08-18-2013, 01:45 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Cyborg ECU
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Ultra Gauge parasitic battery drain?
Just back home from travel for over two weeks. My kill-a-watt shows that the battery has drawn over 5.0 killowatts from the grid since I left. I have heard that the Ultra Gauge, before the latest update, had a parasitic draw. Is that my likely problem or is the explanation something else? Seems like a lot of power for a float charge.
EDIT: that's not 0.5 kwh but 5.0 kwh. Ouch.
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See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
Last edited by California98Civic; 08-18-2013 at 04:54 PM..
Reason: correction
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08-18-2013, 01:13 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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...beats walking...
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Yes, I can attest that both the UG and AutoMeter units that I initially bought had rather HUGE parasitic current loads which discharged the battery down to the point of "no start" on my 2009 Vibe during two week periods! And, that is *WHY* I bought a SGII.
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08-18-2013, 01:24 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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The Dirty330 Modder
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yes the UG does have a parasitic draw if the correct power off/on settings are not set. For some vehicles there is no correct setting before the latest update. If i am not going to drive my car for 2 days i have learned to unplug it. I say this for the reason being shutting my car off friday at 230pm and if i try to start it on monday at 530am there is not enough juice to effectively turn the starter
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08-18-2013, 02:22 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Cyborg ECU
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gealii
...shutting my car off friday at 230pm and if i try to start it on monday at 530am there is not enough juice to effectively turn the starter
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Ouch! The update you mention... is it something a person can download? I knew the UG had a power draw, but I have never measured it before this trip. If the car had not been plugged in, my battery would have been drained very very low.
__________________
See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
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08-18-2013, 02:58 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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The Dirty330 Modder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
Ouch! The update you mention... is it something a person can download? I knew the UG had a power draw, but I have never measured it before this trip. If the car had not been plugged in, my battery would have been drained very very low.
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the update was to fix the power draw on Gm vehicles with a few others. the only way i know to get the update is to go to the UG website select to purchase the free update and ship it back to the company it only costs you the shipping fees
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08-18-2013, 04:53 PM
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#6 (permalink)
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EcoModding Smurfer
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This is completely off the subject... But my girlfriend insists my UG screen is one color, while I think it is another. Would you describe the UG writing as blue-ish or white?
(hoping I don't need to make an eye doctor appointment!)
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08-18-2013, 06:41 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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The Dirty330 Modder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smurf
This is completely off the subject... But my girlfriend insists my UG screen is one color, while I think it is another. Would you describe the UG writing as blue-ish or white?
(hoping I don't need to make an eye doctor appointment!)
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i see it as more of a blue. mabey you should pull a trick on her i saw somewhere where they took a transparent green filter and cut it to fit the screen  start messin with her a lil bit
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- Henry Ford
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08-18-2013, 08:58 PM
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#8 (permalink)
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Cyborg ECU
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gealii
the update was to fix the power draw on Gm vehicles with a few others. the only way i know to get the update is to go to the UG website select to purchase the free update and ship it back to the company it only costs you the shipping fees
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I failed to find the update for this parasitic draw on their site. In fact, their statements seem only to be mainly about declaring it no big deal (which is sorta true). The gauge has a backup battery, I think, so I could just unplug it.
BTW, 5kwh over 17 days = 0.29412 kwh/day = 0.01226 per hour. That means I lost about 12.26 watts per hour, or that the draw on the system was 12.26 watts. Some portion of that was the Ultra Gauge, and 12+ watts seems high, but I guess some of it is the charger itself, its indicator lights, its fan, and etc...
__________________
See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.
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08-18-2013, 09:07 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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The Dirty330 Modder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
I failed to find the update for this parasitic draw on their site. In fact, their statements seem only to be mainly about declaring it no big deal (which is sorta true). The gauge has a backup battery, I think, so I could just unplug it.
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UltraGauge EM update [UltraGauge_EM_Update] - $0.00 : UltraGauge, OBD II Scan Tool & Information Center
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which was essentially the new UltraGauge Battery Voltage gauge and enhancements to the Power On and Power off detection modes.
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these detection modes is what determines if the UG stays on or off after the ignition is turned off
i dont know the details about the UG detection on your car so it is unknown to me whether or not you need the update
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"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."
- Henry Ford
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08-20-2013, 04:41 PM
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#10 (permalink)
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.........................
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I have an older UG (classic? not an EM). On my Silverado, it would occasionally stay on and draw down the battery. I got in the habit of waiting until the screen turned off before leaving my truck. Once the screen turned off, the drain was minimal.
On my Civic (I use the same UG that was in the truck) I have never seen it do this.
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