Uhhh... key out of the igition... radio still going...

[atrdnut]

...and driver door is open.

WTF!!!

Going to lunch (Whataburger), I was listening to the radio. Nothing too loud, just background music while I'm talking to my coworkers. In the distance (maybe in the radio), I hear a crackling noise. My first thought was it was just some papers rustling by my center console. No big deal, until I started to smell BURNT ELECTRICAL WIRE. My friends thought it was just a smell from another car ahead of us, but I was quite sure it was from my truck. We ate, came back, and the interior of the truck still smelled like burnt plastic.

I got back to work, turned the truck off, and popped the hood to see if there was anything burning near the fuse box. Nothing seemed out of place, no smell. It was only from the inside. Assuming it was the radio, I pushed the main power button and started listening for any sound of a blown speaker. All 6 speakers sounded just fine. Then I realized...

I DON'T HAVE THE KEYS IN THE IGNITION AND THE DOOR IS OPEN!!!! This isn't right, IS IT????? Why is my radio working without the keys in the ignition? Did something get messed up? I mean, this is a good thing and a bad thing. I don't know if my radio is sucking juice from the battery even though it's not on... or what if I leave the radio on while I leave my truck?

This isn't normal. Does anyone know where I can start looking to get this fixed? I'll take out the deck this afternoon when I get home and let everyone know what I see... but for peace of mind, any particular reason for the smell of burnt wires and why my radio still works???

Side note - I have an L.O.C. but it's not connected to anything. I don't know if that has to do with anything... but if something was shorted out, why would my radio still work?

Sorry for being so long-winded... this is quite odd.

Austin

[TundrastruckDave]

Hmmm... that is strange, Austin?! Me thinks it may be time to give "BIG VIC" a PM or sit back a hope he sees this thread soon!

[atrdnut]

I just went out to check on my baby...

It smells very bad... like there is plastic still burning. I checked all my electrical accessories to make sure everything was working... lights, windows, door locks, horn, etc... everything is good.

Here's the thing - I put the key in, turn it to the 'on' position (as if I'm going to start it), and of course, turn on the radio. I then turn the key to the 'off' position (while driver door is open), expecting the radio to turn off. The sound mutes, but instantly comes back on. The radio itself doesn't shut off at all. I'm more worried about my electronics melting. I'm going to go ahead and disconnect the battery for the rest of the day (until I get off work). Something is still feeding power to something... and it's NOT GOOD.

I'll shoot Vic and Mark a PM and hopefully they'll have some helpful advice. Until then, I'm 'pulling the plug' on my baby

[JnEsPappa]

Try pulling the ACC fuse and see if that helps. I don't know how it happened, but it seems something has shorted out and I bet it is somewhere in a plug resulting in the always on radio problem.

I would bring it right in if I were you. If you have a Phillips screw driver handy, pull the center dash panel off (remove 3 AC knobs, and 3 screws behind them, then rotate the two center AC vents up and remove the screws behind them and pull the black plastic piece off).

You may be able to spot the bad connection and stop further damage, but still bring it in.

Originally Posted by atrdnut

I just went out to check on my baby...

It smells very bad... like there is plastic still burning. I checked all my electrical accessories to make sure everything was working... lights, windows, door locks, horn, etc... everything is good.

Here's the thing - I put the key in, turn it to the 'on' position (as if I'm going to start it), and of course, turn on the radio. I then turn the key to the 'off' position (while driver door is open), expecting the radio to turn off. The sound mutes, but instantly comes back on. The radio itself doesn't shut off at all. I'm more worried about my electronics melting. I'm going to go ahead and disconnect the battery for the rest of the day (until I get off work). Something is still feeding power to something... and it's NOT GOOD.

I'll shoot Vic and Mark a PM and hopefully they'll have some helpful advice. Until then, I'm 'pulling the plug' on my baby

[TUNDRAVILLE]

hopefully you dont have a leak around the windshield thats traveling the wires to your circuitry like my wifes windstar, yep, same exact problem, no burnin smell though, good luck to you .

