[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by SpikeSpiegel26

Hi all,

I have been using Trak n Tell on my 10 year old Wagon R for quite a few years and it does the job perfectly. The device is connected to the OBD port and does not hamper the functioning of the vehicle in any way, rather it's a sigh of relief when I give my vehicle for service or to other relatives. As it has been discussed earlier in this thread, the battery voltage drop is not in acceptable range.

• At ignition OFF the battery should ideally sit just over 12V but my battery sits around at 11.96 and gradually drops to around 11.5 at 5th day if I do not start my vehicle at all. Beyond a week of being idle runs the risk of battery draining suddenly to very low levels and requiring JUMPSTART.

• I assume it's not normal considering the battery is 1.5 years old only of AMARON. In the course of 1.5 years the battery had completely drained on two different occassions due to accidentally leaving the headlights ON.

• Does it affect the overall battery health? The car comes to life in one go with a delay of 1 second on SELF START. I had even got the new sparks plugs installed during service. The battery voltage shown while running the car is in range of 13-14V.

• Kindly suggest if I should get the battery replaced in warranty?

Regards

Couple of thoughts/questions.

Your tracker is connected via OBD. Is is capable of immobilising your car? Because if it does so via OBD I would find that extremely worrying.

Your battery drops half a Volt in a week? Before changing the battery I think you need to understand how much current this tracker really draws. Easy to do, just pull it from the OBD and see how much voltage drop you get in a week. If it’s the same you most likely need a new battery. I think this tracker is putting a substantial drain on your battery.

I am not in favour of attaching anything permanently to an OBD port. It is very easy to cause permanent damage to your ECU and or other onboard computers.

I suspect your tracker device might cause the ECU and other system not to enter into normal sleep mode, hence the drain on your battery. Alternative the tracker itself puts too high a drain on the battery.

The only way to tell the health of your battery is to hook it up to a proper battery tester. Any thing else, e.g. a multimeter is simply never good enough.
Jeroen

[montsa007]

Originally Posted by bravo82in

When parking in an unknown and unsafe location for an extended period, a practical approach is to open the engine bay and remove a crucial relay or fuse from the fuse box (typically a diagram is there on back of cover). This ensures the car won't start, offering a reliable safeguard. No thief carries a set of spare relays with them .

I do have a habit of forgetting stuff, I've forgotten the car keys inside the car and closed the door, only to realize it is inside. Although foolproof, not comfortable applying the method & opening the fuse box every now and then, as our vehicle stays on an open road.

[bravo82in]

Originally Posted by montsa007

Although foolproof, not comfortable applying the method & opening the fuse box every now and then, as our vehicle stays on an open road.

This approach is suitable primarily for ‘extended periods’, rather than daily use. I employ this method when traveling out of town, requiring overnight parking on the roadside or in an unguarded lot. Alternatively, one can offer 50 or 100 bucks to engage the nearest security guard in overseeing your vehicle. By establishing a regular arrangement with the guard, you can secure a parking spot conveniently located near to their post.

[montsa007]

Originally Posted by bravo82in

By establishing a regular arrangement with the guard, you can secure a parking spot conveniently located near to their post.

The current situation is such that there are barely 2 or at the most 3 spots & about 6 to 8 vehicles, makes no sense paying the security guy. I often keep a check of the available spot after 9-10 am & move the vehicle quickly since people take their cars to work.
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I found out that I've to pay about 1600 or so for a 3 year renewal (comes to less than 1.5 rupee per day for complete peace of mind), screenshot below.


Also the app shows the trips, trip time, max speed, average speed, drive duration & even plots it on the map. Screenshot below, with some stuff covered for obvious reasons.

[SpikeSpiegel26]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Your battery drops half a Volt in a week? Before changing the battery I think you need to understand how much current this tracker really draws. Easy to do, just pull it from the OBD and see how much voltage drop you get in a week. If it’s the same you most likely need a new battery. I think this tracker is putting a substantial drain on your battery.


The only way to tell the health of your battery is to hook it up to a proper battery tester. Any thing else, e.g. a multimeter is simply never good enough.
Jeroen

So I got my battery tested and turns out it was indeed the culprit. I visited the Amaron Pitstop near my place and they tested and recharged the battery to its full capacity and adjusted the gravity of the electrolyte too. The car starts effortlessly without any delay. My car is parked since 2 days and the voltage reading shows 12.34V which is the optimum for any car. So I don't think the app is at fault and it does not drain the battery. Hope that helps.

[montsa007]

So something scary happened today,

Around 8.45 AM or so I got multiple alerts on my phone that Trak-n-Tell device is disconnected & also got a call at the same time, I was already in panic with that alert so I picked up the call which was an IVR & put in on the speaker which said the same thing that the device is disconnected.

I rushed towards the lift to go down and check on the car, with lots of thoughts in my mind (all of them negative). When I was able to see the car from a distance I proceeded cautiously, there were no signs of any tampering on the car. So I was sure nobody messed with it, it could have been some fault.

I called up Pratik & informed about what happened as I was clueless, as I was speaking I saw that the lights were on (I might have forgotten to switch them off last night when switching parking spots), informed him that the small light (the one which lights up electronics inside the cabin) was on for the night. He asked if I can start the car, tried but car won't start. He offered to have the battery picked up and recharged since the lights had drained the battery, to which I agreed.

At this point, Trak-n-Tell was not able to track the cars location & gave an error.

So all those who have a doubt as to what happens, 1 of this things can happen (Error if battery goes low).

After about an hour or so, battery gained some strength and Trak n Tell was tracking the car again, tried starting it once more but it won't so left it as it is.

This is pulled from alert log.

This from call history, call received at 8.47 am

[montsa007]

So the battery was plugged yesterday (13th), while the battery was disconnected the app showed last vehicle started at 11th Feb (That is when the power ran out) & upon connecting the battery app updated itself to 12th Feb (When I tried to start the car with a discharged battery), once battery was set and I started the car the app picked up the location & started functioning as normal.

Also the person who serviced my battery told me that it was discharged, battery health is good & water was low which was topped up, he even cleaned the connecting terminals to shining silver. I was charged 250 for the service.

I might have to reconsider the other mechanic who initially checked the car before purchase, as I asked him to check the battery in January, he said it is good. Doubtful if he added any water, if he did I'm not sure how battery water evaporates in a month. Even the indicator on the battery was white on the next evening of being checked.

As of now the battery indicator is green. I've experienced that the indicator lights flash brighter (saw it when locking the car after the install).

I hope this inputs help others.

-m007