Soundstream head unit draining battery?
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
Soundstream head unit draining battery?
So I have a strange question to ask:
has anyone had any experience with a soundstream head unit draining their battery when the bike is off?
I have a 2017 road glide special. It had the GT head unit in it. I wanted to get CarPlay so I upgraded to the soundstream unit. The head unit is plug and play with the bike harness. I drive an external amp that is controlled by the blue wire coming out of the head unit. That amp then drives the speakers. Pretty basic set up.
What I noticed not long after installing the head unit was that my battery was dead. I didn't have the bike on a tender. The battery wasn't just low voltage, it was dead. I could not put it on a tender and get it to charge at all. I had to jumpstart the bike with a power pack and let it run, and then the battery started to charge off the charger.
The battery wasn't new, so I figured I just needed a new one. I replaced it with a new one and kept the bike on a tender. I had a reason to move the bikes around the garage this winter and when I did that, I did not reattach the tender. My mistake. Once again, the battery is dead. I can't put it on the charger and get it to charge at all.
So something is draining my battery, even when the bike is off. I know this is not uncommon with Harley's, but I have never had this happen before with the old head unit. Has anyone else had a similar issue with a sound stream head unit draining the battery when not connected to a tender? It doesn't happen in one night, or even three. But the only thing I can point to is the head unit.
thoughts?
has anyone had any experience with a soundstream head unit draining their battery when the bike is off?
I have a 2017 road glide special. It had the GT head unit in it. I wanted to get CarPlay so I upgraded to the soundstream unit. The head unit is plug and play with the bike harness. I drive an external amp that is controlled by the blue wire coming out of the head unit. That amp then drives the speakers. Pretty basic set up.
What I noticed not long after installing the head unit was that my battery was dead. I didn't have the bike on a tender. The battery wasn't just low voltage, it was dead. I could not put it on a tender and get it to charge at all. I had to jumpstart the bike with a power pack and let it run, and then the battery started to charge off the charger.
The battery wasn't new, so I figured I just needed a new one. I replaced it with a new one and kept the bike on a tender. I had a reason to move the bikes around the garage this winter and when I did that, I did not reattach the tender. My mistake. Once again, the battery is dead. I can't put it on the charger and get it to charge at all.
So something is draining my battery, even when the bike is off. I know this is not uncommon with Harley's, but I have never had this happen before with the old head unit. Has anyone else had a similar issue with a sound stream head unit draining the battery when not connected to a tender? It doesn't happen in one night, or even three. But the only thing I can point to is the head unit.
thoughts?
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
inside the house, far away from the bike. Same place as its always been when I had the GT head unit in the bike. Literally, the ONLY change is the head unit.
Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
Interesting point. Lets say the blue wire is somehow not connected. Broken wire, bad connector, etc. would the amp be on in that case or off? Whats the state of an amp (Stinger) if the blue control wire is somehow broken or disconnected?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 2,210
Likes: 668
From: Andover, MN
The amp could be bad and have a short and not shutting off when told to shut off.
I've never seen a Soundstream cause battery drain. And if it's going completely dead within a day, that's a big battery draw.
My guess would be the amp.
Last edited by cshocker; Feb 28, 2025 at 10:35 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,170
Likes: 680
From: Forest Hill, Md
I have the soundstream unit for my 14 Limited. installed it last year and have had no issues that I'm aware of. I do keep it on a tender and I don't have an amp. I have been on trips where it wasn't hooked to the tender for 4 days and it was fine.
I'd suspect the amp not shutting off or an odd malfunction with the head unit.
I'd suspect the amp not shutting off or an odd malfunction with the head unit.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2016
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From: Masshole
I would move your amps trigger wire to a switched 12vdc source rather than feeding thru the radio. There should be an unused one clipped to the R/S speaker pod.
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Thread Starter
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,385
Likes: 132
From: Baltimore, MD
It could be the blue wire is bad (in head unit or at amp). Unplug blue wire from amp and check voltage on blue wire from radio. There should be nothing when bike is off
The amp could be bad and have a short and not shutting off when told to shut off.
I've never seen a Soundstream cause battery drain. And if it's going completely dead within a day, that's a big battery draw.
My guess would be the amp.
The amp could be bad and have a short and not shutting off when told to shut off.
I've never seen a Soundstream cause battery drain. And if it's going completely dead within a day, that's a big battery draw.
My guess would be the amp.