My battery goes dead after not driving the car for a few days. Today, my wife noticed that the clock on the radio was lit even though the car is parked in my garage and the keys are not in the ignition. I tried pushing the power button off but the clock stays lit. Is this the way it is suppose to work?
IIRC, the clock display should NOT stay illuminated. You normally need to press one of the buttons to "recall" the display. The problem will be in the radio itself.
The same fuse that runs the lighter also runs the radio "keep alive" for the memory. If you pull that fuse, the radio should go out, too. Easy way to test.
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No. Vacuum fluorescent displays and back light bulbs for LED buttons and LCDs can drain the battery enough that car won't start in a few days to 1-2 weeks depending on total load, weather and battery condition. (high/low weather temperature effect battery power.)
If GT and others w/ lights under the dash... OE Radio etc can have problems when fuse(s) are bad. See my Cave, Sneak Path
might be but different GM radios can have different boards inside and davidellisrealestate.com/html/radio_fix.html link is dead and can't find cache or archive copies. So Be careful following text directions.
Tried google: gm radio display stays on But too many hits to find data quickly.
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Just a few things to try out (and get data for us).. Find the fuse that runs the clock. Pull the fuse, confirm the clock goes out. Put your cheap DVM on DC amps. Put the leads in com and amps. Place the leads in the fuse socket. Tell us how much current is being drawn. Another thing to consider is the possibility of a defective bridge rectifier in the alternator. Maybe you can find the link to the alternator and lift the wire, placing your ammeter in series with that and measuring the draw. Do a forum search for more on "current draw to the alternator".
I was able to get the time light to turn off but I am unsure about how I did it. I tried turning the key switch on and off several times, but it did not seem to have any affect. I pushed the power button on the radio off and on several times with no apparent affect (ignition key on). I pushed every button the radio several times with no apparent affect. So I decided to pull the fuse out and I turned the ignition off and got out of the car to look for the fuse box. I looked back at the radio and the clock light was now off????
Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will look in the fuse box and check the fuses for corrosion. Maybe the ignition switch is going bad or the radio power switch is failing.
Update. The time lighted up again. So I found my Owner's manual and on page 2C-14 is a picture of my radio ETR AM-FM Stereo (Seek/Scan) with Cassette 5-Band Equializer and Clock. The lower Knob has two things that can be turned and I tried moving both with no affect. Maybe the radio is the problem since I have the clock working all of the time. The radio does not play anything at all and does not show stations. Maybe I just need a working radio.
Update. I have resolved the problem but would like for someone to explain what is happening. The light goes off and stays off if I remove my foot from the brake pedal before turning off the engine.
Anyone with an explanation for this happening? Thanks.
Before finding this "solution", I observed that when the light was on, the light would turn off If I pressed the brake pedal. Releasing the brake pedal, I would hear a click noise and the light would come back on. Maybe a bad ???
