Radio/theft mode issue

[oddstuff63]

Strange occurrence......my original battery exploded in the trunk of my car over the winter. Apart from having to clean that up thoroughly and trying to get the smell out of the car there’s only been one other issue resulting from the explosion. My red LED radio CD LOAD light start blinking regardless of whether the car is running, turned off, or whether or not there are CD loaded in the unit. I was told that this indicates the radio has gone into Theft Deterrent mode. I took it to the GM dealer to try to reflash the radio itself and they told me it wasn’t accepting the reprogramming they attempted. Told me I need a new radio. Additionally my battery drains down quickly so I constantly have it on a battery tender.

Any ideas on what could have happened to cause these issues? How do the radios all of a sudden go into this theft deterrent mode? I did have the new battery disconnected recently to install a new steering wheel but the problems persist. Is there any way to get it out of this mode and stop the light from blinking? Could a bad radio in this mode put a constant drain on the battery? Very frustrating as my car only has 12,000 miles on it.

[GXP-G8]

I have a 2007 G5 alternator went bad, let car sit for a few weeks before repairing her.
My radio would not power up at all after a battery and alternator replacement.
Dealer could get nothing out of it either.

I tore it apart to get my CD's out.
Pretty sad like you said, you have to buy a radio when your battery goes bad !

[-Ray-]

You need to test for voltage drop. You can search for how to do it on this forum, or use Google. After you fix that, then you can try and see if they radio will respond.