ok, about a week ago i became the proud owner of a 97' formula. when i got it it had an "aftermarket" pioneer stereo in it. the guy who owned it before me said it "acted up" on occasion because these cars keep the radio on w/o the key in the ignition until the driver's door is opened.... however, the people who installed the radio messed up the wiring and sometimes the radio wont go on right away, ill have to drive around a bit first. that was fine for me considering what i traded for it wasnt worth half the $ this is. but over the week ive been driving it around ive found that the radio isnt the only thing that likes to "act up". some times its the windows, some times its the defroster, sometimes its the power locks... you get the idea. so my question to yous guys is how the heck am i supposed to fix this? I'm waiting for the night (knock on wood) when my radio shuts itself off, and the lights go with it. is it as simple as a loose stereo wire (doubtful) or do i need to do something as lame as to have the whole car rewired?? any thoughts/ideas appreciated

The "RAP" Retained Accessory Power module might be the problem. With key off, radio on, the radio will run for about 10 minutes then turn off automatically or turn off when the door is opened. During this time, the windows can also be opened and I think interior lights stay on. Have no idea if this can also affect turning the radio on once the key is in the run position and the engine is on, but it might. If your car was built with radio remote buttons on the steering wheel and the 10 speaker system, it has RAP.

If your car has RAP and it is running properly, the problem would be that someone butchered the wiring system and you'll have to start tracing all the wires. If it also has a 10 speaker system, in my opinion...the other owner was an idiot for replacing the OEM radio. Good luck!

i mentioned it to the mechanic that i took it to for my headgasket.. he'll look into it


and i dont have controls on the wheel

Ok, but not being completely familiar with the 97's (mine was a 94), the RAP might still be there, maybe somebody can confirm that. Usually, the 10 speaker radio with steering wheel controls came with RAP as part of the package. In 97, that might have changed.

If your car does not have the 10 speaker system, then the installation of the Pioneer is very straight forward and the other guy might have screwed something up, which means it is fixable. If it has the RAP module then the module might be failing.