# Radio turning on/off by itself



## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

Hey everyone, so my car just started acting up today. Well the sound system anyway. I have an aftermarket deck hooked up and have never had an issue with it. Just a basic kenwood single din. I recently hooked up a system, amp and sub, to the radio and all was fine for a while. Out of nowhere today the radio just started turning off and on over and over by itself. I unhooked power from the amp and the radio went back to normal. The second i touch power back to the amp the radio goes right back to turning on and off by itself. I am able to shut the radio off completely and it wont do anything but as soon as i hit the on button it will basically pulse almost asnif trying to shut off but will turn right back on and repeat until i shut it off completely.

Already changed ground location for amp and no difference. Dont see any other obvious signs of loose wiring. No fuses seem to be blown either. Earlier today before the radio started acting up the battery died while i was sitting parked for maybe 15-20 min listening to music with the car off. It jumped right away. Battery died a second time later on when the radio started acting up after i had already been listening to music for about 15 min or so. Just very weird ive never had an issue until just today. Any ideas?

Car is an 03 jetta 1.8t if it matter.

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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

Sounds like remote wire issue.

How is everything hooked up?

What gauge wire are you using? Ground? Fuse? Wattage?


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

What specifically about the remote wire? I have it hooked up the same when i first installed and hasnt been touched. Connection looks good on back of radio as well as at amp.

Also checked all fuses and none are blown. Amp fuse, amp power wire fuse, radio fuse in panel etc... has me stumped. I currently have left the power wire unhooked from the amp and no issues with the radio or battery dying yet.

Its a small setup like 250ish watts, its 8 gauge wiring, i have 4 gauge wire run through the car too but dont have long enough ground wire or a fuse for the power wire but the 8 gauge has been used on this setup for a while even before i had it. Ground is run to the seat belt bolt on the rear passenger side as thats where ive most commonly seen it run.


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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

eskimo619 said:


> What specifically about the remote wire? I have it hooked up the same when i first installed and hasnt been touched. Connection looks good on back of radio as well as at amp.
> 
> Also checked all fuses and none are blown. Amp fuse, amp power wire fuse, radio fuse in panel etc... has me stumped. I currently have left the power wire unhooked from the amp and no issues with the radio or battery dying yet.
> 
> ...


Check your ground, make sure you ard getting 100% ground..


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

The original ground i was using was a stud on the upper part of the inside of the trunk. I had always been unsure of it but never had an issue. I then moved it to the seat belt bolt where im sure its a much better ground and the issue continued. Would the fact that everytime i touch something metal in the car i get a light shock have anything to do with this issue?

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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

eskimo619 said:


> The original ground i was using was a stud on the upper part of the inside of the trunk. I had always been unsure of it but never had an issue. I then moved it to the seat belt bolt where im sure its a much better ground and the issue continued. Would the fact that everytime i touch something metal in the car i get a light shock have anything to do with this issue?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


So if you disconnect the amp, your radio turns on without an issue? 

What is tapped on the remote wire? Radio? Amp?


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

With power completely disconnected from the amp the radio stays on like normal snd doesnt turn on an off over and over again.

Remote wire is run straight from back of deck to amp and nothing else is tapped off it.

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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

eskimo619 said:


> With power completely disconnected from the amp the radio stays on like normal snd doesnt turn on an off over and over again.
> 
> Remote wire is run straight from back of deck to amp and nothing else is tapped off it.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


How much current ate you drawing from that amp?

The amp might be drawing to much current causing ur radio to go - on & off. The radio can only pull so much current. Try to get a thicker wire and jump ur 12v on ur amp and use that to turn on ur amp. But make sure you disconnect ur remote wire going to the amp. See what happens.


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

So not quite sure what I did but i moved the ground back to the original spot on the stud on the upper trunk area. I rechecked and tightened terminals on the amp itself, hooked up power and everything is working like normal now. Really wish I knew what fixed it if it happens to happen again. This is why I hate electrical lol

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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

eskimo619 said:


> So not quite sure what I did but i moved the ground back to the original spot on the stud on the upper trunk area. I rechecked and tightened terminals on the amp itself, hooked up power and everything is working like normal now. Really wish I knew what fixed it if it happens to happen again. This is why I hate electrical lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


Test your ground with a voltmeter. Making sure your ground is 100%


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

Ill have to find a buddy with one and have it checked out. Weird it worked perfectly fine for id say close to 2 months since i installed it and out of the blue an issue today. The next time it either starts cutting out or kills my battery im checking wiring front to back and making sure it all looks right.

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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

Write me a diagram on ur wiring. But i think it's ur ground. Ur radio remote should be fine. But that has to get ignition from somewhere.


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

The only weird thing my radio has done is i have to manually turn it on and off when i want to listen to it. Ive tried all combos to get it wired up to the ignition and it never turns on/off with the ignition. Even prior to the amp install the radio did this. Cant seem to figure it out but i always remember to shut it off when i get out of the car so it doesnt kill the battery from staying on.

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## PassatSport15 (Sep 11, 2016)

If u get a voltmeter. Even better a light tester for 12vdc. Go to the fuse box, and test it there. I will pm u my number if u need help


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## eskimo619 (Oct 7, 2014)

So concluded up to this point it must have just been that i was running the system to much with the car not running and it was draining the battery. Had the battery tested and it checked out normal so from now on ill only run the system while the car is running. Will update if anything weird happens with it down the road.

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