Fix For Head Unit Receiver causing Parasitic drain?

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mike singleton

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So we finally found the source of the parastic battery drain. It's the Pioneer AVIC8400 stereo head unit. But why it's happening is still a mystery. The drain is about 2amps. By removing fuses we found about half is from the head unit and the remainder is from the Bose amp. The kicker is that it is cyclable. The drain isn't there when the car ignition is first turned off and the radio powers down. But after a while (not sure exaclty how long) something triggers the radio and thru the radio, the amp, to start pulling power. Has anyone run into this before. Any suggestions? Is the radio head unit bad? Or could it be Maybe a sleep setting? Could it have anything to do with the aftermarket backup camera? Maybe a bad harness? Stereo and backup camera were installed by a reputable car stereo shop. Thanks
On our 2004 Jukon Denali with Bose, we experienced an intermittent drain (draw) overnight. The shop insisted it was the Alternator and battery but I didn't agree since they were tested and were almost brand new. It turns out that there are known issues with the Amplifiers creating a draw overnight and we chased this problem for 6 months before a Custom Radio Shop installer informed us about this issue and we also found that information on one of these forums. The AMP is located in the very bottom section of the center console. There are electronic companies that repair these but it just seemed easier to find a used part for about $200. It's not exactly difficult to replace this amp but not real hard. I will say that this old Bose radio system was so much nicer and more powerful than the radios in our 2019 Yukon Denali and/or or 2011 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ!
 

Roilux

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I had the same problem with a Bose sound system in my Tahoe. We unhooked both battery cables from the battery for 24 hours and it was fine after we hooked them back up the next day. The problem was the Body Control Module mistakenly thought it needed to stay “awake” to provide power to the head unit Even when the vehicle was off and not running, thereby draining the battery overnight. By unhooking the two battery cables for about 24 hours, the BCM reset itself. The other option if that does not help, is to either take it to a mechanic and have the BCM reflashed, or replaced. Reflash = about 200.00, Replace = whatever the shop feels like charging. I would try unhooking the cables first. Good luck.
Thanks for this information. If my Tahoe is not driven for several days the starter spins slower than usual. If not driven within a week the battery will usually be dead.
 

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