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How to Keep Radio on When Car is Off Ford – Not So Hard Actually!

How to Keep Radio on When Car is Off Ford

Having to just turn the key ignition counter clockwise in quarter round was all it used to take for keeping the accessories such as radio on. But that phase is not now possible with some Ford models. There can be a bunch of scenes where you are wanting just the radio to stay on, not the entire vehicle. 

But because the battery has a tendency to shut down automatically after a fixed amount of time, that’s hardly possible to do for many ford riders. Some people may freak out seeing it shut down thinking their f150 radio not working anymore soon to figure out, that’s just because the vehicle is off. 

However, it’s still possible to keep your radio on by applying a few methods. And that’s what we will try to figure out today. How to keep radio on when car is off Ford version to get you out of your current situation that includes this radio issue. Let’s get it!

How to Keep Radio on When Car is Off Ford

From 2015 to 2021 ford car models, the radio let you listen to songs and news easily. But what if you want keeping the radio on when turning the car off? This facility is not a big task if you know the trick. In general, you can easily use the radio without turning on the ignition. 

For that, you should know the fact that it will take a lot of time if your car radio is directly connected to the ignition. Yet, there are effective options that will work well to turn on the radio without starting your ford car. And, they are:

  1. Power Your Radio Via Accessory Mood.
  2. Connecting Your Radio Directly from The Battery.
  3. Installing A Switch That Lets the Radio Directly Turn Off and On.

These methods are useful for any ford users based on how long they want to keep the radio playing on. In the case of the first and second methods, both of them are great for occasional drivers who just want to listen to random news while waiting for someone. 

And, for music or FM lovers who don’t want the radio to turn off for a long period, then the third method will be sufficient. So, without wasting time, let’s get into how to keep radio playing while engine not running at ease.

Power Your Radio Via Accessory Mood – Works Wonders for Fords 2015-2019 Models

All latest models of ford have 3 accessory modes to ensure using special functions easily. Yet, the oldest ford models contain only 2 accessory modes to turn on or off the radio without starting the car.

For sure, all ford cars have ignition, start engine, and accessory modes from key to keyless entry. No matter what kind of ford car you have, just start and stop the engine to activate these modes easily.

Note: Read the vehicle owner’s manual before making any changes to your ford car. This trick will be helpful for ford’s 2015-2019 models.

So, our newbie occasional FM lovers, this method is for you. Keep on reading the given steps that would be helpful for turning the radio on when the car is off. Here are the steps:

  • Based on your car key or keyless function, start your engine. If your ford car is keyless, just press the start and stop button. By doing that, you will activate all car fixtures and engines. Then, turn on your radio.
  • Now, you want to push the same button to turn off your ford car. The second press of the start and stop buttons means accessory mood activation. Avoid using your leg on the brake pedal or make any changes through the throttle.
  • After that, click on the start and stop button 2 times as fast as possible. To ensure its success, you will see the car engine is turned off while the radio is running.
  • Once the accessory mood is turned on, you can use all the features including radio and power windows with no hassle.
  • To complete the steps, shift your car gear into the parking mood. Now, your ford engine is fully turned off while the radio playing.

Warning: You can stop the accessory mood by turning on the engine while the radio is running. And, this will perfectly work for 30 minutes to 1 hour continuously.

Connecting Your Radio Directly from The Battery – Make Sure to Do So with Caution

It is possible to attach the wire harness on the ford car stereo directly into the battery wire. Even if this method is completely safe, you may still face a lot of drainage of battery power.

Note: Most people find it a bad choice as connecting the car stereo to the battery may also increase repair costs and drainage too.

Apart from the other 2 options, using radio AM/FM directly through battery power is a big job. If you want to use your car radio for up to 1-2 hours, then hop into the given steps:

Step-1: Turn off your ford car engine and cover your hand with gloves.

Step-2: Then, take out the dashboard inside the radio. It may need a screwdriver and U-shape tool to get the job done pretty well.

Step-3: Find out the yellow 12-volt battery and red ignition switch wires that should be in the front.

Step-4: Next, attach these wires to the battery. Afterward, take your time to connect the black wire into the ford car ground. Be sure the connection is fine. Now, you can enjoy playing the radio while the car is turned off.

Warning: This process is good for turning both radio player and tape recorder. And so, you may need to charge your car frequently to power up well.

Installing a Switch That Lets the Radio Directly Turn OFF/ON – Time-Consuming but Still Fab

For long-term radio playing benefits without draining the battery, you can try this method of installing a switch. In fact, check your ford car manual to do this method at ease. 

Note: Attaching the switch on for listening to the radio will not allow the tape recorder to work while the car is turned off.

This method will take a lot of time and effort since you have to add a new button or switch. So, grab the screwdriver, U-shape tool, and other necessary tools. And, follow the detailed steps:

Locate The Positive Contact

You want to take out the dashboard using the screwdriver and U-shaped tool. Then, look for the positive contact that will be yellow and red wires attached to the ignition. After locating, move to the next step.

Connect The Positive Contact with A Switch

To do this step, you want to fit the red ignition wire into the new switch that will work as ignition to turn on or off the radio. For that, be sure to insert a button or toggle switch that has sockets to connect the positive contact well.

Test Out the Connection

After doing all the steps above, it’s time to check the connection by pressing the button. The switch or button should work out as the red wire will directly signal once you press the button.

Warning: Fitting the switch can void your ford warranty assurance. Plus, it may take 1 hour to completely do the method.

Ford Radio AM/FM Wiring Diagram

Pin Number Radio CircuitCircuit Functions
1804Left Front Speaker Signal (+)  
2287Front Speaker Signal (-)  
3831Left Rear Speaker Signal (+)
4368Seek Up (only with remote control radio) 
5805Right Front Speaker Signal (+)  
6370Seek Down (only with remote control radio)
7830Right Rear Speaker Signal (+)
8372Memory (only with remote control radio)

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

What color is the ignition switch wire for the radio?

The ignition switch wire color is the red one. And also, you can easily locate the red color that will be attached on the ignition. It would be near to the black and yellow colored wire that helps to turn on or off the radio.

What wires go to what in a car stereo?

Inside the dashboard, you will see different colored wires that are directly connected to the car stereo. In fact, the car stereo of ford has 8 separate circuit wires and all of them are specified with different colors.
The right-front speaker signal wires are colored in grey shade. And, the left-front speaker signal wires are white in color. On the other hand, the right-rear speaker signal wires are specified in purple. And, you will see green left-rear speaker signal wires too.
Apart from that, the ground wires are colored in black. And, the antenna wires are blue in shade. Plus, the amplifier wires are designed with blue and white stripe colors.

Is it bad to have the radio on when the car is off?

Based on many experts, it is not a dangerous thing for your ford car. As the radio will use a small amount of current, keeping on the radio when the car is off won’t affect the car greatly. Yet, it will drain the battery that needs a daily recharge.

Wrap Up

Voila! You now know how to keep radio on when car is off Ford vehicle, not just in one but three ways. However, if none of this helps you (which is hardly the case), don’t hesitate on getting some help from an expert on Ford vehicles. 

Also always check the provided manual before manipulating anything at all. There should not be any invalidation caused to your warranty or you must not engage in any restricted activity that can lead to a problematic situation. 

And the only way to ensure that is by giving the provided manual instructional a clear read. So definitely do that!

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James Noah

Ah! Driving your King has no twist when you have zero knowledge! Yes, Noah is here with his core experiences about trucks, cars, suvs and atvs. Working as a cheif editor for Automasterx to make you satisfied with solid data driven post.

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