Hello everyone! I have an Ap1 2002 that has been giving me some trouble lately.

About 2 months ago or so I noticed that when I turned on the car, sometime the temperature control knobs and buttons would not work, and it would also show my abs light on. After driving for a bit (maybe 10 minutes or so) they would start working and the abs light would go off.. it’s doing it more often as of recent.

another thing I noticed was that when I turned the key to the first click, my radio works fine. But when I turned the key to the second click and start the vehicle, my radio turns off and sometimes comes back on right away, but sometimes it takes a while to come back on. I’ve checked all the fuses underneath the dash and they are all ok. Not sure what’s going on.

any input would be greatly appreciated. No other symptoms while driving.

I do have a power acoustic car stereo with the adapter so that the control buttons work with the unit. Wasn’t sure if that is what caused the issue so I swapped back the original one radio but the issue do not go away.

thanks in advanced.

-Renzo

 

Maybe check the ground points under the dash and in the engine compartment (especially the battery ground) for a clean, tight fit.

Are the battery clamps tight and clean?

 

I don't have anything to offer on your issue, but I have also seen odd electrical things in my AP1. Generally everything is fine, but if I have my USB power adaptor in the cigarette lighter outlet thing between the seats, the radio will stay on a few seconds after I take the key out. If said power adapter is not plugged in, the radio cuts immediately with the key removal.

 

The USB adaptor will have some bulk capacitance on its PCBA to manage fast occurring higher power demands and inrush of attached devices. It is likely that back feeding the power circuit until those discharge after power is removed. I can't recall if the head unit switched power is shared with the lighter circuit but either it was stock or maybe you have an aftermarket head unit that is wired to that power feed. That would cause what you are seeing here.

 

To the OP, I would check your grounds as mentioned. These types of odd issues can indeed pop up with a bad ground. Start with those near and around the dash, then move to the underhood grounds to be sure.

Is the head unit wired to the original constant power, switched power and ground that the oem unit was using or is it wired up using different feeds for some reason?

 

ah ok yep, that would make sense!

 

Regarding the radio, i had the same Problem. The radio is switched on when you turn the Key with a Mini relay, under the dashboard, located above the Pedals at the steering column. Mine where light gray clored.
Theres nothing special about it, i bought a high qualitiy one from Panasonic for little money and replaced it in 2 Minutes. Problem solved.
Example:


I agree that the other problems seem to be casued by a ground problem.

 

Seems like it was the relay. I think it’s intermittently failing. I was able to swap it with a different relay located close to the accessory power relay. Thank you all for the input!
I’ll be buying a couple relays to replace. RC-5102 is the pn to the relay.