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Radio won't turn off

68K views 59 replies 19 participants last post by  chryguy89 
#1 ·
So a couple of days ago when I would turn my truck off and open the door the radio would stay on. I could lock the doors with my keyless entry and come back later and it would still be on. When it was raining the wipers would still go even though the truck was off. Any suggestions on what it might be and/or how to fix it?

Also have that hood rattle. Is it the most common fix the bolts on the hood or an adjustment on the hood release?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
:welcome to cfans

Sounds like you have what I just had in my truck. Mine was caused by a faulty scangauge that was connected to the OBD2 port. It kept the Retained Accessory Power (RAP) on. Once it was unplugged from the OBD2 port, everything shut off.

Did you install anything recently or have something plugged into the OBD2 port?
 
#12 ·
If the radio used to turn off but now it doesn't then you have a short either in the wiring or in the radio itself.
If you are well-known about automotive electrical wiring and have a volt meter or test light you can troubleshoot it yourself to see where the fault is, if not you need to take it to a garage.
 
#13 ·
Drifter132 said:
So a couple of days ago when I would turn my truck off and open the door the radio would stay on. I could lock the doors with my keyless entry and come back later and it would still be on. When it was raining the wipers would still go even though the truck was off. Any suggestions on what it might be and/or how to fix it?

Also have that hood rattle. Is it the most common fix the bolts on the hood or an adjustment on the hood release?

Thanks
Did you ever try to open any one of the other doors on the truck, besides yours, and see if the RAP cuts out?
 
#15 ·
I know things are little different north of the border but I just had a problem with my door alert coming on and the inability to lock my doors with the keyless entry.Was told it was the bcm. 780$ cdn for a new one, one hour install included. I have 75kms on my truck or about 46k miles.Not under warranty. When a new one was put it it didn't work, it was faulty. Not sure if that is whats causing your problem or not but there does seem to be an issue with the bcm. I was told it was a sealed unit that controled a multitude of functions. so if one thing goes the whole unit needs to be replaced. Made in Ch*na i am guessing. I heard you can get a free gas pedal with the purchase, sorry Toyota owners. .I also had a hood rattle, sounded like it came from the wiper area on the driver side. It turned out to be a loose bracket or something in the post colum on the drivers side. Some adhesive fixed that problem. They also replaced a hood hinge bracket but that didn't fix the issue, even though they said it was worn.

I am passionate about my trucks but really have no technical brains at all but thought i would share what info i did have.
Good luck
 
#16 ·
Drifter132 said:
So a couple of days ago when I would turn my truck off and open the door the radio would stay on. I could lock the doors with my keyless entry and come back later and it would still be on. When it was raining the wipers would still go even though the truck was off. Any suggestions on what it might be and/or how to fix it?

Also have that hood rattle. Is it the most common fix the bolts on the hood or an adjustment on the hood release?

Thanks

Maybe it is on faulty wiring or something. You can get some professional help. Person who knowledge and how to handles radio of an auto/cars.

@curt - The radio is being possessed need for excorsism. :lol:
 
#18 ·
So not only do I have the radio issue but now I have to replace my PCM. Driving home from work yesterday the engine would just turn off, "Traction Fault, reduced power" would come up on the display. I would wait a minute or two and I could start it right back up. It did this about 5 times, so much fun especially on the 5 in LA during rush hour. Took it to the dealership, they tested it and yup $700 to get it fixed. Maybe it will fix the radio/BCM problem as well. Told the dealer about that as well and he said it sounded like a bad BCM. Two computers going down at the same time, wtf. I cam going to live with the bad BCM, cause I can't afford to fix both.
 
#20 ·
The radio is turned off by a command sent over the serial data bus. The function is called Retained Accessory Power or RAP. So here are three possibilities.

1. An intermittent door switch. If the switch is the problem you should also see a problem with the interior lights. The door switches do NOT directly power the door lights. They send a signal to the BCM and the BCM turns off the interior lights At the same time the BCM (if the key is off) also generates the message and sends it to the radio to shut down.

2. A bad BCM. I would pull all power to the truck by disconnecting one battery lead and let the BCM reset. I do not know how long it takes. I usually wait for about 30 minutes. I'm sure it can be done in less time. If a new BCM is required you can get one from GM-direct.com or from Rockauto.com. If I remember correctly the BCM was around 127.00 plus shipping from Rockauto. The problem is you then need to install it and take it to a dealer to be reconfigured. They will probably charge you for 1 hour service time.

3. A bad radio. The radio needs to interpret the data coming from the BCM and shut itself off. If it is not doing it correctly then it will fail to shut off. It also could be a loose connector on the back of the radio. You might pull and replug the connectors on the radio. I really doubt this is the problem because the radio will not power up if the serial data line is screwed up.

I do not think it is the ignition switch. If it was then other things the BCM controls like the heater fan should also fail to shutoff when you turn off the key. Does the heater fan turn off when you turn off the key?

One other thing on the RAP is the windshield wipers. Do the windshield wipers continue to run with the key off and the door opened?


I vote for door switches being the problem.
 
#21 ·
Drifter132 said:
So not only do I have the radio issue but now I have to replace my PCM. Driving home from work yesterday the engine would just turn off, "Traction Fault, reduced power" would come up on the display. I would wait a minute or two and I could start it right back up. It did this about 5 times, so much fun especially on the 5 in LA during rush hour. Took it to the dealership, they tested it and yup $700 to get it fixed. Maybe it will fix the radio/BCM problem as well. Told the dealer about that as well and he said it sounded like a bad BCM. Two computers going down at the same time, wtf. I cam going to live with the bad BCM, cause I can't afford to fix both.
Strange they both would fail. I would start by checking some grounds. There is a body ground right off of the battery cable. It terminates next to the battery on the rear side of the battery. Start by cleaning it. Remove the 10mm head bolt. Clean the body area (including removing a little paint) where the bolt was removed from. Clean the removed cable end with a wire brush or sand paper until it is slightly shiny. Put some anti-oxidation grease on the body, the cable end, and the bolt. Then reassemble the whole thing. Anti-ox grease is available in the electrical department of Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards for around $5.00.

After that there are two ground bolts one of each inside fender. The passenger side is horizontal dead center of the air cleaner housing. (you might have to remove the top of the air cleaner box to work on this bolt. The left one is in a similar place on the driver's side. The bolts mount a 2" or so black box called a splice pack. Remove those bolts, clean and lube in the same manner as battery cable above and reassemble. I have never pulled that black box apart but it is a group terminals for grounds. You will see multiple black wires going in the bottom of the box. You could also have a loose or corroded connection inside the box.

Reset both computers when you are done by disconnecting the battery. Actually I would disconnect the battery first before you start cleaning grounds and then just hook it up again when you are done.

This is just a guess, but two failures at the same has me thinking this could be your problem. I did not look up where the PCM and BCM get their grounds. If necessary, I'll go try to dig that information out of the schematics for you.
 
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