Slight 12v battery drain question?

[AJMBLAZER]

I rewired the stereo I put in Big Ugly so that it gets only constant 12v. Since there's no accessory position on the ignition switch I didn't like having to either turn the truck on or let it sit there and cycle the glow plugs to hear the radio. Now I just turn the radio on when I get in the truck and off when I leave it. When it is off the display is backlit and the clock is on.

I only drive it once or twice a week to work or into town for something and in the winter it will most likely (god willing) sit warm and dry in the garage the whole time.
How long could it sit like this before the front battery was drained by the clock display enough to be troublesome?

 

[JAsher45]

well if you shut the radio off... you should be fine cause you have two power wires on your radio ... a red and a yellow one constant for the clock and memory and the other the main power while it is under use. if you have your back lighting wire hooked up you should wire that into your dash panel lights and not to the power that will drain it for sure in a couple day. i had installed one when i first got my M1009 and it sat for 14 months while i was over seas and it fired right up when i got back home. no problems with the radio draining the battery

 

[AJMBLAZER]

The yellow on mine is hooked to the constant in the fuse box. The red is now hooked to a constant 12v source too.

Don't think I have a backlight wire...have to check the diagram but I know the radio doesn't do anything different when the lights are on or off.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

you could always just put the red wire on a toggle switch

Mind you it would have to be a higher rated one (20amp should do it)

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Sooooo...12v constant wire from the junction box to a toggle switch and then on to the radio...hey, kinda like that idea...might even have a switch I can use too...

 

[CCATLETT1984]

yup, just think. All your doing is making that toggle do the work of the ignition switch

 

[AJMBLAZER]

The fuse in the back of the stereo is only 10amp. Why would I need a bigger one on the switched-now-constant?

I should put the fuse after the switch...correct? I figure if the switch is off then the fuse wouldn't matter if it got an overcharge. If it was in front of the switch it'd still get blown even if the switch was off and the radio wasn't going to get hurt anyways.

 

[CCATLETT1984]

you dont need a heavier-duty switch, but why have the switch as a possible failure point? putting a fuse before the switch would prevent an overdraw going through the switch. in the case of a 10amp fuse, i would run a 15amp switch.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Gotcha. Have to dig around at NAPA soon.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Installed it yesterday. Stuck the switch down under the steering wheel on that removable part of the dash for installation convenience. Could have put it above or next to the stereo but that would have required awkward drilling and removing half the dash to do.

Liking it and it works just as it should now. Only problem is the blue lighted switch I bought at NAPA is actually a purple color and rather faint. Still, I should remember to turn the stereo off now.