Fixing OFF position on 8500

[ejames7]

Only downside to my newly purchased 8500 is that the OFF switch doesnt work. When I take the volume as low as I can it hits that 'click' but then resets and comes on real quiet.

Thing is I have a German car so my cig lighter always has power so if I forgot to turn it off it may drain my battery. I am not too worried since most days I take it down and put it in a case but was wondering if there was a way to fix it.

Thanks,

[Super Dave]

#1 If you just bought it and it is having problems I would exchange it - you dont want that volume wheel breaking further down the road.

A RD would typically have to be on with the car off for a VERY long time to run your battery down -like your car would have to be off for months and months so I wouldn't really worry about that. I'd be more worried about a thief seeing it on at night...

You could hardwire it to a fuse that comes on and off w/ the car and solve that problem, but still I would send it back if you are already having problems.

And welcome to the forum!

[ejames7]

Thanks!

I got her used and thats what brought down the price . Gotta love STL craigslist! It sold less than 12 hours after being posted.

Oh, wow, I didnt realize it would take that long to kill the battery! I guess on short trips I will just leave it on. I hate turning it on and off so many times.

That is one of the reasons I take it down, youre right. I was emailing a girl who works with my aunt and she has a V1 and said her husband left the car unlocked once and it got yanked so she had to get another one. I see people on my campus leave theirs in the window and feel uneasy. I think one day I will hard wire it in to something in the moonrood area. I may upgrade to the X50 while the discount is still good so I might wait until then to do so.

We shall see!

[Super Dave]

Well I can tell you a hardwire definetly looks better (stealthier) and you can get a basic Escort direct wire for about $10 online. I got mine off *Bay. Pretty long wire too so no matter where you mount, it will reach. Simple to hook up - if you need directions on how to do that just ask!

[ejames7]

Cool cool! Where did you wire it too?

I saw the hardwire on their site and it mentioned running it to the fuse box which is actually what I would prefer. I am not too big a fan of splicing wires and I have done it before and always feel guilty! I am afraid the wires will get corroded and mess up. Then comes the fun!

[MEM-TEK]

...A RD would typically have to be on with the car off for a VERY long time to run your battery down -like your car would have to be off for months and months so I wouldn't really worry about that. I'd be more worried about a thief seeing it on at night...

Average RD draws less than 1 amp. Yet lets assume that the RD draws 1 amp. 80 hours at 1 amp would either completely drain your average car battery or drain it enough that you likely would not be able to start your car. Thus a RD left on could drain a car battery in just 3 or 4 days.

[Super Dave]

Cool cool! Where did you wire it too?

Just tuck the wire in and run it down the "A" pillar to the fuse box. connect the power wire to the fuse box and the ground wire to a screw attached to the metal frame somewhere. Again the wire is only $10 so if you mess it up...just dont switch the + and - or you WILL fry something...

Average RD draws less than 1 amp. Yet lets assume that the RD draws 1 amp. 80 hours at 1 amp would either completely drain your average car battery or drain it enough that you likely would not be able to start your car. Thus a RD left on could drain a car battery in just 3 or 4 days.

Not disputing you MEM-TEK but I used to a long time ago have a wired RD that wouldn't turn off and it never drained my battery. I probably never left the car sitting for 4 days but...I don't really know I'm not an expert in that area at all.

[ahmadr]

...A RD would typically have to be on with the car off for a VERY long time to run your battery down -like your car would have to be off for months and months so I wouldn't really worry about that. I'd be more worried about a thief seeing it on at night...

Average RD draws less than 1 amp. Yet lets assume that the RD draws 1 amp. 80 hours at 1 amp would either completely drain your average car battery or drain it enough that you likely would not be able to start your car. Thus a RD left on could drain a car battery in just 3 or 4 days.

The average car battery is much less than 80Ah. It may be half of that. And you want some juce to start the car.
Then again, the average RD doesn't consume close to 1A either!

[MEM-TEK]

...A RD would typically have to be on with the car off for a VERY long time to run your battery down -like your car would have to be off for months and months so I wouldn't really worry about that. I'd be more worried about a thief seeing it on at night...

Average RD draws less than 1 amp. Yet lets assume that the RD draws 1 amp. 80 hours at 1 amp would either completely drain your average car battery or drain it enough that you likely would not be able to start your car. Thus a RD left on could drain a car battery in just 3 or 4 days.

The average car battery is much less than 80Ah. It may be half of that. And you want some juce to start the car.
Then again, the average RD doesn't consume close to 1A either!

Average RD draws about 1/2 amp. A typical car battery is around 45 to 50 amp-hours. Thus my math works out pretty good -- approximately 4 days for the average radar detector to drain the average car battery.