Radio draining battery when car parked

[C-130 Hercules 571]

Hi all

Trust someone out there can help. My aftermarket Sony radio is draining the car battery when the car is parked and all power switched off (key in 0 position). It draws about 0.4 A. When disconnecting I get the more agreeable 200 mA.

What can I do to solve the problem (besides the obvious - ditching the radio)? Will a deep cycle battery with higher Amp rating help? Should I get the radio serviced?

Let me know if you got any suggestions.

Cheers Julian

[*Glenn* 854]

Which one of your cars is doing this... and are you sure its the radio ??

[lidistick 70]

0.4A was the draw on my car for the interior light. It went down once the light went out. Totally fooled me.

Check it again.

[*Glenn* 854]

Current draw must be checked with your multimeter wires out through the boot. The car must be locked and you need to wait for all the ECU's to go into sleep mode 15-30 minutes

Edited March 8, 2009 by *Glenn*

[rogan 7]

One quick thought. Do you have a band expander?

If so someone might have wired this to the +12v battery by mistake.

[elmarco 56]

Off topic, but are those photos on your signature and avatar real? I like!

[C-130 Hercules 571]

Thanks all for your comments - I have monitored draw over longer period and it comes down to between 60-90 mA which is still a bit much but whole lot less than 400mA. Will now go through all the fuses and see where it drains and that should fix the issue. And no, no band expander or other fancy gadgets in the car.