Is there any way of keeping my Citroen C3 Picasso's radio on when the ignition is off?

I have just replaced my Citroen Xsara Picasso with a new Citroen C3 Picasso HDI VTR+ (influenced by your review). I am extremely pleased with it apart from one niggling feature - I can't keep the radio on when parked. After a reasonable drive period, the radio can be kept on for 10 or 15 minutes before going into 'Economy Mode'. Restarting the engine and turning it off only gets the radio going again for four minutes. On my old car I could turn the ignition key halfway and keep the radio (and other electrics) on for as long as I wanted (whilst being careful not to drain the battery). The C3 does not allow this option. I contacted the supplying dealer and was told nothing could be done about it. I appreciate that it is a safety feature to stop the battery being drained, but it seems a bit drastic not to allow the driver to bypass this when they want. Is there any simple way of overcoming this?

Asked on 26 August 2010 by archerywidower

Answered by Honest John
The reason is to prevent your battery going flat and to prevent excessive fuel consumption from the alternator charging a low battery. It's a deliberate feature of the car. Just get yourself a separate radio, and you might as well get a DAB personal radio to be prepared for the digital switchover.
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