Vernon B Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Having bought a Mercedes m/h I’ve found I can’t use the “car” radio when parked up with the ignition off. I know this isn’t an unusual occurrence and various posts have sought advice and solutions for Peugeot vehicles amongst others. My reason for raising the topic again is, I think, slightly different. My question is simply that as the radio functions when the ignition switch is in Position 1 is it ok for me to operate it for long periods from that power source when parked up? Unfortunately, apart from saying that Position 1 unlocks the steering lock and switches on some functions, the handbook doesn’t explain why this initial step in the ignition sequence exists. Does it, as I hope, only switch on power to those ancillaries that would not be damaged from a continuous current? I realize of course that using the radio in this way could drain the battery unless it was under charge. V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Vernon B Position 1 of an ignition switch is for ancillary use, that is, it is intended to power those items which can be run safely without the engine running. The answer to your question is that it is quite safe to run your radio off position 1, just check what other devices can draw power under these conditions (e.g. possibly the ventilation fan) and make sure that you switch them off, so as to avoid running down the starter battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 It's easy to re-wire the radio to either by-pass the ignition switch or to the leisure battery. I would wire it to the leisure battery (that way you avoid any problems with the can bus system). You will need to wire both the main feed & memory back up feed to a permanently live circuit if you want to use the radio when driving with the control panel switched off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Hi Vernon, I would go with Lenny's suggestion of rewiring both radio feeds to the leisure battery. That way you will never risk flattening your engine battery. The radio in our Mercedes was wired by AT to run off the leisure battery exactly as suggested. The only down side is that you have to switch it on and off yourself but that's hardly an inconvenience compared to having to leave the keys in the ignition at the moment or risk a flat battery and non-starter! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuwsmith Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 When you have your "car" radio working at a volume that you can comfortably listen to from the habitation part of your van have you gone outside to check the volume that any other nearby campers will be hearing it at? I ask because I have had several campers parked in the next "plot" to me who when using their cab radio were unaware of the volume level outside the van. With speakers sometimes mounted on dashboards or in doors noise levels travel quite easily through windscreen or door, far easier than they travel in to the habitation part of a van where curtains, soft furnishing etc tends to absorb sound. I purchased a small portable digital radio, it works great in the van and no worries about flattening the van battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 The cab radio/cd player in our Knaus Traveller is a Blaupunkt. It can be played through speakers both in the cab and living quarters but can also be silenced in one or other. So when we are not travelling the cab speakers are turned off so as not to disturb others. It also works with the ignition off and can be turned on or off from within the living space. I think we have been lucky! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernon B Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 spospe - 2009-12-08 10:28 PM Vernon B Position 1 of an ignition switch is for ancillary use, that is, it is intended to power those items which can be run safely without the engine running. The answer to your question is that it is quite safe to run your radio off position 1, just check what other devices can draw power under these conditions (e.g. possibly the ventilation fan) and make sure that you switch them off, so as to avoid running down the starter battery. Thanks for this and the other observations - problem solved V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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