Radio Current Help

[fearturtle03 10+ year member]

Hey,

I have a 240 volvo and is having trouble holding a charge in the battery. I just installed a new car radio and thinking it may be the problem. I am trying to find if there is an extra drain on the battery when the car is off. I am wondering if anyone knows around how much of a draw the Radio makes on the battery when the car is off, so I can tell if it is more than it should be. Thanks alot.

Also on the red wire coming out of the radio, there is a fuse on the wire that blew. I just cut it out since the fuse was hard wired into the wire, but is there any damage that can be done with it removed, other than the radio getting fried???

Thanks again

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[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

is there any damage that can be done with it removed, other than the radio getting fried???

Yes. If a short develops in the HU (which there may already be since the fuse has blown) and the (now unfused) wire tries to pass more current than it is capable of it can become very hot and melt carpet/insulation/other wires in the vicinity and in extreme cases fires can result.

I was going to ask if it's possible the switched/constant power wires may have been switched during installation, but since a fuse has blown I wonder if it's just a defective HU.