Permenant Accessory Mode (wtf?)

Twizzler09 · Sep 6, 2008

As the title says, my truck is in a constant state of "Accessory".

When I shut the truck off, the audio/stereo stays on, and so does my aftermarket tach.

The dashboard itself shuts down, etc.... but not the stereo. (I would just hit the off button, but that hasnt worked in ages either...)

So far I have replaced the following items

Tumbler (which need replaced anyway):

Ignition Control Switch:

Neither of which has had any effect on the problem, besides draining my wallet of $35 I coulda used elsewhere.

Any ideas on what could be causing this? Thanks guys :icon_thumby:

AngryLepercon · Sep 6, 2008

somewhere in the wiring direct from the battery i would say im prob wrong

Twizzler09 · Sep 6, 2008

Is there some kind of truckwide power on/off solenoid or something?

Ranger SVO · Sep 6, 2008

Everytime I've encountered a problem like this, it been related to some aftermarket install. Is your radio an aftermarket radio?? Both an accessory wire and a constant wire is located behind the radio. I've seen a couple of installs where those wires were shorted together.

Your aftermarket tach, does it have both a constant wire and accessory wire? It is very unlikely that any factory equipment is causing your problem.

Twizzler09 · Sep 6, 2008

The stereo is still the factory AM/FM/Tape deck.... I havent changed it. It works well enough for me.

The Tach has Black/White/Red/Green wires.... Black is ground (connected to the negative terminal on the battery), White is the "light switch" so to speak, Red is positive power, Green is Tach input.

I have Red/White spliced together and attached to the fuse in position 20 (maybe 24...its labeled in the owner's manual as something to do with the Audio....but the audio's power comes from a different fuse) in the instrument panel fuse box.

Green is spliced into the tan/yellow wire from pin 48 on the 104-pin connector off the computer.

Personally I dont think its the tach, it worked fine like this for several days, then it all went nuts all at once, lol. I'm not ruling it out though....I just want this fixed.

AngryLepercon · Sep 6, 2008

maybe wires got hot after a few days and like "rangerSVO" said shorted together.

Twizzler09 · Sep 6, 2008

So how would I go about checking for something like that?

I'm still a noob at vehicle electronics, in case you hadn't noticed =p

What gets me is, I can have the truck shut off completely, key out of it and everything for hours....come back and plug in the fuse for the audio system and it powers right up, without having to do anything else.

Wouldnt a short cause it to not come on at all? /shrug

AngryLepercon · Sep 6, 2008

Twizzler09 said:
So how would I go about checking for something like that?

I'm still a noob at vehicle electronics, in case you hadn't noticed =p

What gets me is, I can have the truck shut off completely, key out of it and everything for hours....come back and plug in the fuse for the audio system and it powers right up, without having to do anything else.

Wouldnt a short cause it to not come on at all? /shrug

well unless its a few wires in your harness that are not stopping the juice from the battery to certain accesories. have u had any problems with your voltage gauge

RobbieD · Sep 6, 2008

Some thoughts that might help, but understand that I'm not good with post-'94 trucks, and I don't have any tech lit for anything newer than '94. I think that '95 and up trucks might have had retained accessory power, or "RAP". If so, in your case the module controlling that would be suspect. If this might be the problem, I don't know if this function would be in the GEM (Generic Electric Module), or if a separate RAP module was used. Again, it's only something that you might want to look into regarding your problem; on the newer stuff I'm dumber than a box of rocks.

Twizzler09 · Sep 7, 2008

Voltage gauge reads fine, hasnt changed in over a year and a half now.

RobbieD, thanks for the suggestion. I'll check into it.

Ranger SVO · Sep 8, 2008

Twizzler09 said:
So how would I go about checking for something like that?

Wouldnt a short cause it to not come on at all? /shrug

Not necessarily.

Here is how I would start to look for the problem. Pull the radio but leave it pulled in.

You will need a Volt Meter, at the ignition switch check any yellow wire, ensure that you have 12-volts there (we're testing the meter). Now that we are sure the meter works (ignition switch is off), check for voltage on Ignition 1 wire (Light Green/Purple), there should be none. Now check for voltage on Ignition 2 and 3 (both are Gray/Yellow). Again there should be no voltage. Finally lets check the Accessory wire, it should be Black/Light Green. It should have no voltage. If there is 12-volts let me know.

Lets make two more tests, behind the radio is a Green/Purple wire, it should read 12-volts. The ignition switch is still off. Now test the yellow/black wire, there should be no voltage on this wire. If there is let me know. (the radio should be plugged in)

I'm assuming your truck is a '96

Twizzler09 · Sep 9, 2008

It is a '96.

I'll write your instructions down, and take my truck to work with me tomorrow, gonna give it an oil change... might as well check it while I have acess to all my tools.

Permenant Accessory Mode (wtf?)

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

New Member

Active Member

New Member

2.9l Mafia

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Member & Vendor Upgrades

Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Amazon Deals