DEAR TOM AND RAY: I have a 1999 Ford F-150 with 94,000 miles. The truck runs great, but I have a problem with the radio. Last Thanksgiving, the radio started to come on all by itself, even without the key in the ignition. It has happened at least half a dozen times since then. I've gotten to the point that I make sure the radio is physically turned off before I shut off the engine, so that if it does come on, it won't run down the battery. My son suggested taking out the radio and cleaning the plug-in connectors, thinking they might be corroded and causing a short. But a local mechanic advised against this because of the truck's anti-theft feature; he said if we disconnect the radio, we might possibly have to take it to a dealer to get it reprogrammed to work again. One thing I did notice is that when it happens, it usually is damp outside, which is why we suspect corrosion on the connecting terminals. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
-- Dennis
TOM: You've heard of sleepwalking, right, Dennis? Well, maybe you're walking out to the truck in the middle of the night and listening to the ballgame?
RAY: I don't think the radio connectors have anything to do with it. If they were corroded, your problem would more likely be that the radio would be turning off unexpectedly, rather than turning on.
TOM: So I think what's happening is that your truck is going into the ignition's "accessory" mode sometimes, probably because of a faulty ignition relay.
RAY: When you put the key in the ignition, there are several positions. There's "off," "accessory," "run" and "start." In accessory mode, only certain low-power devices, like the radio, get power. That allows you to listen to the radio without killing your battery while you're waiting for your wife to finish shopping at the bait-and-tackle shack.
TOM: And for whatever reason (it could be corrosion), one of your ignition relays is closing on its own and putting the truck into accessory mode while you count sheep.
RAY: You can figure out which relay it is by trial and error. There are two power-distribution centers in this truck, and each houses a bunch of relays. One is under the dash, and the other one's under the hood.
TOM: Next time you find that the radio is getting power with the ignition off, pull out these relays one at a time. And when the radio goes off, eureka! Then all you need to do is take that relay to an auto parts store and get a replacement.
DEAR TOM AND RAY: My wife says using our dishwasher as a parts cleaner is hurting our dishwasher. I say it is not. But I have learned to run an empty load after a load of parts so that all the dishes in the next load washed do not taste like transmission fluid. It avoids the kids spitting out their milk like they have been poisoned. I also have learned the length of the wash cycle, so I can complete the process before my wife returns home. As a backup system, I have learned to set a timer so that I remember to remove the parts. I try to wipe all the transmission fluid, brake fluid, power-steering fluid or engine oil from the parts before washing them. The dishwasher really cleans those parts. Please settle this disagreement.
-- David
RAY: I see two problems with this, David. Well, maybe more if you include your impending divorce and your kids hating you.
TOM: Problem one is environmental: You're washing petroleum products off of automotive parts, and sending them down the drain.
RAY: That means they're either contaminating your city's rivers and streams, or that that stuff is going into your septic system and potentially leaching into your own groundwater. Neither one of those, if you think about it, is a good idea.
TOM: Problem two is that you're potentially poisoning your kids. The reason they spit out their milk like they've been poisoned is because you are poisoning them: They're ingesting small quantities of petroleum distillates. This is also, if you think about it, not a good idea.
RAY: The key words being "if you think about it."
TOM: If you really want to use a dishwasher to clean your car parts, then you need to set up a separate dishwasher in your garage with an appropriate way to capture the petroleum runoff.
RAY: My suggestion would be that you take the family dishwasher -- the one you've already contaminated -- and install that in the garage. Then buy your poor wife and kids a nice, clean, new one.
TOM: And then, for a few hundred bucks, you can get a grease trap, which will separate out the contaminants from the waste water. Then you'll have to make arrangements to have the grease trap emptied and the toxins disposed of legally and properly.
RAY: And that doesn't mean using them to water the tomatoes, David.
TOM: If that sounds like too much trouble, a good alternative would be to make a deal with a local gas station or repair shop. Then when you need to clean parts, you pay them a few bucks to use their parts cleaner. They'll have a grease trap and a contract with a hazardous waste disposal service that comes once a week, or once a month, to collect the grease and grime and haul it away.
RAY: And probably dump it down their own kitchen sink!
TOM: Actually, no. Not unless they want to pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. The Environmental Protection Agency takes that stuff very seriously.
RAY: But I'd say your dishwasher privileges are hereby suspended, David. Time to clean up your act and find another way to clean the parts.
Click & Clack (Tom and Ray Magliozzi) dispense advice about cars in Car Talk every Saturday. Email them by visiting
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HomeStyle on 09/20/2014