(Sigh) New Radio Is Hungry.

"McMike" (mcmike) 03/07/2015 at 19:59 • Filed to: driveway mechanic, vanagon, tutu153

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So... I installed a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the van about a year and a half ago, and so far, it has been OK.

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While it's a pretty clever radio, the iPod controls are hard to use, and it's also too low in the dash for me to really see the screen to use the menu. All I do really is put the iPod on shuffle and hit next next next.

What I didn't realize, is that this new fancypants radio was also very hungry.

You see, some older Volkswagens didn't have an "ACC" position in the ignition, so you're kind of shit out of luck if you want to listen to the radio. Most of us just hard wire the thing into the battery, and turn it off when we get out of the car.

That worked great until recently, when I started eating up !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

I had a good stint with the blue one, then switched to the black ones since they were in stock. I thought the newer ones were shit batteries...... until I paid attention to the timeline. Late 2013 I installed the new radio, and I've burned through two batteries since then.

Shit. I've gone parasitic.

So today I tried to figure exactly what was hungry, and I learned that the switched (red) wire makes the yellow very hungry when it's has power.

So I decided to add a relay to the red wire and pick something hot (rear defrost switch) with ignition to activate it.

Yes, I know my radio drawings look like cassettes.

Yes, I know many of you don't know what "cassettes" are.

This way, I still use my cabin battery for the radio, and it's switched on/off with the key. Now all I need to do is wire in a jumper switch to feed Mr Red 12v when the car is off.

What a pain in the ass. They invented the ACC position long before this car was made.. Why didn't they just use it?

jkm7680 > McMike 03/07/2015 at 21:08

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Trust me, I'm not an engineer.

Here is the....errrrrr wiring diagram? That'll help you out a bit.

lonestranger > McMike 03/07/2015 at 21:14

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Doesn't you Vanagon have a "key in" ACC? My '79, ''80, & '83 Rabbits had that. Put the key in the tumbler, and accessories (including radio) came on. Turn the key to "ON", and everything came on. IIRC from my first job at a VW/Audi dealer in the mid-'90s, most pre-Mk. III models worked that way.

HammerheadFistpunch > McMike 03/07/2015 at 21:34

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I have my cb and fridge set up just like this, but I bought a kit from painless that does it all in a neat and tidy package

McMike > lonestranger 03/07/2015 at 21:40

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Maybe it was like that from the factory. Both of the vans I have owned didn't do that.

McMike > HammerheadFistpunch 03/07/2015 at 21:40

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I hope their diagrams were better.

HammerheadFistpunch > McMike 03/07/2015 at 21:41

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Diagrams? man they did one better, all the wires were color coded AND labled. it was...ahem...painless. High quality too, water "proof" fusebox and relays. 10/10 would recommend.

lonestranger > McMike 03/07/2015 at 21:44

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That could be. I don't think all models worked that way, so the Vanagon migjt not have had it.