Stereo on w/o ignition?

[firevibe]

Hey, does anyone here know how to wire the stereo so that it's on even if the ignition is off? I found the thread about rewiring the center console 12v outlet so wondering if anyone has ever done it with the radio? Thanks!

[ColonelPanic]

Did you want a retained accessory power mod, which will keep the power on for x amount of time after the ignition is off?Or, do you just want it on at any time the ignition is off? Provided you wouldn't be overdrawing the circuit, (which you may be, I don't know for sure) you could try tapping into the +12V constant lead going to the stereo and connect your "supposed to be +12V switched" lead on the radio.Just remember to keep turning it off when you leave the car.

[firevibe]

Hey Colonel, yeah, I want it to be on all the time. That's how I used to have it in all my cars before and i never drained my battery with that. Stereos light up like christmas trees so it's pretty hard to miss. I left the headlights running many times on my VW Cabrio so I'm very thankful for the daytime running lights feature on the Vibe. Anyway, thanks for the advice i'll let you know how the tapping went when it's done...

[joatmon]

When I was in college I had a car that I had the radio be hot all the time. Had an auto reverse tape deck. Was in a hurry one day, got to school, parked in the sea of cars, and rushed off to class. Aparently the tape was at the end, I forgot to turn it off. A couple of hours later went back out to the lot, and walking towards my car I heard familiar music, thought "Someone''s got some good music really cranked up" and then I got closer and realized my car had been rattling its windows while I was away. I imagine there are a lot of places you could tap into to get the always on 12V. If it were me, I'd hook up the always on 12V through a switch so that you could kill power to the radio to turn off the clock and get the fake theft deterrent blinking LED. There are various switches available that fit in the spot on the dash to the left of the steering wheel, where the little coin holder is (and the hatch release if you have the power locks option) You could even get a "double throw" switch that connects it up as normal in one position, and throw the switch and you get always on radio. Probably also a good idea to add a fuse to whatever you tap in with, just to be safe. Ragingfish has advocated these add a circuit fuse tap things, plug in to the fuse box like a fuse, but hold a fuse and have a wire coming off. Something like that might be useful for you, but make sure you get the size that fits in the slots for the tiny fuses these cars use. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5396 has a pinout diagram for the radio. Pin B2 is the Ignition voltage for the radio, supposed to be a gray wire. You'd want to cut that and connect the radio side of the cut wire to your constant 12V (or add switch ) Be sure to insulate the car side of the cut wire, if it shorts out you lose power to the 12V outlet in the dash (same fuse as radio)

[binary]

Hey, that LED isn't a fake warning...It just means I'm going to kick your (removed) if I catch you messing with my car.

[GMJAP]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I modded mine to be a flesh cutting laser beam, don;t mess with mine either Good thing you don't make all the mistakes I do when working on mods. Yikes!