I have a sirius satellite radio in my car that is an FM transmitter. I never turn that or the regular stock radio off. When I turn the car on, it all comes on. Is this bad for the car by putting strain on it? Whats recommended?

 

bump...

 

Someone help me out here - is it best to turn off the 2 radio systems before turning off the car for future startup purposes?? or can I keep turning it on and off without shutting the sirius reciever and the stock headunit?

 

im sure it will not effect ur car having the radio powered on, im sure everyone leaves thier radios on

 

yep, well thats what i'm asking...and for anyone who is a mechanic or real knowledgable about cars, I just want to make sure that i'm not putting too much wear and tear on my battery and alternator

 

yea, i leave my stock radio on same with my headlights. no problems unless the sirius transmitter is still on while the car is off and using up the battery

 

Nah, I have the sirius hooked up directly to the alternator so it turns on and off with the car. But yea, it seems that most people just leave it on...I was told way back in drivers ed that it was a bad idea - I kinda just believed it blindly, thats why i'm asking here!

 

i think the ac would probably have the biggest strain on startup, and even then its not much...

 

Yeah, your radio doesn't take much juice. You're good.

 

Awesome, thanks guys! easier this way - ill never have to turn off the stock radio nor the satellite

 

you don't have to turn anything off, your car turns off the accessories at start up. you have your XM unit hooked up directly to the alt.? thats not a very good idea, that will send unbuffered voltage spikes to it, same thing as when people say you should disconnect your battery while the car is running so you can diag. a bad battery, not a good idea.

 

Honestly, i'm not too knowledgable to know whether that is true or not, maybe someone else can verify it, but I bought it and had it installed at circuit city where it has a lifetime warranty. If anything happens from them hooking it up directly to the alt, it's their ___!

 

Can anyone validate what TcPrincess said? Because if that is true, it should be known!

 

voltage spikes do come from the alternator...its an unfiltered generator, so yes it will have spikes as the rpms get funky....

best placfe to hook it up if it is a remote-like wire is back of HU..otherwise, i dont know where to tell you, cause i could not find anything that was on/off with the ignition in any of the fuse blocks

good luck

 

most people leave it on. i mean if you dont want to hear music when you turn on your then turn it off. other than that i dont think it hurts the car at all.

 

Yea - it seems that most people just leave it on and i've never heard of a problem - i dunno