So i have bought myself an aftermarket stereo for my car (sony mex n5100bt). Had it installed at halfords (deal included free fitting which may have been my first mistake). A month later my battery was drained so i took it back and they replaced the stereo (which was apparently faulty) and refitted it. I also had a new battery installed (mine was over 5 years old)

A month and a half later i have had the same problem, although i have had the stereo checked in another car and the stereo works fine.

I had been told to swap the red to red (accessory switched) wire and yellow to yellow (constant 12v)wire (as connected)  to a red to yellow configuration,and this should solve my problem.

Does this seem right? Id be ok losing memory as i rarely use the radio but rather the bluetooth and cd player, but isnt there more of a risk of draining the battery this way if i forget to take the face off (which i havent forget yet, but never say never)

 

What the cable switching refers to is that there are 2 live wires-

A ) Ignition live

B ) Battery live

On some aftermarket loom adaptors these need swapping, this is mainly due to the quadlock adaptor supplied by many companies (especially halfrauds) being supposedly designed for Ford and Vauxhall however they forget that the compatability is not 100%.

Swap the wires and see how you go, you should be able to pop out the contacts in the adaptors quadlock connector with a very small screwdriver.

 

Thanks. I will give this a go and see how it lasts. Couldn't have come at a better time, a day before i am unable to drive it regularly for a month!

Hi guys,

I'm having similar problems with my focus. I bought a pioneer double din DVD CD player touchscreen from Halfords with all the required adaptor harnesses which were pre wired already. Also came with a sterring wheel controls module aswell. I fitted the pioneer, an amp and  a subwoofer and now my brand new battery has died within 2 days. I then had another battery fitted which also died within 2 days and I have tried swapping the red and yellow wires 2 days ago which didn't seem to work because it have the player no power at all. I now dont know what to do.

On 28/08/2017 at 7:38 PM, S.H.A.U.N. said:

I fitted the pioneer, an amp and  a subwoofer.

How are you powering on the amp?

Generally they have a "remote" input from the radio, however, some don't and require switched live to not drain the battery. Any other new installs recently? A simple test would be to unplug individual components and see if your battery still drains - easier with a multimeter or DC clamp meter if you have one.