Volkswagen Repair: 03 1.8T Jetta Stereo, monsoon stereo, volt ohm meter

Question
I recently replaced my dead monsoon stereo with an aftermarket Alpine. Now my battery has died a dozen times and it sounds as if something is still running after the car is turned off. Any suggestions??

Answer
Hi Melanie;
All 1.8T engines have an "after-run" waterpump that continues to run after the engine is shut off to cool down the turbo, and engine because of the heat they generate, but there definitely is a "parasitic drain" in your car.  Use a digital volt ohm meter..a DVOM, and put it to the amperes scale, and put the leads into the 10 amperes, and common, or ground holes on the meter.  Disconnect only one of the battery terminals, and put the meter in series with the car.  That means put the black lead on the cable you just removed, and put the red lead ont he battery post that cable end just was removed from, and look at the meter.  Have everything in the car closed, including the hood.  How do you close the hood?  when there is all this tuff unhooked, and sticking out...fool the car into thinking the hood is closed.  There is a small two wire connector at the back and the bottom of the hood latch...disconnect it.  If the plug isn't right there then follow the 2 wires until you find the connector, and disconnect it.  The car will now think the hood is down.  In several minutes, usually 3 or so, the alarm system, and the rest of the electronics will go to sleep.  Watch the DVOM then.  If the amperes on the meter are higher than about 0.05 amperes...at all... the drain is too high.  If it goes dead over night I expect the drain to be about...  0.110 amperes.  A tenth of an ampere is a lot of current.  It will drain your battery in 6 hours or less.  I don't know how much satisfactionyou can get at the place that installed your stereo, but they did something wrong during installation.  You can get a cheap DVOM that works just fine for about $20.00 or 30.00.  Do the test, and record your results, and call the place that did your work, and ask to speak to the owner, and explain your findings.  I'm sure he'll help you in some way that is agreeable if he wants continued business.  Good luck, Melanie.  I hope this helps.