65Z01

I've been experiencing occasional dead battery since I got the '88 a month ago. Just tonight I noticed that the clock display stays On when Ign and all other lights are Off.

Is this normal or is it a bug in the Bose radio??

BSenzina

I have an 84. When I got it, the clock display turned off with the ignition. I have since replaced the BOSE because the antenna went up and down at will, .......and the sound quality was not very good comapred to the new systems... If you dont want to spend the money to get a new system.....which means new speakers too, because the volume level will BLAST YOU OUT of the car if you dont change the speakers.....something to do with the power.....I would suggest just getting a battery tender to hook up when its parked.

crzydrumer14

clock should go off when you open your door i believe

65Z01

After reading in the FSM I see that the clock should go Off with the headlight switch. It does not so, as a temp "fix", I've pulled the CLK/CTSY fuse while she's parked.

j3studio

Bad door sensor?

Are all the other interior lights going off correctly?

65Z01

Yes, courtesy lights go off ~20sec afer leaving and closing the door.
Dash lights & mirror lights work properly with switched ign.

I just checked my '88 IROC-Z (has same Bose radio as the Vette) and all radio displays are Off with ign.

I'm wondering if maybe I have a faulty headlight sw???

1986coupe

Check to see if the radio was put in properly. If someone put a bose back in, replacing an aftermarket stereo, it is possible that they didn't connect the wires properly.

Speaking from experience. My car had some POS stereo in it. I put a bose back in but since the wires were cut in the car I did have some trial and error getting it connected properly.

Voxego

Just wondering if the clock being lit would drain the battery. It normally draws power, the only thing different is the LEDs...

65Z01

I see it must draw a bit to power the RAM that retains time & stations presets but don't think that would drain the battery over a short time.

rcle1220

Yes, in time mine kills the battery. About ready to just eliminate the radio. It sounds crappy anyway.

65Z01

It's a 35th Anni with low mileage, perfect paint & interior so I want to keep all OEM.

I got sidetracked with coolant system problems on the '88 IROC-Z; finally I can get back to wringing out the radio display on the Vette...

Dans 85

The clock display should absolutely shut off with the key turned to off and door is opened. If the door switch is bad your windows will still be operative (easy check) after the ign key is shut off.

otherwise...

1. Pull the radio. If the wiring has been messed with it will be easy to spot and make the proper repair.

There are only two wires that power the radio. It would sound as these are reversed but who knows.

2. If you dont have one, spend a few bucks and get a simple test light.

Oarnge wire on two wire plug should be hot at all times (ctsy fuse)
Yellow wire on black plug is switched accessory (radio fuse)

Test these wires, if they check out then the radio is toast and needs repair or replacement.

That's all there is to it.

Regards,

rcle1220

Thanks very much. I'll give this a try.

Mr Mojo

Did you buy another car Jim? Still have the other one?

65Z01

Hi Frank; how are you doing. Still have that damn time slip...

The prior 35th Anni was hit in Dec. and "totalled out" early this year for enough $$ to purchase this (relatively) low mileage one. Now my handle should really be 658Z01 but I'm keeping the original one...

Of course with the low price came a bucket of "fun" fixing all the little things. Current on the list is this pesky power leak issue. I have new inner & outer window sweeps ready to go in but this electrical issue is higher priority.

rcle1220

I also bought an 88 last month with the exact same problem. It does drain the battery after a few days so I bought a Battery Tender to use until I figure this out.

Another thing I noticed is that I pulled the clock/courtesy light fuse to prevent battery drain but somehow it also kills the A/C and heater doing it. I'm totally a novice so I'm lost as to what to do.

I think I'm going to start by having a new radio installed and see what happens because it seems all the problems stem from the Bose Delco radio.

If anyone has some good advice on this I'd so much appreciate it before I spend a ton of money I can't afford.

Cruisinfanatic

not likely the problem is just because there is a bose in the car. Someone screwed up the wiring to it

rcle1220

I'm going to take it to a stereo guy I've used for years and have him check it out. I'll re-post after he fixes it and tell you what he found. It'll be next week though because today it's going for some paint work.

rcle1220

I had the same problem. IMO it's a defective radio not worth fixing. I used a battery tender for a while but finally decided to pull the radio and replace it. I found a Bose Camaro Z28 radio with a CD player fits quite well and can be purchased on ebay for around $250. It was either that or go new after market and also change all the speakers which I didn't want to get into. Sounds good enough for me.

Juan Cobas

I had the same problem with my 1996 Corvette with a Bose Radio. I had been doing a lot of work and had disconnected the battery and in fact installed a new battery. Turns out it was a Simple Fix. I removed the fuse that said RDO Btt and put in back in. The radio reset itself and the clock light goes off when I open the door.