[atrdnut]

It would probably be in the best interest if I took out the L.O.C. doncha think? I don't want Toyota saying that is the reason why my radio is messed up... i.e. NO WARRANTY FOR YOU!

The rest of my day will include reconnecting the battery, removing the 'ACC' fuse, leaving my radio turned off, removing dash surround, removing radio, removing L.O.C., putting everything back in, and taking it to Toyota. Happy f-ing Friday

We've had blue skies the past two days... I don't think stagnant water made it's way into my dash... at least I hope not. Thanks for the quick replies. I hope she's okay...

[JnEsPappa]

Any updates?

[atrdnut]

Mark (and all),

I pulled the 'ACC' fuse, but the radio still stayed on. I then pulled the whole radio out to disconnect the L.O.C. from the back (for warranty purposes)... and the smell of burnt electronics was coming from the back of the radio, not any of the plugs. Whatever happened, hasn't happened again because there is no more smell. I'm quite sure Toyota will simply replace the radio, no questions asked.

Oh, I accidentally forgot to turn it off as I left my truck one night this weekend...12 hours later, she STARTED RIGHT UP!

So it's a matter of me going to Toyota to get this done. Could I simply call them up and request they order a new radio for me, and all I'd have to do is 'swap' them out? Or would they have to do some background checks?

[JnEsPappa]

From my warranty experiences, they are required to try the least expensive methods of repair first, so I'm pretty sure they will want to look at it.

[Lalo]

what was plugged into your outlets when this happened???

[atrdnut]

The only thing connected to the radio was the L.O.C. I removed my subs (along with the wiring) weeks before this happened. I just didn't feel like taking the L.O.C. out because I may want to put everything back in.

[atrdnut]

Note - I am going in TODAY to get this taken care of...

I haven't brought my truck to the dealership yet because I am a slave to work. Today, I MUST bring it in...

I went to work Sat., ran a few errands, and parked the truck for the rest of the evening. I got bored at the house and decided to go for a drive Sat. night. I attempted to remotely start my truck... *click click click* were the noises emmitting from my engine bay. To verify it wasn't the alarm, I tried to start it from inside the truck... no avail. My BATTERY IS DEAD! WTF, mate? I had to have a truck jumpstart me to get the battery charged up again. I should have left it there, and just stayed home, but I wanted to charge up the battery. So as I was driving, I went over a few bumps in the road, and for no apparent reason, all my interior lights would turn on briefly! Something is seriously messed up here.

Took the truck back home, let it sit all day Sunday. This morning, I fearfully attempted to remotely start the truck... once again, *click click click*... and I did the same "start it with the key" approach as Sat. night. This time, I got lucky and my truck eventually started. I didn't notice any akward interior lighting issues this morning, but I didn't go over any hard bumps either.

I have no doubt this is because of my radio's problem... it's soaking up the battery juice overnight... I think I have to manually turn the radio off when I exit the vehicle, but somehow, it's still drawing power. Not sure, but that's the only logical reason why my battery is weak.

What I find interesting is how in a three hour span, (sat. evening to sat. night), my battery's life dwindled to nothing... whereas in a 30 hour span, the battery didn't completely die (almost, though).

My guess is Toyota will examine the electrial wiring from the battery to the radio, hoping to find a hot wire that wasn't hot before... they may have to replace the wiring harness that connects to the back of the radio, including replacing the radio. I'm also worried that my battery has been trashed, having to weakly crank my motor, then charge, only to die again. We'll see


Cliff Notes - battery died as a result of messed up radio... truck's interior lights turn on for no reason going over bumps, in 3 hours, battery died... in 30 hours, battery ALMOST died...

[JnEsPappa]

Man, the lights coming on is strange. Sounds like a short somewhere.

Good luck and don't let them hassle you about warranty. You are entitled to upgrade vehicle parts and they must prove that the upgrade item caused something else to croak to void the warranty.

[atrdnut]

hmm, should I mention I had a L.O.C. during the time the short occured? It has since been removed.

[kylant1]

If I were you, I would NOT mention anything about aftermarket equipment, especially when it is something that is involved with a part that has failed.

You could almost bet they will deny your warranty if you tell them

good luck