Radio not turning off properly

PCULQUI

MEMBER
1999 BUICK REGAL
3.8L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
120,000 MILES

When turning engine off, radio stays on until I open the door, then it goes off. If I were to leave engine off with doors closed and radio on, will it drain out my battery or will the radio shut off automatically before that happens.
Also, with engine off, if doors are open, the interior lights in the car stay on. How long can I keep the doors open with the interior lights on before the battery drains out.

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi,

This does sound normal. The way to test the radio is to just sit in the car after you shut it off for 5 minutes. It should time out. Normally it is within 2 minutes but your car could vary. As for the lights, they will stay on as long as the door is ajar. This is why there are times when the door ajar switch fails and the lights stay on the battery dies. It should take hours so don't feel like you have to rush to close the doors. Leaving the door open while you empty groceries is no problem. But if you forget to close the door, it will probably be drained by the morning.

Let me know if I answered your questions. Thanks