My dash clock stays on and I'm worried it'll kill my battery if I leave it for too long. Is there a way to turn it off?

 

Did the problem just start on its own or has someone been messing with the wiring? The clock has two seperate power supplies; a switched one for the display and permanent one for the memory. This shouldn't be able to happen...

 

I wouldn't doubt the wiring has been messed with. The entire car is full of strange wires that go here there and everywhere. All I know is that the clock stays on when I turn the car off, and that when the lights are on, the brightness of the clock flickers from bright to dim to bright, etc.

 

Now ya see thats wierd.The clock doesnt work in 98% of FC's and the ones that do, never go off. Sheesh FCs and wiring gremlins lol

JASON nyc

 

hmmm mine works like it was brand new.

 

Not turning off means that the accessory circuit in the car is not turning off. You have some wires jumped some where.

 

stab it with a screwdriver

 

Are you turning the key all the way back? I've drained the battery in my FC once or twice from leaving the key in accessory position when the door sensors weren't working. The clock/radio circuits are on, and it'll drain the battery.

-=Russ=-

 

Mine works fine. I've never heard of one not going off until now, and it's almost certainly due to poor rewiring, not electrical gremlins.

 

Dude... I am gonna ask you to stop posting here if you keep posting **** like this.

The clock not going off is one of two things:
#1 Bad ignition switch
#2 mis-wired car.

Both of those are users issues as the ignition switches fail from someone putting 20lbs of keys and key rings in them, and the other 99% is caused by people to dumb to even be working on cars doing wiring changes. (like stereo wiring- the most common cause).

As far as the clock failing, it is a somewhat common problem to have the solder joints fail in a car after 15 years in any car, not just the FC. Again it is seldom a "wiring gremlin" but rather a component issue. The wiring has nothing to do with it.

And if you want to talk crap about FC electronics, you should see the Porsche/Bosch/BMW parts I rebuild, or the Lexus parts I rebuild with "cold solder joints". Any car after 10+ years can have this issue, regardless of if it is a $80000 sports car or a $2000 mazda.

So stop posting such ignorant posts.

 

 

Very good point. I have done this numberous times...well before I learned that the key had to be turned all the way back to keep it shut off.

I thought that the middle was the position to keep it shut off and the battery would keep draining. I kept getting frustrated thinking the battery was bad, the alt was bad, there was a loose connection or something staying on with a faulty wire.....then realized it was just me not turning the key back far enogh :-P

 

Hmmm, I don't put the key completely back to the lock position or whatever, let me try that and see what happens... Yep, yep that did it. I feel sheepish. Thanks guys. It was just me being a n00b.

 

Makes you have a big sigh of relief that you dont need to spend any more money, huh? Well, at least not yet :-P