Radio turns on by itself...

[tjmajka]

My 2012 LT2 1.4T, Auto H.B. started doing something weird a couple months back. The radio will come on or stay on after we have left and locked the car. It is not the door switch issue as the dome light and power windows all behave as expected. The dealer has the car and they are saying it may be the fault of the power switch in the head unit. the power switch is bad, it turns off and on with bumps while driving. But a bad power switch shouldn't enable the radio to come on by itself during the night without keys and with doors locked? In the morning sometimes the car doesn't want to start since the radio has been playing all night. Also I thought all Chevy's going back to like 2007 had battery rundown protection? And if it were the accessory after key feature wouldn't it happen to power windows also? It does not.

HELP???

 

[NewZJ]

Grab a plate of spaghetti and throw it in the car and with your most commanding voice say "the power of Flying Spaghetti Monster compels you" then drink a beer and talk like a pirate the rest of the night

And for something relevant,

I hope the dealer finds your problem bro, that would suck. I haven't the foggiest of what could be happening but it doesn't make sense to me

 

[tjmajka]

As do I. Will canned spaghetti work or should I make it from scratch?

 

[Wooksquatch]

Fsm does not discriminate use any pasta you want.

 

[thechill_mix]

lol

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

My 2012 LT2 1.4T, Auto H.B. started doing something weird a couple months back. The radio will come on or stay on after we have left and locked the car. It is not the door switch issue as the dome light and power windows all behave as expected. The dealer has the car and they are saying it may be the fault of the power switch in the head unit. the power switch is bad, it turns off and on with bumps while driving. But a bad power switch shouldn't enable the radio to come on by itself during the night without keys and with doors locked? In the morning sometimes the car doesn't want to start since the radio has been playing all night. Also I thought all Chevy's going back to like 2007 had battery rundown protection? And if it were the accessory after key feature wouldn't it happen to power windows also? It does not.

HELP???

Hey TJ,

I apologize for the concerns you have been experiencing with your vehicle. I'm pretty sure spaghetti would have a bad effect on the paint , but please do not hesitate to reach out to me via private message if you need any additional assistance. Always happy to help the best way possible!

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[law242]

i had this problem, it is a sign of one of two things, 1. the battery is going bad and the car does not have enough voltage. 2. there is a small nut that goes off of the positive where the fusible links go. it took me a long time to find it but if it even gets slightly loose basically the car becomes a paper weight. it is the wire that goes to the body control module. mine was slightly loose and if it lost connection my car would become a dud until I re tightened the nut to it. I finally put a lock washer and tightened it to holy heck and it has not come loose since.

in my ending

most likely in your case the battery voltage is low. if you are in warranty go in and have it checked, if not consider a new battery.

 

[tjmajka]

Battery? thanks...but it wasn't.

i had this problem, it is a sign of one of two things, 1. the battery is going bad and the car does not have enough voltage. 2. there is a small nut that goes off of the positive where the fusible links go. it took me a long time to find it but if it even gets slightly loose basically the car becomes a paper weight. it is the wire that goes to the body control module. mine was slightly loose and if it lost connection my car would become a dud until I re tightened the nut to it. I finally put a lock washer and tightened it to holy heck and it has not come loose since.

in my ending

most likely in your case the battery voltage is low. if you are in warranty go in and have it checked, if not consider a new battery.

Since I loose all memory settings every 2 days or so anyway, I had the battery checked and while that was done checked all connections, cables, ETC. Not a voltage/connection issue. Car is flat out haunted!! LOL. Dealer has it again, too bad there are so many miles on her or I'd trade her in!! We'll see what happens. By the way, wifes lil SONIC is tincoat red...very pretty.

 

[JamesMay]

Call a priest

 

[J T]

That's funny, my radio turns off by itself. About once every 20 times I get in my car and start it, the radio has been powered off. Strange, because I never turned it off before turning my car off.

 

[tjmajka]

I like your problem better...

But mine is the one I have. Might have this worked out this time. I'll let you guys know.

 

[$ub$onic]

That's funny, my radio turns off by itself. About once every 20 times I get in my car and start it, the radio has been powered off. Strange, because I never turned it off before turning my car off.

Mine does this randomly also, never really concerned me.

 

[tjmajka]

No Preist needed...

The demons were evidently inside the actual radio, and the new unit is not haunted so problem fixed... And we love our little SONIC again.

 

[J T]

Mine does this randomly also, never really concerned me.

Doesn't concern me either, but it still makes me curious as to what causes it to happen.

 

[tjmajka]

Hey guys...

The accessory after key off module does not manage the radio. It has its own power management built in. The radio was the culprit and replacing it solved the problem. Thank you Chevy Customer Support for helping us through this haunting. The car is all better and the wife, (and me too), now happy with our LIL Turbo Sonic again!!!

 

[pljenkins522]

You are not alone. My 2012 LT Turbo started exhibiting this exact behavior today. Upon quick investigation, it seems the spring behind the volume/power knob is broken or otherwise, umm, broken. In any event, the on-off pushbutton is stuck in contact, which cycles the radio on and off.

So I need to replace the head end unit. My question is, Are all replacement radios from the factory the same? In that, are there separate part numbers for units that have XM built in, or are they all the same? Since this car is out of warranty, I see little value in spending several hundred dollars for a job I can do in 15 minutes by myself in the driveway.

 

[jgrote]

You are not alone. My 2012 LT Turbo started exhibiting this exact behavior today. Upon quick investigation, it seems the spring behind the volume/power knob is broken or otherwise, umm, broken. In any event, the on-off pushbutton is stuck in contact, which cycles the radio on and off.

So I need to replace the head end unit. My question is, Are all replacement radios from the factory the same? In that, are there separate part numbers for units that have XM built in, or are they all the same? Since this car is out of warranty, I see little value in spending several hundred dollars for a job I can do in 15 minutes by myself in the driveway.

Unless you have the Mylink radio, it will probably be cheaper to get an aftermarket radio than buy a a new factory head unit. (Unless you can find one used, which you may be able to do here) Do you have steering wheel controls, xm, or any other such toys?

 

[pljenkins522]

Unless you have the Mylink radio, it will probably be cheaper to get an aftermarket radio than buy a a new factory head unit. (Unless you can find one used, which you may be able to do here) Do you have steering wheel controls, xm, or any other such toys?

I do have the steering wheel controls and XM, as well as bluetooth. I do not have MyLink. I sourced a replacement unit locally for about $110 which seems reasonable. I imagine if I go with an aftermarket I would lose steering wheel control functionality, which would be a buzzkill but not the end of the world, but I would rather avoid changing anything from stock if I don't have to.

Are XM and bluetooth externally interfaced into the radio (other then the XM antenna)?

 

[jgrote]

$110 is a good price. You won't find an aftermarket radio that will keep all functions and be anywhere near that price. When I was younger I always changed out the stock radios in my cars, but the sound that you get with modern car radios (especially GM radios) is really pretty good.

 

[pljenkins522]

I have been happy with the sound and performance of this radio, except for its rather poor handling of bluetooth audio, where it seems to have some sort of "peak clipping" which is hard to explain but basically it lacks dynamic.

In any event, I will pick this radio up on the assumption that it is feature equivalent to my existing unit. I was hoping someone could confirm whether there is only one part number for the radio, but I don't want to wait too long on this and lose the option of picking up this unit.