Battery drain from aftermarket radio

[Gabezermeno]

Hello. I have a parasitic draw and I've nailed it down to my aftermarket Kenwood radio. I've tested everything I could think of and doing the test light in-between the positive battery terminal points me to my radio. (When I unplug the radio the light turns off) I'm using the factory 12v constant and 12v switched and was using the factory ground but I've changed that with no success. Has anyone else had this issue? It's not like I have a cheap radio but maybe there's something wrong with it. My battery will drain from 12.2v to the high 10s overnight which is a pain because sometimes my car will start and sometimes I'll have to use my jump box.

[conozo]

does the radio turn on and off properly when you use the key in the accessory position?

[Gabezermeno]

Yeah the radio works normally. And I can't turn it on when the car is off or anything like that.

[ShiRen]

Is the radio old? It might be down to replacing it

[Gabezermeno]

It's like 4 or 5 years old. It's a Kenwood KMM-BT522HD. It was nice at the time but maybe it's time to upgrade to an Excelon.

[Oldblueaccord]

if you have access to a DC amp clamp you can check the amp draw that way but it is possible it pulling power when it should not. I would guess thru the amplifier section with that kind of amp draw.

[ShiRen]

I'm pretty sure, if this thing is wired correctly, there is a stuck relay on the amp side. So it's probably toast, unless you like soldering

[Gabezermeno]

Update. New radio came. Kenwood Excelon x705. Did not fix the issue. Sounds a lot better though. This is getting annoying.

[conozo]

Is the factory radio dash harness unmolested and unburned as far as you can see? The only thing i can think of is that your 12v memory wire (thats on all the time) is shorting out or not connected properly to the correct pin on the harness. I would go through and make sure the factory harness has the pins in the correct location and voltages.

[Oldblueaccord]

There must be a few more things on the radio fuse circuit besides the radio.

DL the manual and go thru the prints.

[Gabezermeno]

Yes. But when I had my test light in-between the positive battery cable and terminal it would go out when unplugging the harness from the back of the radio. And update. I rewired the constant 12v power to the radio and it hasn't fixed it. So next I guess I have to try to find another 12v switched to wire the radio to. Even though the radio doesn't stay on when the car is off

[conozo]

Can you check the power antenna. I assume you dont have an amp since it hasnt been mentioned?

[Gabezermeno]

The only wires coming out of the radio are my rear speakers, power and ground. I have rcas for my front speakers on their own separate amp and sub. I don't have anything connected to the power antenna wire if there is one.

[conozo]

I guess i would look at everything on the radio circuit and also plug the radio in and find what fuse is drawing power by pulling one at a time. May need to stop looking at the radio but all the fused circuits one at a time. Its possible that some other circuit is grounding itself through the radio ground when you plug it in.

[ShiRen]

Did you not test for parasitic draw with your radio unplugged?

edit: nvm I reread your post

You should really probe again, not with a test light, but a multimeter in current mode.