Radio/electrical issues

Merry Christmas guys, I have a couple of issues with my riv so if anybody reads the thread and thinks he knows what is going on please feel free to post.

It all started yesterday evening when I was at a gas station. I went to pay for gas so I locked the car with the lock button from the inside while i was stepping out of the car and shut the door. When I came back my remote would not open the car, and I noticed the clock on the radio is still on.

Today I changed the battery in the remote and it locks and unlocks the car but there are some things that are not right:

1. radio clock is always on, even when i lock the car, i have to take the fuse out to turn it off. So now I take the fuse out cause I don't know how much power it drains from the battery

2. the interior/exterior lights do not turn on when i unlock the car, they only lit up when i open the door

3. headligts and tail lights would not turn off when i lock the car until i programmed them to turn off immediately, they were set up to stay on for 3 minutes after i lock the car, but now they would not turn off even after 10 minutes after i lock the car.

4. when i lock the car the lights do not flash, only thing you hear is locks locking. the car used to flash the head lights and tail lights when i locked it.

5. I also took out the ABS fuse from the side driver panel because i wanted to turn off the abs and traction control lights (annoying in the dark) but only traction off light is off now, ABS is still on. Anyone knows how to turn of the ABS light too?


It is a 1996 supercharged riv

Do you have a remote start or aftermarket alarm check that first.

no everything is stock

Sounds like a problem with the Retained Accessory Power system. You need to trouble shoot it with the procedures in the factory service manual. Trying to figure out electrical problems in these cars without the FSM is an exercise in futility.

I àgree with Larry, but the first thing I would do is disconnect the battery for a minute and see if by chance things would reset.

Disconnecting the ABS fuse should trigger the ABS warning light, so that's working as expected. I don't think there's a way to 'pull the bulb'. Some black electrical tape over the light will work if you really don't want the ABS.

The radio clock should turn off when you open the driver's door. Does the interior light come on when you open the driver's door? Would indicate something up with the door switch or wiring.

Thanks for all the input people, just wanted to share the resoultion. So this morning I went to the car and the battery was completely drained, no clue why eveerything was off. I jump started the car and drove around a bit to charge the battery, and now everything works fine like it used to, so I guess jbird was on the right track.

The abs light is still on, when my mechanic scanned it it showed wiring/connection issues, he said he would need to download the diagram to know what it is

MarkoRv wrote:

Thanks for all the input people, just wanted to share the resoultion. So this morning I went to the car and the battery was completely drained, no clue why eveerything was off. I jump started the car and drove around a bit to charge the battery, and now everything works fine like it used to, so I guess jbird was on the right track.

The abs light is still on, when my mechanic scanned it it showed wiring/connection issues, he said he would need to download the diagram to know what it is

check the alternator for output and hte battery for quality -- disconnect battery and check the voltage no load. If less than about 12.2 consider replacing. Or have the batt load tested and make sure it kicks out at least 400-450 CCA. If lower than that replace it. If you don't drive the car often consider a battery maintainer. DO NOT use the ones that plug into the cig lighter, they will wack the RAP system -- connect it to the batt directly.

albertj wrote:

MarkoRv wrote:

Thanks for all the input people, just wanted to share the resoultion. So this morning I went to the car and the battery was completely drained, no clue why eveerything was off. I jump started the car and drove around a bit to charge the battery, and now everything works fine like it used to, so I guess jbird was on the right track.

The abs light is still on, when my mechanic scanned it it showed wiring/connection issues, he said he would need to download the diagram to know what it is

check the alternator for output and hte battery for quality -- disconnect battery and check the voltage no load.  If less than about 12.2 consider replacing.  Or have the batt load tested and make sure it kicks out at least 400-450 CCA.  If lower than that replace it. If you don't drive the car often consider a battery maintainer. DO NOT use the ones that plug into the cig lighter, they will wack the RAP system -- connect it to the batt directly.

The battery is new, but I called CAA and they tested it for free the printout came out optimal, everything works great

Still look into the door switch or otherwise an issue with the RAP system. Was your battery dead because the interior lights stayed on? Something drained the battery...

MarkoRv wrote:

albertj wrote:

MarkoRv wrote:

Thanks for all the input people, just wanted to share the resoultion. So this morning I went to the car and the battery was completely drained, no clue why eveerything was off. I jump started the car and drove around a bit to charge the battery, and now everything works fine like it used to, so I guess jbird was on the right track.

The abs light is still on, when my mechanic scanned it it showed wiring/connection issues, he said he would need to download the diagram to know what it is

check the alternator for output and the battery for quality -- disconnect battery and check the voltage no load.  If less than about 12.2 consider replacing.  Or have the batt load tested and make sure it kicks out at least 400-450 CCA.  If lower than that replace it. If you don't drive the car often consider a battery maintainer. DO NOT use the ones that plug into the cig lighter, they will wack the RAP system -- connect it to the batt directly.

The battery is new, but I called CAA and they tested it for free the printout came out optimal, everything works great

OK it will *really* help to have a known good battery of the right high capacity type.  

consider swapping the body computer (under drivers seat) with a known good one.  Might take a while to find one. I think it is GM# 10292317 but dont quote me do your homework. I think you may need to have it flashed with a Tech II to implement the desired behaviors (tilt mirrors, lighting delays, and such).

thinking about it, mine acted up sort of like this many years ago, and all it needed was reflashed.

I'm having a similar issue (radio stays on, unless passenger door opens), but my dome lights go off properly. Thought it was a door switch, but that would mean the dome light should stay on also.