had been looked at by a few different people. It was in and out of my bay twice before I was having a conversation with the customer where she mentioned that the CD player would sometimes randomly start trying to eject discs, even with the unit off and no discs in the slot. I disconnected the stereo and our random sporatic dead batteries were gone.

 

[Brownsfan]

In the 94's the dome light and cig plug were on that fuse. Also the Bose amps if the car was equipped with Bose premium sound systems. The draw could very well be the raido but could also be the dome light or cig plug or bose amps. Pulling the fuse willnot narrow it down. You need to pull the radio and unplug then test. Putting an aftermarket radio in that car is very easy with all the right adapters.

 

[ViperTech]

It may be possible in your car, but couple times i have found the ignition switch let remove the key with the switch all the way back to ACC (accesories) if your car have that kind of swithc configuration, were the customer was backing off the key all the way untill ACC, removing key, and car sit all nigth with ACC circuit "ON".

 

[tonym]

post a pic of the radio....I might have another in a junk car I can send...