gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 THis has become a perennial problem. I drive a 2005 subaru outback with about 160k. I have had a couple of new batteries put in. At about this time last year I had a parasitic draw test done and learned there was a cd stuck in the player that cause a continual drain. That seemed to have resolved the issue until about a month ago when I was gone for a short period 2-3 days and the car was not used. I have had it jumped a couple of times. but it seems to happen if I don't drive the car every day or or at least every other. I have portable jump kit on the way. >>DBPOWER 300A Peak 8000mAh Portable Car Jump Starter DJS40 Battery Charger Phone Power Bank (Black/Red). I would rather not put too much mkore momeny into this issue i.e. another parasitic draw test and I figure the battery is still good. I have been told my alternator is also good replaced not too long ago. My question for those who are more familiar with cars and their inner workings is: Do people think I could avoid this issue if I got a disconnect kit for the battery terminal? something like this>>> http://www.eastwood.com/battery-shutoff-switch-w-instructions.html?fee=7&fep=465&SRCCODE=GA220010&adpos=1o1&creative=83580269820&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQiAvuWyBRDO_Yzhpv_4nvEBEiQANBdXMqRnBF54BI1YVFODY_MIyJO0q5ACzwQnqJbF07nKaKAaAkid8P8HAQ This is a nuisance. Overall the rest of the car seems to be fine other than a leaky head gasket which is a known issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Were you able to remove the stuck cd in the player?? Even so, I wonder if the mechanism is damaged, and still active, and drawing power from the battery at all times. I guess you could pull the fuse to the radio for a few days to see if that stops the current drain. If so, then replacing the CD player would fix the problem. Re the eastwood battery disconnect devise. Yes, that certainly saves the power in your battery. I have used one of those on my RV, when it was not driven for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 thanks. Pretty sure the radio/cd player is connected to the heating and cooling unit also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 figure if I pull that fuse then its all out. Kinda need heat and def. in mn this time of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Okay just curious of any other thoughts. I am trying to keep this low cost. parasitic draw is 98$ new radio heat and ac headunit is not cheap at least on the first looking around I did. Pulled fuse for the radio it does disable the heating and cooling although I am thinking I could just pull the fuse when i park the car then pop it back in when driving it. hmmm. Does that seem like a good work around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Its the radio. Should have yanked it out when you had the problem before. They're almost 100% guaranteed to fail and cause a battery draw. The radio and HVAC are separate, just attached to the same panel. Crutchfield sells a kit that replaces that trim panel around the radio. You simply unscrew the heat/vent unit and attach it to the new trim plate, then install a single or double din aftermarket radio. Draw fixed, and better sound quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 but they do run off the same fuse correct? So what I understand you saying is get a new radio. Separate the radio and the hvac units. ( it really seems to be once piece. This is what I currently have. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUBARU-Legacy-Outback-Radio-6-Disc-Changer-CD-Player-Auto-Climate-Temp-Control-/151893597628 ) then go to crtuchfield and get the face panel to piece it all back together. What about my plan to just pull the radio HVAC fuse on a regular basis. this seems like it would brake the cirucit and interrupt any draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Okay just curious of any other thoughts. I am trying to keep this low cost. parasitic draw is 98$ new radio heat and ac headunit is not cheap at least on the first looking around I did. Pulled fuse for the radio it does disable the heating and cooling although I am thinking I could just pull the fuse when i park the car then pop it back in when driving it. hmmm. Does that seem like a good work around? Am surprised when you say the HVAC and radio use the same fuse. Are you sure that is correct?? I have never heard of this before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 When I pulled the fuse. I think it was marked as 15 a. on the second to bottom row of fuses third fuse from steering wheel moving out. it killed the dashboard clock and all functions in the radio unit including hvac. From what I can tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 When I pulled the fuse. I think it was marked as 15 a. on the second to bottom row of fuses third fuse from steering wheel moving out. it killed the dashboard clock and all functions in the radio unit including hvac. From what I can tell. Next move I would suggest, is to pull off the trim piece, and prolly pull out the CD/radio unit and disconnect the wring harness going to the CD unit. Maybe the radio uses separate wiring, and will be unaffected when the CD unit wiring is disconnected (unpluged). Don't think much work will be needed to do this. I have bought car radios from Crutchfield. Got good quality radios at a good price. Also, their phone sales people are very knowledgeable about installation work needed to install their after market radios in cars. Well worth working with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 That's a good idea. There were sperate wires for the two when I pulled it out last year. Could give me something to do tonight. Thanks. then finding a radio is next Id really miss that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gritle Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 I pulled it out and put it back in. There doesn't seem to be a whole of separation between climate control and radio. There is a power seeming plug with fourteen or so pins that appeared to be the master. then two other plugs one the powered the climate controls and another that didn't seem to make a difference when I unplugged it so I assume that is for the dics player. Hoping no power to disc player will be the answer. Otherwise pulling and replacing fuses regularly http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=202566&stc=1&d=1423522648 on the left is the port for the fourteen pins master and the right the upper is the climate and the lower is likely hopefully disc player. So I'm gonna test it over the week and see if I have resolved it. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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