At wits end with stereo install...

[Olered]

I purchased a pioneer radio from Crutchfield and it came harnesses that connect to the LR harnesses. Of course I tossed the speaker harnesses and chose to run new spkr wire. When I did all of this (in 05) I ran into problems with the constant power and switched power from the grey plug from the factory stereo. Apparently, my Pioneer requires EXACTLY 12v to operate. I put a meter on it and it shows 11.6 of constant with the truck off and about 14 with the truck on if I remember correctly. Thinking the Crutchfield harness was reveresed, I switch constant and switched wires. Everything works but of course the stereo will not retain my stations or eq settings. In 05 I said F-it and straight wired the constant power. This little drain kills my battery. BTW, I've swapped out about 4 NEW batteries. All of them drain within 3 days. If I pull the wire, the battery is good. I need options here. Is there a way to work with the factory harness to get it to work? My truck is torn all to hell and I'd like to actually drive it before I tackle the heater core. Thanks.
:banghead:

 

[Nick_N]

Ive seen radios where they had internal shorts and would kill a battery overnight. Take your multimeter and see how many amps the radio is pulling when your rover is off and the radio is off (should be very small amperage to keep presets). Ive always ran the constant power directly to the battery on a install and run the switched to an ignition source. I use the harness when connecting to the factory speakers. -Nick