ignition switched to on, cd player doesn't turn on

[Denno]

Hey all,

The cd player in my car doesn't turn on when the ignition is swtiched to on, it only comes on when the accessories are turned on. I wouldn't be too bothered about it but my dad said that it drains the battery pretty severely so now I would like to know if I can fix it. I have recently had the cd player installed, as some of you may know from a previous post I put up, but ever since I got the car, with the stock head unit, it still would only ever turn on when the accessories where turned on.

I hope everyone is ok with me posting so many questions, I can assure you that this is the last problem I have, for now anyway :P, this is just a great forum, the replies I get are very helpful so please keep it up.

Cheers

Luke

[Shifty1]

you've probably got the wires around the wrong way..

EDIT: or the 12v constant is connected to the acc wire somewhere..

[Pub247]

Do you mean when the car is running its not on the cd player should be on when the key is turned to accessories and when the car is running. it should not stay on when the ignition is off

[yobbo88]

if its a vb-vk (i have a vh and it does this so ill say it applies to all) is if you want the cd player on without the engine on turn the key towards you not the normal way see pic below... does that answer your question?

[Denno]

Yeh my car is a VK, but I tried to do the thing with turning the key backwards, doesn't work. I can't turn the key any further back.

When the car is running it works fine. I'm sure you all know this but I will say it anyway. There are 3 stages in the ignition, the first one is the On, which should turn on the cd player, the second is the accessories, which turns on lights and other stuff, and the 3rd is to start the car.

whitevc: yeah it might be that, is that hard to fix up?

[yobbo88]

weird i have 3 clicks as well but like you the first one does nothing for me... but i can spin the key back, i have been broken into and they tried to start it and hacked away at my iginition barrel so maybe i have damage from that... do you lose memory when you turn the car off? if the constant is connected to an acc wire then you couldnt keep presets... check the wires behind the barrel and see if the first position has any wire connected. i havent seen in a barrel before but logically thats how it would be set up

[9C1pack]

To get my VB ignition to go back to Accessories I have to turn it backwards while jiggling the key in the lock.

[yobbo88]

there you go give your key a jiggle. from what ive seen vb-vk are all so similar i dont see why this would be any different

[Goon]

Sometimes ur move ur key to far fwd, try moving it back 1mm if u start ur car and it doesnt turn on try the samething.

my player setup

- yellow, battery
- red , 12v in fusebox
- black, negative

ps. depending on ur speakers with ur player, while ur car isnt running, it will drain quick.

[SoulGrind]

well, what you have to do is push the key in as you turn it backwards towards yourself.

So, Push in, Then turn towards yourself. Cheers.

[jake87]

my vh turns back towards me but my cousins VH doesnt. So yeah the ignition barel could be a bit damaged.

[nizmovk]

the key jiggle works for me, sorta push in and turn back/jiggle... the other option is if you sterio has a turn off option(usually the source button), splice yellow/red together and join to battery feed.... the only pitfall can be that you have to turn it off/on manually every time. But also means you can have it on with no other acc.

[Denno]

Hey all,

I finally remembered to check if turning the key back while jiggling it would work, and to my surprise it did!

Thanks heaps for the tips,

Luke

[VKStevo]

yes, when u put in the key, it is in the lock position, that's when the steering wheel locks and everything is off, the first click is off, which is the same as lock but the steering wheel doesnt lock, the next is on, this is where the normal positions for the car when it is running, absolutely everything is on at this stage, then of course u have start after that, to get to acc as pointed out before u have to turn the key backwards from lock position, often having to push it in a little bit to get it to turn back

im guessing where u thought was acc was in the off position only, then of course the cd player wont work, i hope this clears up any misunderstandings

[Denno]

yeh cheers VKStevo, that clears it up very well.

[Goon]

If you wanna use your player while your working on your ride with the player on "engine off", just connect a battery charger up

[VKStevo]

does the battery charger have 2 be more powerfull so that it doesnt still lose power?

[Goon]

It wil just kepp your current volts at the level or maybe .1 volt higher or less "digital muilitmeter will show its status"

but remember u cant keep your player on 24/7 as it gets hot due to the hot wire going to the battery. "im installing PC cooling fans soon to fight this, keep cool but not burning hot"

[grassy]

My VH did the same thing, real pain in the bum, may need to get auto electrician to change the wiring