just got the alpine 9859 fitted to my vrs so i can use my i pod and control it with the head unit. It works great and souns so much better than the old radio.

I have a problem though in that when i switch it off and take the key out it stays switched on and my other unit switched off when the key is taken out. Its only a minor poblem as i will take the face of when i leave it, my question is having it set this way will my battery drain overnight also as there is still power if i leave my ipod connected to it it stays swiched on so i presume if i left the ipod connected it would drain the battery.

Also any way to fix it so that it works the same as the old unit ie take the key out and it switches off.

The switched live supply and the permanent live supply need to be transposed. Swap them over and the unit will behave like the OEM unit did. Some aftermarket HUs come with adaptor wiring that does this for you, so check the box for leftover bits.

The switched live supply and the permanent live supply need to be transposed. Swap them over and the unit will behave like the OEM unit did. Some aftermarket HUs come with adaptor wiring that does this for you, so check the box for leftover bits.

was doing a bit of reading about this and seems all vw/skoda cars have their radio wired differently in that they have a live feed connected at all times so that you can still work the radio with the ignition off and the key out, is this correct?

Yes the permanent feed is so it can remember the preset stations etc. It draws very little current.

The switched feed is only live when the key is in the ignition (doesn't have to be turned on, just inserted).

Swap the red and yellow wires - should be on bullet connectors to make it nice and easy