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Stereo causing drain?

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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:04 AM
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Default Stereo causing drain?

About 2 weeks ago I turned on the truck and the stereo BLASTED at full volume even though it was not turned up. I turned it off and back on everything was working fine. A week later my truck had trouble starting, turn the key and click nothin. Give it a second and turn again (sometimes a couple tries) and it would start. Had a free replacement on the battery and swapped it out, everything was working fine. Today I got in turned the key and "click", same thing started happening again.

I don't have a multimeter at the moment (it disappeared with some of my other stuff ). Anyway I yanked the fuse for the stereo (factory unit) and it is starting up much easier now. Am I right in guessing the stereo is the culprit here?

The truck is a '95 Ram 1500 with the Infinity system.

Found this while doing a search http://www.installdr.com/InstallDocs/DCP/PDF/327025.pdf and was wondering if the info about the ground wire for the Infinity system was correct.

Thanks all.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:12 AM
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Do you still have the factory Head unit? If you do, I would bet that the board on it has shorted, and is acting up. It's kinda common on the old decks. Time for an upgrade!
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:20 AM
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yeah it is the factory head unit. it started this after we had a few days where it was 95+ degrees during the day and dropped to near freezing at night.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:23 AM
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Eh, the temp change might have done it, but I don't think so. Dust, or moisture is what usually kills them. They are uber finicky. People report that the radio volume will jut move up and down with out them touching the ****. Some have had them just turn on and off on their own as well.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:32 AM
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Hmmm dust and moisture I have both of those covered I live in the desert in eastern Oregon lol. We have been getting some wicked thunderstorms lately nothing like going from dry and hot to torrential down pour in the matter of a couple minutes.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:34 AM
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I know the feeling. Weather out here changes about every 15 minutes.

What kind of deck would you be looking for?
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:40 AM
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I have a Pioneer I picked up to stick in my project Olds Cutlass that I guess will be going in the truck now. Still have about a year for the Olds to be done.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 02:58 AM
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That would work, just remember that the openings for our rams are 1.5 DIN, and most AM decks are 1 din, so you'll need to get a dash kit.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 03:17 AM
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Yeah I ran out and picked one up from the only local shop that does car audio installs. I also grabbed the wiring harness adapters.

I was planning on going out to the junk yard tomorrow to get parts for my Cutty project but looks like I might be working on the truck instead. Well I suppose I could always take the chevy lol.
 
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Old Sep 1, 2009 | 09:46 AM
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How old is your battery? I am not saying your radio isn't draining it, but you have pointed out the killer point for batteries: temp extremes. It could be that your battery is on it's last leg and the radio is just pointing that out to you.
 
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