Hi guys.

I have been having a battery discharge problem. The service techs at the dealer have tracked it back to an aftermarket advanced GPS tracking system, 'IntelliTrac', which was partially removed before I bought the car (didn't even know it was fitted until this problem, then I went looking through all the documentation and found the user manual).

Because I was having warranty work done at the time, and given the complexity of the wiring - they didn't remove it, and instead suggested I try a place that fits these sort of systems, to have it removed.

I don't care that the wiring has been left in place, I just want to stop it discharging my battery over 4 days!

I have found where it earths, at a door hinge plate. Will disconnecting the earth help? Any other suggestions??? Getting underneath the dash to access the wiring seems like a lot of work....

Thanks

Justin

 

While I am not an electrician, I think that there are probably only two connections that you need concern yourself with......the ground (which you have located) and the hot wire that is providing current when the switch is off (which should lead from the battery or one of the fuse panels???). If that hot wire is disconnected, it should not matter about the rest of the harness and any power usage when the car is running. Good luck.

 

First I would contact the GPS company and ask if they have a disabling feature on this system and if they can provide the installation manual for that unit.
If no success there, disconnect positive post at the battery and install a test light or amp meter between the cable and post.
Disconnect or pull fuse's or connectors thought to go that componet (1 at a time) and watch light or meter for a drop in amperage drawn. Please note that the door switch must be held closed. There is going to be a minmum draw to keep radio and ecm memory but they are less then.0487 amperage most of the time. and will not light a 12 volt test light.
Test drive and find out it performs alright.

 

If your battery was 50 amphours, thats a 1/2 amp drain to kill the battery in 4 days. If you know where the module is you should be able to sterilalize the thing by clipping one wire at a time and taping them off separately. Thats a lot of power and I would make sure that one of the seat buttons is not stuck as that will kill the battery without being noticed, ask me why I know that.

If you want to pull the + wire off and connect a meter or small lamp betwen the battery and terminal, you should see the discharge if it is constant. I would start there, again 1/2 amp is a lot of power for any one accessory and Iam not sure that it is the problem................ENJOY Woody

 

If you can not find the hot wire which should be attached to the accessorie supply at the fuse box, or straight from the battery, look on the net for a diagram or contact manfacturers. It should be easy to kill this thing. In the meantime cut the earth cable.
good luck,
Steve

 

Thanks for all the advice guys. The dealership guys had told me how much the unit was drawing - I forget the figure now - but they said it was a lot.

So.... I decided I needed to remove the lower dash and cowling around the steering wheel to get in there and found out what was what....

I was wrong - they didn't partially remove the unit. I found the whole sha-bang in there - GPS control unit, GPS antennae, handsfree speaker, and something else I've got no idea about. I removed the whole thing intact, even saving the wiring. Two wires were spliced into factory wires (no idea what they were, but one is likely to have been an ignition wire - the unit can remotely kill the car).

I've left it a few days and the battery starts the car no problems, so trust the situation is sorted.

And I have a AUS$2000 GPS unit (admittedly second hand and possibly faulty!) sitting in my garage.

Justin

 

Glad to hear you solved your problem, enjoy the ride and hopefully nothing else out of normal will happen.