As far as I can tell, mine came wired like that from the factory.  Might be
a camper thing.

The only disadvantage I can see is that if you turn down the volume you may
leave it by accident.  (I've seen this happen on other VW's.)  Also, it's
possible that new stereos draw more power when in "OFF" mode.  You could
always check the current drain with a milliammeter.  I bet it'll be just
fine, though.

A trick I'd considered on my '75 bus was wiring a relay to the "key in"
contact, and using that to power the stereo -- so you'd only have to have
the key in the ignition, not switched on.  The "key in" contact on my '82 is
extremely unreliable, though, so I don't plan on doing that now.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Donahe" <rdonahe@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 5:34 PM
Subject: 'Keyless' stereo operation

> I'm curious if there are any significant drawbacks to hotwiring my new
> stereo so I can have it on without the key in the On position. I've
> perused the archives and it appears that some folks have the stereo hot
> all the time & others wire in a manual switch. I'm about to replace my
> current aftermarket stereo with a new one and am planning to wire it so
> it's hot all the time. Any reason NOT to do it this way?
>
> Thanks,
> -Roger
>  87 Westy
>