Hi,
A while back I found that my radio kept forgetting stations, pretty much randomly, it would sometimes store them for a few days and then other times lose them instantly. Furthermore, ever since I got the car it has required the code to be entered each time the radio is turned on. This hasn't bugged me that much, but recently I thought I'd take a look at the problem again. It seems after a new battery it remembers the stations, but still asks for the code every so often. I checked the permanant feed and it's around the 4 volt mark. I suppose when the voltage drops lower it loses the stations, but I'm assuming it should be 12volts rather than 4, any ideas why it might be so low/how to solve the problem?[/i]
Radio voltage
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pantherd90
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Peter.N.
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Unfortunatly modern cars are not like my '39 Ford Prefect, in that you can't see all the wires! You will need a circuit diagram. I dont think you said what car you have, if its a Xantia I have a Haynes manual, not that they are all that good, but I will have a look for you. Do you have any other electrical problems? if so it could be a common cause,
You should have 2 12v feeds, 1 being a constant (yellow i think) and 1 being a switched 12v (red). so you can either have your stereo turning on only with the ignition, only by the on/off switch or both. on the modern connectors you'll have 2 plugs off the red power allowing you to also put the constant on into it.
yes the constant should be 12v, the solution being either spending a load of time finding the problem or putting another wire through from the battery.
yes the constant should be 12v, the solution being either spending a load of time finding the problem or putting another wire through from the battery.
...:::CITROENZX:::...
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pantherd90
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Thanks for your replies. The car's a 93 Xantia (LX 1.9td). I've got one or two electrical problems/changes, but it's not bad for a car of it's age.
1) The "Water in the fuel" light will every so often light up, have had it looked at and there's no water in the fuel and as it goes out fairly quickly it doesn't bother me. Loose connection I guess.
2) Had one of the radio speakers die (dashboard right), the magnet on the bottom just broke off. Therefore had to replace it with another (non matching :/) speaker out of a 1996 Xantia VSX. Works alright, though often hisses, this dies down after having it on for a while.
3) Plip doesn't work, the rubber went on the key fob and the circuit board fell to bits. Got a replacement with matching infrared receiver but it still doesn't work. Some of the wiring in the roof area leading to the receiver looks like it may have been altered, black tape/bandages around it.
4) Boot lock is odd, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Appears to lock with central locking but doesn't unlock most of the time. Key is pretty worn so it can be hard to open the boot using the key.
.. Very little else really, I think a bulb has gone on the drivers side electric window button, have had a few issues around the brake lights, though they proved to be down to a poor quality connection.
Totally unrelated, but the windscreen washer has broken at the pipe (near the windscreen, just ends up cleaning the engine bay...). Have sealed it up twice now but it keeps going. Should I replace the pipe, it looks quite a lot of work, the rear washer hasn't worked for a long time now.
1) The "Water in the fuel" light will every so often light up, have had it looked at and there's no water in the fuel and as it goes out fairly quickly it doesn't bother me. Loose connection I guess.
2) Had one of the radio speakers die (dashboard right), the magnet on the bottom just broke off. Therefore had to replace it with another (non matching :/) speaker out of a 1996 Xantia VSX. Works alright, though often hisses, this dies down after having it on for a while.
3) Plip doesn't work, the rubber went on the key fob and the circuit board fell to bits. Got a replacement with matching infrared receiver but it still doesn't work. Some of the wiring in the roof area leading to the receiver looks like it may have been altered, black tape/bandages around it.
4) Boot lock is odd, sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Appears to lock with central locking but doesn't unlock most of the time. Key is pretty worn so it can be hard to open the boot using the key.
.. Very little else really, I think a bulb has gone on the drivers side electric window button, have had a few issues around the brake lights, though they proved to be down to a poor quality connection.
Totally unrelated, but the windscreen washer has broken at the pipe (near the windscreen, just ends up cleaning the engine bay...). Have sealed it up twice now but it keeps going. Should I replace the pipe, it looks quite a lot of work, the rear washer hasn't worked for a long time now.
Some Xantias have an alternative fuse position for the radio power (not maintenance) supply and you can convert it from being powered all the time to ignition only by using the alternative position. The reason its on all the time on some is to make tape tangling more difficult.
4 volts in the maintenance lead could simply be that a fuse has blown and thhis is a leakage. The test is to put a bulb in series then measure the voltage on the input NOT earth side of the bulb, - if it dissappears - probably leakage.
It may be possible to find an alternative maintenance unswitched supply. I see that the ZX standard radio has its illumination on the dashboard circuit - so this system may be used on the Xantia which means that there will be another wire to confuse you. ZX cigar lighter may be on a relay which may be internal with the lighter but again may confuse you if this system in used on your Xantia.
4 volts in the maintenance lead could simply be that a fuse has blown and thhis is a leakage. The test is to put a bulb in series then measure the voltage on the input NOT earth side of the bulb, - if it dissappears - probably leakage.
It may be possible to find an alternative maintenance unswitched supply. I see that the ZX standard radio has its illumination on the dashboard circuit - so this system may be used on the Xantia which means that there will be another wire to confuse you. ZX cigar lighter may be on a relay which may be internal with the lighter but again may confuse you if this system in used on your Xantia.
jeremy
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pantherd90
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I don't believe this is the case on mine, certainly when I checked the fuses I couldn't see anyway the radio fuses positions could be changed.Some Xantias have an alternative fuse position for the radio power (not maintenance) supply and you can convert it from being powered all the time to ignition only by using the alternative position. The reason its on all the time on some is to make tape tangling more difficult.
Sorry for being a newbie here.. but what do you mean by leakage? Surely if a fuse blows it should just have lost power on that line. I checked the two fuses for the radio and they showed up fine.4 volts in the maintenance lead could simply be that a fuse has blown and thhis is a leakage. The test is to put a bulb in series then measure the voltage on the input NOT earth side of the bulb, - if it dissappears - probably leakage.
I'm slightly nervous about cutting cabling and feeding the raido in on a different line, would ideally like to find whatever is causing the drop in voltage and correct it.
Digital multimeters are very sensitive and dray a tiny current. The electrics on your Xantia are complex and far from new and it is possible that some connections have corroded and circuits deteriorated. In these conditions it is possible to get ghost voltages - possibly caused by resistance in an earth wire for a component sharing some part of the circuit for instance. This can produce a small voltmeter reading which dissappears as soon as any load is applied.
If you want to run an alternative supply simply tape the existing wire up carefully and tuck it out of harms way. Having found your suitable feed you can connect into it using a scotchlock connector (horrible I know but useful) for example.
You should make sure your source is fused at a low rating or use a line fuse (0.5 amp or less as its only a holding voltage)
If you want to run an alternative supply simply tape the existing wire up carefully and tuck it out of harms way. Having found your suitable feed you can connect into it using a scotchlock connector (horrible I know but useful) for example.
You should make sure your source is fused at a low rating or use a line fuse (0.5 amp or less as its only a holding voltage)
jeremy