I happened to be talking to a tradesman and the conversation turned to diagnosing problems. About a year ago he purchased a Chrysler 200 for 60% of Kelly Blue Book. It had 4 previous owners but appeared to be well maintained.
Two months later it needed a new battery. Two months after that, it needed another new battery. Then another. The vehicle was eating batteries.
He took many trips to Youtube and consulted AI. Finally, he and his boy simply started disconnecting and reconnecting the terminal on the battery...and then they heard the vehicle make a faint noise that wasn't supposed to be there. It was intermittent. It made that noise only about 20% of the time.
"I know it is strange, but the sound didn't sound like OEM MOPAR. We kept looking."
It was a GPS monitor that the first owner, a car rental business, had installed way up under the dash where it would not be seen by customers. They had not bothered to remove the unit before they sold the vehicle. The tradesman's best-guess is that the unit recorded exactly where the vehicle went and was attempting to find a signal to up-load the data. That kind of information might be useful if there were clauses in the rental contract about not taking vehicles four-wheeling, parking them on ocean beaches or using them to pull stumps.
The tradesman and his boy removed the device and the vehicle no longer eats batteries.
I did not see this with my own eyes so I cannot vouch for its veracity. Consequently, I only present this as an interesting story. If you have a vehicle that eats batteries, try parking it where it gets four bars or figure out a way to disable the GPS transmitter module(s).
Companies are GREAT at giving you features you never needed and don't want. Somehow they think you can't live without. I know its a meme, but honestly, anyone that can make a small pickup with 4-speed manual, bullet-proof inline 6, and roll up window cranks would be a millionaire
ReplyDeleteAlas, in Europe, it is largely the politicians and bureaucrats who force all of the unwanted and expensive rubbish onto what would otherwise be simple and straightforward vehicles.
DeleteAnon@449:
DeleteLike a Toyota HiLux or my late Chevy LUV? The LUV ran forever and was wonderfully useful but needed weight in the back or you would swap ends running over a damp spot on the road. Driving in rain or snow was exhilarating.
I owned a 1998 Chevy S-10 that I purchased new in 1997 for $9800. I put 287K miles on it. I got rid of it when the mechanic put it on the hoist. The hoist went up but the truck's tires stayed firmly planted on the ground. The frame had rusted out due to Michigan's use of salt in the winter.
DeleteI loved my S-10.
Yup. I'd still be driving my LUV if I hadn't moved back to where it snows in winter and salt does its thing. Actually, no, I wouldn't, as I've since discovered this marvelous thing called air conditioning. No air, no way!
DeleteThe problem is that it can take 15-20 minutes for all the modules in a modern car to shut down once the car has been turned off. Finding such a draw is often difficult for this reason.
ReplyDeleteWe have a 2017 Subaru that started having the same kinds of battery problems. I had my wife unplug the (rather old) dash cam and the problem seems to have gone away.
ReplyDeleteAs electronics age they start doing odd things. I'm surprised the rental agency didn't unplug the tracker when they sold the car, but who is going to actually check that the mechanic did it during the prep for sale.