Hi, I have a 2001 Punto that has an after market radio that came with the car. However, after a few days the battery drains and the car wont turn over. I have done a multimeter test and with everything off there is a drain of 0.79 amps. When I pull the fuse that has the radio on it drops to 0.04. If I leave the fuse out all is fine. I have read that after market equipment is the main cause of electrical problems in modern cars and was wondering if you guys had experienced anything similar. Cheers.

Corky

Something is wrong with the radio or it is wired incorrectly.

0.79 - 0.04 = 0.75A or 9 Watts

This is way too excessive.

With a 80AH battery in good condition your radio will drain the battery in 106 hours, or just over 4 days which is consistent with your observations.

Most older style radios had two power leads. One which should be permanently powered, this is to keep the radio tuning/settings memory data intact, and the other should be connected to the 12V supply that only comes on when the ignition is turned on.

On newer radios it gets more complicated with CAN Bus etc.

Suggest you look your make and model of radio up and see if you can find any installation instructions/wiring and check that yours is wired correctly.

Corky,

PM me if you want a standard Punto Radio to try..

charlie - Oxford

Hi s130, thanks for your quick reply. I have been a bit busy so this is the first chance I have had to reply. I think the original was a radio cassette player. The new one is a Blaupunkt Lausanne CD30. According to both instructions the plug at the rear of the unit is exactly the same. However, on the new one there is a continuous live that comes from C4. In the book it shows it being connected direct to the battery. I don't know if its been connected to any other live source but the clock is lit all the time with or without the key. Hope this helps. Will get radio out at the weekend and have a better look.

Thanks...............corky

Ok, so I took the radio out and the wiring harness to the radio looks untouched. There are 3 plugs but only two are plugged into the radio. The third plug has four different coloured segments but only has two thin wires going to it. Can I assume that because the new radio needs the red wire in C4 to be connected to a permanent live source the previous owner ignored this as the radio worked when they plugged it in so left it. Do I, cut the red wire and connect this to the battery and see what happens?

Regards.....corky

I wouldn't cut anything.

You need to

1) at least post the make and model of the aftermarket radio
2) locate original installation instructions/handbook
3) get a copy of the Punto worshop manual (check this site) or a Haynes manual
4) map out and work out what all the wire colours / connectors etc. are supposed to be.

Sorry I can't be of much more help.

You may be better off raising this all in the Punto Forum where no doubt there will be people who have messed/installed aftermarket sound systems in their Puntos.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Its a Blaupunkt Lausanne CD30. I have a Haynes manual plus the installation booklets for both the new and previous radios. The car is a 2001 on a Y plate so not sure if this is the one with the cassette player or CD player as both wiring diagrams are in the original owners handbook pack that came with the car and also in the Haynes manual. It looks like the red wire on the cassette one goes via the ignition switch, but the other has another red wire that goes to another power source. I will have to get the radio out again and like you say compare diagrams.

Thanks again.................corky

Hi, would this be of any help? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-PUNT...140122125356&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=351114832476&rt=nc Thanks... corky

Try this - https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-mk2...g-iso-yellow-red-wires-mk2-only-not-mk2b.html