RF Power Indicator Question

I bought a cheap new Uniden PRO505XL a couple days ago. It's nothing fancy, it has a volume knob, a squelch knob, and a small little screen that shows RF Power. I ran some quality wire from the radio straight to the battery. It's mounted on the passenger side bottom of the dash. I have a used K-30 magnetic antenna that somebody cut the wrong tip off of to tune it.

I tested my SWR and Watts with my meter, and I have pretty close to 1:1 on channel 1. Channel 40 I have almost 2. On channel 19 I have pretty close to 1.1:1.

I noticed with the key off, the RF Power meter on the radio shows no bars. If i turn the key on, I get 1 bar. Turn the blower motor on, and it has 1 or 2. It seems like the more accessories I turn on, the more the meter increases and the more likely it is for static to break through where I have the squelch at. I was wondering what could cause this.

Thanks in advance!