[jfoj]

Hate to say this, however, the solution may be ebay??

You can get the Monsoon Amps pretty cheap, around $50 used, close to $100 new.

You may or may not have problems with the replacement, however, if I had to guess the issue may be water or bad capacitors??

Maybe you can open up the original one and check for the corrosion or bad capacitors.

This may help?? Not sure it is 100% for the same as the Beetle??

http://crutchfield.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7671

 

[jfoj]

I have not really researched the Monsoon Amp in great detail, but it appears it may Auto Turn On???:

Kind of like you friendly subwoofer for your home theater system??

I have not looked over the wiring diagram so not sure if there is something that ties into the comfort module and goes to sleep as well?

One other suggest, if you plan on shipping this car off with your daughter, suggest you spend the $42 for a VAG-405 on Amazon. Only down side it does not read real time engine data, however, it DOES read airbag, ABS and other modules in the car.

See the OBD info below in my signature.

 

[jfoj]

So here is my thought??

I may be dead wrong, but if the Monsoon Amp detects a signal to trigger it to on from the head unit, then is there a way to connect just the Monsoon power up and disconnect the head unit and see if the Monsoon unit shuts off?

Maybe, just maybe there is actually a problem with the head unit and it is sending some form of signal to trigger the Monsoon amp on? What usually fails in most electronics these days are capacitors, they are cheap and fairly easy to replace once you get the box open you need to get into.

Many audio amps have capacitors on their amp output to block DC Voltage from the amp going to the next amp or speaker. If the capacitor shorts, then what happens is you may get DC Voltage on the audio line feeding the Monsoon amp??

You may have also ended up with another bad Monsoon unit from ebay?

As for relay, I would just use a 30 Amp cube relay like they use for foglights and such, they are at all the parts stores and Radio Shack. Self contained relay that you can fuse drop in line with the power feed to the Monsoon amp and have some form of ignition trigger. Best to trigger from the radio head unit because you can turn the radio on with the car turned off.

 

[jfoj]

Capt,

You have been busy.

Sorry you have not make progress both for yourself and the VW community. Solving the Monsoon amp draw would help a lot of folks here and on other forums. I believe I have read where a number of people have replaced their Amps and solved the problem?

I replace capacitors all the time, most in switching power supplies, and usually you can tell by the bulging, some even barely bulging. I also replace motor starting capacitors in HVAC systems as well. I also have a few capacitor testers as well, some as part of standard multi meters and 2 stand alone units.

I have a Peak ESR tester that I use a lot to pinpoint problem caps. It can work in circuit, but not always 100% correct, so sometimes you have to pull the caps to accurately test them.

Funny how the claim that the late model radio will not work with the CD changer, this is exactly my configuration. I also have all the OE Sirus gear I need to install if I can quit doing mechanical repairs!

You may want to check this post out if you have not seen it, my $8 Aux input for the unit!!

http://newbeetle.org/forums/car-audio/58487-7-90-aux-input-newer-head-unit.html#post815827

How the heck did a ECU flash burn up the radio??

Did the guy hook up the battery charger backwards?

Did they get 12 Volts on the buss line?

I hear you about wanting to know what the problem is, because it MAY come back and you do not want your daughter stuck somewhere because of a repeat dead battery. It would be really nice to solve this problem and have a solution for other folks, it would likely save everyone time and money and might be a proactive thing for owners to do as well.

Good luck, keep up the good work.

I am thinking it is just a matter of time before I am plagued with the problem!

 

[jfoj]

I have not tried this, but there a devices for Daytime Running Lights that auto sleep and turn on by monitoring the charging Voltage. The only problem I see is these units turn off when the car is shut down you cannot listen to the radio while parked.