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Radio shorts out and then slowly drains the battery

I have a 97 Explorer with the JBL soundsystem. While driving home own day, I heard the bass drop out and I was left with only treble. Shortly thereafter, I noticed the car was getting harder to start and then finally would not turn over at all. I bought a new battery and not to long afterwards, the battery died again. When I took it in, I mentioned that I thought it might be the alternator but the shop tech said it the alternator was fine. He traced the drain on the battery to the radio/JBL system and pulled the fuses for both. Since then, I have had no radio but the battery has performed fine. I am tempted to go and get a new radio however, I don't want to run into the same problem again if it turns out to be a larger problem than the radio alone. Does this problem sound familiar to anyone? I have not taken it to the dealership yet and would prefer to stay away.

Brian

Reply to
Brian
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Sounds like the JBL amplifier system is defective and draining the battery. Getting a new radio will not fix this problem. If you really want to fix your drain problem, you need to identify which module is "shorted" and draining the battery.

Reply to
Phil

I would think the problem is with the radio or its wiring. Modern radios are partially powered and draw a small amount of current when the key is in the off position to hold the station presets, run the clock, etc.

I doubt that the JBL amp would be powered with the key in the off position, though. You could verify that by replacing the fuse for the JBL system, but not the radio fuse. If your battery doesn't lose it's charge, you've narrowed it down to the radio. Or do they use the same fuse?

I don't have specific knowledge of your particular sound system, but am an electronics tech.

-Paul

Reply to
carbide

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