[Skipstone]

Can anyone tell me what the negative consequences of disconnecting the battery in my 2002 Astro would be?

I disconnected the battery so that it wouldn't run down while my van is parked for weeks at a time in my garage. To my surprise, this caused the Theftlock feature to lock out the radio. Fortunately, I was able to get it unlocked without having to pay a dealer at least $70 (ouch!), but I'm concerned that disconnecting the battery may affect other systems in my van.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[astro355]

Well, the ecm's loss of power will wipe the 'learned' memory causing the van to drive a little differently at first.

 

[limrick]

had to change a dead battery in my 2002 now the radio is locked, can't remember if I had set a lock code, any ideas on how to unlock it without going to a dealer?
TIA

 

[Bis]

had to change a dead battery in my 2002 now the radio is locked, can't remember if I had set a lock code, any ideas on how to unlock it without going to a dealer?
TIA

I bought mine used from a Toyota dealer, took it to the shop and came back with "LOC" on the radio screen. I tested my luck with a few passwords but I failed to unlock it. Who know's if the Toyota dealer will know how to unlock it as well, and I don't see why I should have to pay to get this done!

Limrick did you end up figuring it out?

 

[tedanderson]

Having had this issue (with the radio) on other vehicles that I've owned, it was worth the investment to have the radio reset by the dealer and I just made sure that I kept the code in a safe place.

As far as I know, removing the battery does not cause any adverse or ill effects although I am not so sure that leaving the battery connected in the van causes it to discharge any quicker than if it was disconnected.

 

[paintdrying]

Factory radios fit real nice and have gotten better over the years, but 70 dollars would make a nice down payment on a real radio.

 

[RECox286]

If all you need is tunes from OFR (Old F_art Radio) then a non lock radio out of the JY is the low cost solution. I've never had a problem removing a battery yet, perhaps I'm just lucky. There is a small device that takes a 9v battery and energizes the bus via the cigarette lighter receptacle. I know this, because I got one, but have never tried it when the battery needed changing. Like I said, perhaps...

Bob

 

['cudapaul]

Look on ebay, there a sellers that can unlock your radio with a code that you can provide them.
It's pretty cheap, about $5-20, and fast, they do it by email.

 

[Bis]

Uh-oh, bad news... viewtopic.php?f=43&t=11608

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