I bought a 1993 240 with an aftermarket stereo installed. When the ignition is turned off, the radio loses it's presets. So, when you restart the car, the radio defaults to some (non) station and all the presets are lost. It seems to me that the aftermarket radio must rely on a very small about of battery power to run the clock and maintain the settings while the car is off. Perhaps the original Volvo radios did not require any power.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Bob

Although I'd guess that your radio is incorrectly hooked up, I'm *pretty* sure that the OE AM/FM radio/tape player that came in my 1989 240 GL would reset itself if left off over the course of a few days. I have several memories of riding home in the backseat from the airport after a weekend trip and watching my parents having to set all of the presets again.

I'm pretty sure that this problem was eliminated when we replaced the radio with a CD player in 1995, and the Alpine receiver I replaced *that* with a few years ago has worked fine too.
--
'89 244 GL--25/22 ipd sways, Volvo truck amber turn signal lenses

Radio was incorrectly wired. They had the 12V constant power hooked up to the 12V switched line.

Closest place for a power tap ... take it off the glove box light.

-- Kane
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

I sent Kane the following e-mail to his earlier post:

Kane,

You were very helpful in your response to my radio question. I took your advice and tapped into the glove box light. The radio had a wire reference table and there was a red wire for "ignition" and a yellow wire for "battery". For what it's worth, the yellow wire was connected to a small fuse box. I disconnected the yellow wire from its source and connected it to the glove box light wire. Now what I have is an "always on" radio. I can turn it on without turning on the ignition. The power antennae goes up and everything. I am now wondering if I should have kept the yellow (battery) wire connected to its source and routed the red (ignition) wire to the glove box light wire. My problem is "fixed" but I am a little concerned because the green LED light on the radio now is on all the time. Of course, the radio can (and will) be turned off, but the LED display show the clock. I can't imaging this would drain my battery, but I am thinking that the LED display is supposed to go off with the ignition.

Any thoughts appeciated.

That is correct - it should turn off when the ignition is off. So all this can only mean one thing ...

The original installer had the wires mixed. The red (switched) wire is on a constant circuit. And the yellow (memory) wire was on a switched circuit.

Now that the yellow is on the constant circuit (correct), connect the red to a switched circuit. The cigarette lighter circuit works.

-- Kane
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40