RNS 510 Drains Battery: Troubleshooting Guide

Hello,
I have been searching online for a solution to my problem for quite some time now, but I haven't found anything yet.
After the Passat B6 initially failed to start after five days, and then with increasingly shorter periods of inactivity, I measured an idle current draw of approximately 320mA after one hour. After removing the fuse for the navigation system, this drops to less than 10mA.
Now the question is, what problem could be causing the RNS (radio navigation system) to suddenly stop shutting down properly. Nothing had been done on the vehicle for a long time before the error occurred.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?


Best regards,
Phillip Graf.

Hello Phillip,

If nothing has been done to the car, it could be a frayed wire at the radio connectors or an electrical fault in the radio's electronics.
It's also possible that a miswired connection at the radio connector could be the cause if the radio was modified or installed incorrectly.

If everything is still original, then unfortunately, the former is likely the case. Have you recently performed a firmware or software update? I can imagine that a software bug might be preventing the radio from shutting down properly.

Best regards, Rainer.

The software has not been changed either.

The original owner apparently experimented with DVB-T and a remote control at some point, but even before that, there were no issues related to battery drain.

Okay, so I'm going to start looking for the cables and connectors. What's the best way to access them, since they're all hidden under the dashboard?


Best regards,
Phillip.

It's possible the navigation system itself is faulty, and it might not be related to any aftermarket modifications or a damaged cable. I would remove the navigation system and start troubleshooting there, looking for a defective cable.

vag-driver wrote:

I would remove the navigation system and start searching there for a faulty cable.

Do you mean "turn on the navigation system" when you write that this itself might have something?

Looking beyond the GPS.

Hello,
Remove the trim panel around the radio (it's clipped in). Then, unscrew the radio using 4 screws.
Leave the airbag connector plugged in, or clear the error codes afterward.

Best regards,
Dago

Hello,
I found the problem. It was actually the modification.
Inside the glove compartment, there was a switch that was connected to a TV amplifier. The switch must have been accidentally activated while someone was rummaging through the glove compartment. Here's a small photo series.

A question out of pure curiosity: What usually comes standard with the AUX port from the factory?
Actually, the signal from the TV was connected to one of the Kufatec devices.

phgraf wrote:

A question on the side, purely out of curiosity: What normally comes standard from the factory connected to the AUX port? Specifically, the signal from the TV was connected to one of the Kufatec devices.

Hello,

It all looks easily flammable. If it were my car, I would sleep better after tidying up and securing things with duct tape.

AUX: I have no idea about that specific car. Generally, AUX is simply an input for external audio signals. In my wife's A3, there's a 3.5mm jack next to the handbrake for this purpose.
I used that input to add a Bluetooth audio connection.

Best regards, Rainer.

Yes, I've now completely removed everything; it was originally for DVB-T, which no longer exists.

The connection allows both video and audio to be input. I also have an AUX jack with a 3.5mm connector located under the armrest.

Thank you for your help anyway.