Anyone else's radio killing their battery??????

MiamiSilverado1500 · June 9, 2017

My radio has been giving me issues lately. I have the basic 4in non-touch screen. It'll come on but there will be no sound whatsoever. When these issues happen my battery is later depleted to the point of having to jump start it. I have a 2015 with 55+k miles on it.

I've been planning on upgrading my sound system to a new head unit with new door speakers and maybe a small sub and amp, nothing crazy. Also planning on adding a light bar and train horn with tire air hose.

I've thought about upgrading my battery to an optima and even considered adding a second battery with the big 3 ground kit and an upgraded alternator from mechman.com or some other reputable distributor.

This is the 2nd time my battery has died on me. I have a solar panel on my dash I got from ebay that I keep plugged in. Since I added that things got better, the battery was showing a higher rating every crank. But the other day I had an issue with my radio again and my battery died again. Granted it's been really cloudy with bad all around weather so I'm sure the charge hasn't been that great as it would be on a more sunny day. So the issue I believe with my radio is that it must be staying on even though I don't hear it playing after I get out of the truck.

Also quick question.... If the radio is completely turned off and if the bluetooth to my cell is on, shouldn't the bluetooth of the radio be off as well?? The radio was off completely, I got a call while the bluetooth was activated on my cell and the call came through the radio. Is that normal???

It's Tim · June 9, 2017

MiamiSilverado1500 · June 9, 2017

Thank you, I will look into this immediately.

MiamiSilverado1500 · June 9, 2017

Upgraded my battery but still going to run a test if there's any parasitic loss regardless.

Justin101714 · June 11, 2017

Remove the negative battery cable and leave it off for 15 mins. I've had this happen to some trucks I've worked on and GM considered this a software anomaly. Some capacitors don't relieve electricity keeping them on while the vehicle is off. The fix.....remove the negative cable for 15 mins. I also remove the radio fuse at the same time. Let the capacitors discharge, hook it all back up. It should be good to go

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MiamiSilverado1500 · June 12, 2017

Remove the negative battery cable and leave it off for 15 mins. I've had this happen to some trucks I've worked on and GM considered this a software anomaly. Some capacitors don't relieve electricity keeping them on while the vehicle is off. The fix.....remove the negative cable for 15 mins. I also remove the radio fuse at the same time. Let the capacitors discharge, hook it all back up. It should be good to go

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Thank you I will try that. I noticed that after removing the negative cable from the battery it accidentally touched a support bar that crosses over the battery and it sparked. I waited about a minute and touched it again with no spark action so it was safe to say the charge had left the cable by that point.

Justin101714 · June 12, 2017

Thank you I will try that. I noticed that after removing the negative cable from the battery it accidentally touched a support bar that crosses over the battery and it sparked. I waited about a minute and touched it again with no spark action so it was safe to say the charge had left the cable by that point.

Yea that'll happen sometimes. Re-evaluate and let us know.

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jbreeds09 · June 12, 2017

I had this happen Friday. Went to lunch with some coworkers and the radio didn't work. Well, no sounds actually came through the speakers. Radio would still tune to XM, FM, Bluetooth, etc. and the screen functioned normally but backup alarms, blinker tones, and music were non-existent. Went back to work hoping it was just a glitch that would have gone away by the time I left at the end of the day but instead the batter was completely dead. Took it to the dealer was informed I had a bad cell and diagnostic tool read zero cranking amps. Battery was replaced under warranty but I've only had the truck back for a day. I'll wait to see if the issue repeats.

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MiamiSilverado1500 · June 12, 2017

I had this happen Friday. Went to lunch with some coworkers and the radio didn't work. Well, no sounds actually came through the speakers. Radio would still tune to XM, FM, Bluetooth, etc. and the screen functioned normally but backup alarms, blinker tones, and music were non-existent. Went back to work hoping it was just a glitch that would have gone away by the time I left at the end of the day but instead the batter was completely dead. Took it to the dealer was informed I had a bad cell and diagnostic tool read zero cranking amps. Battery was replaced under warranty but I've only had the truck back for a day. I'll wait to see if the issue repeats.

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Sounds like what happened to me. I replaced my battery with a 3yr warranty.