Electrical gremlins 2006 BRM Automatic

[Psilovybin]

So, I have some battery drain. Worst offender is the radio. Turned the car completely off, key out and the Switched hot wire to the radio stays hot all the time. Went into VCDS and turned the radio off hoping that would solve the issue but still, the switched wire on the radio is hot. There are some other things that stay on while the car is supposed to be in sleep mode. I've got it down to .3amp with the radio fuse out. with radio fuse in, pulls about 1amp of current. Anything else I need to check. Is there anything in VCDS I can look at to discover what isn't going to sleep when it should?

 

[Psilovybin]

Searched and found this on the forums: https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?threads/sleep-mode-checking-for-parasitic-drain.433290/

Posed some interesting things for me to try. Was just wondering if anyone else had anything else to add to this.

 

[Psilovybin]

Checking for Parasitic drains today. The main culprit is the radio won't shut off. Doors locked, hood shut, trunk shut, alarm set.. radio stays powered on .. took radio out, put meters on the switched red line (when you take key out, this line should not be hot at all) and it is still hot. Car is in sleep mode. This is with factory radio and without. Checked the door jamb wiring harness, no breaks. What's left to check. Why won't the radio wire shut off? The other switched things shut off with the key out.

 

[prsa01]

The engine harness is another known issue on these cars that can cause all kinds of electrical gremlins. Not sure if it could cause the radio issue you are seeing or not. Unfortunately they are nearly impossible to find now and a lot of work to replace. Search for engine harness and you will find many threads.

 

[dtrvler]

If you have an aftermarket radio you need to cut the yellow wire.

 

[Psilovybin]

If you have an aftermarket radio you need to cut the yellow wire.

ok, I'll give that a shot.. thanks

 

[dtrvler]

Red is switched power, yellow is constant power. The yellow wire is the one causing battery drain.

 

[Psilovybin]

Red is switched power, yellow is constant power. The yellow wire is the one causing battery drain.

Red and Yellow are both constant power on my car currently. I was aware that Yellow was constant power to keep the memory of the radio and red is switched power. However, when I take the key out, it should cut power to the red wire, which it doesn't.

 

[dtrvler]

Im sure I have just cut and capped the yellow wire to stop parasitic battery drain on mk5 cars and others. The red wire needs to be connected to switched power. The car may cut off the power to the red wire after you cut the yellow. The yellow wire draw may be keeping the car awake.

 

[dtrvler]

2006 Jetta battery drain

I changed the battery Friday 12/10/10 for the first time and now for some reason it draws power thru the radio fuse now continusly. It pulls any where from 2 to 4 amps no matter if the radio is on or off or even if the key is off and pulled out of the car. It has the factory 6 disk indash CD...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[dtrvler]

 

[Psilovybin]

I was able to jumper a fuseable link (15 amp) from SB14 (Ignition Coil Circuit, it is switchable) and route to SB8 (Radio) under the hood. Now the radio turns off with the key out, finally and now the battery is not draining as bad.