No, my truck is not haunted...or...why my stereo comes on when battery disconnected

scott.475 · 11-12-2004, 03:08 PM

This is a funny story...funny for you all, not for me. It is kind of long, but be patient, you all should enjoy it.

A few months ago I pulled my starter out to replace the contacts. As safety requires, I pulled the negative terminal to my battery and went to work. We lived near a busy road and near a flight path to Seatac airport at the time, so at first I did not notice the music from the neighbors house. As I worked an listened more I realized that it was the same station I listen to, which was funny, because I never knew them to like that kind of music. A few minutes later I walked past my opened driver's door and realized the music was coming from my truck! I went back to the battery to make sure the negative was not contacting the terminal...all was good. Sheepishly, and totally confused, I reached in and turned off the stereo, which should have been off anyway. I started having visions of little gremlins living in my truck. I finished the project and went on with my life, never hearing a good explanation for the haunted stereo. Maybe we lived on an old Indian burial ground?

We moved a few months later. Yesterday I went to work on the truck, getting it prepped for tomorrow's trip to Tahuya. I disconnected the battery to remove it and replace it with a new one. I disconnected all connections to the battery and guess what? Yep, the stereo came on. I don't know if I can sufficiently explain just how stup and utterly confused I felt, standing there looking at a completely disconnected battery while listening to my stereo play music. I pulled the battery from the engine compartment and the stereo stopped...the gremlins apparently live in the battery, maybe they like the warmth or something.

I put the new battery in and, as I started to tighten the hold-down, everything came into focus! I use a top/side post battery. As the hold-down on my '91 is tighten down, the is a small barcket on it that bredges between the two side terminals, carrying a charge down the long j-shaped bolt and into the body of the truck! Ureka! Scott Richter-Super Genius! (Well, not really, but I felt pretty good about figuring this out!)

Moral: If you are having battery drain problems or your stereo turns on when it shouldn't, check your battery hold down to make sure it isn't bridging between the terminals!

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***midiwall*** · 11-12-2004, 04:08 PM

NICE! You're lucky the positive side didn't short out... Wow that woulda' been bad!

Kyota · 11-12-2004, 05:10 PM

Have any rackets mysteriously stick to the body panels??? Haha

11-12-2004, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
*midiwall* Sponsoring Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Seattleish, WA Posts: 9,078	NICE! You're lucky the positive side didn't short out... Wow that woulda' been bad! __________________ ~ Mark '96 4Runner Limited S/C MI - 370cc injectors, Air! horns, Airaid MIT, ATS A-arms, 285/75/R16 BFG MTs, Bored TB, Brembo slotted, Cobra 75 WXST, Deckplate, Downey headers, Hayden cooler, IPT valve body, Level 10 torque convertor, Meanstreak exhaust, OME/OME rears, On-board PC (XM, Nav, WiFi, etc), Port 'n Polish, Remote Start, SAW fronts, Hilux console, SMT-5, Stubb's sliders, Supra MAF, TJM-17, 2.0" pulley, Viair 450c, Walbro 190, Weasy2k cams

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11-12-2004, 05:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
Kyota Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 38	Have any rackets mysteriously stick to the body panels??? Haha