1998 key removed, radio still on. was random, but now battery dead

[imonyourcouch]

When I remove the key from my 1998 the radio stays on. It started last week, but never stayed on too long. Today the battery was dead. I am thinking ignition switch, but I can't pinpoint it. i messed with the park switch, and thought I was getting somewhere, but not anymore. Any ideas?

 

[Royisme]

My first thought is the memory wire and the ignition on wire have been compromised in the harness somewhere. I've had that happen on a couple rigs that I've let the "pros" wire in stereos before I bothered to learn how to do it myself. Granted, most of them worked fine for a couple months when the tape and wire caps would fall off and short something... or in the case of my '80 start on fire.

It's tedious, but I'd say get out the test light (or meter) and follow the harness all the way back to the battery.

 

[imonyourcouch]

I am ashamed to admit that you were right. I pulled the radio out again and the ignition wire and the memory wire had poked through and made contact. I went down that route at first, but the randomness of it steered me away from it. It seems to be resolved now. The two wires were quadrouple wrapped and isolated from each other. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[Stick Figure]

Not to jump on a solved issue, but this is a good reason to stagger your solder joints whenever possible.. then of course use heat shrink on them.

 

[imonyourcouch]

I agree. I was in a hurry, and I got sloppy, while trying to keep it clean. I wrapped everything up close and probably caused my own problem. It's worked many times in the past. The good thing is that I learned that I can rekey the ignition cylinder to the doors so they match while researching this.

 

[Royisme]

Don't be ashamed unless you knew better in the beginning I had the "advantage" of learning from other peoples mistakes in this area, had I not I would have most likely wired my stereo's in much the same way. It was only in finding these kinds of issues and fixing it that I took the time to solder and work heat shrink.

I'm sure many would think it's overkill, but I'm a fan of soldering and heat shrinking each wire separately, then heat shrinking the full length of all the wires in one bundle where I have worked. Depending on where on the vehicle and what the voltage is, I sometimes mix a little bit of epoxy to cap the ends. Mostly if I suspect the area may be subject to extra water or dust. During the summers in college I fought fire for the Forest Service and during our vehicle inspections, I frequently found wires and hoses that had just rubbed against other parts and was at the point of failure. It's from that experience that I imagine the wires just rubbing against each other like pieces of sandpaper (should dust & water get it) that I epoxy the ends.