Common cause of battery drain.

[Emtee]

Apologies for the slightly vague thread title, but I didn't want to advertise the subject unnecessarily.

In case you are experiencing unexplained battery drain, and choose to replace the tracker, then this is what it looks like.

It's fitted at the factory in one of two or three hard to get at places.

From what I understand, on the 3200's and early 4200's it's fitted in the passenger footwell up against the centre tunnel, whereas on the later 4200's and GS it's either on the parcel shelf or against the rear wheel arch, which is where it was in both my 4200 and GS. Both later locations require the removal of the rear seat and seat back and then either the parcel shelf or the side liner that has the moulded armrest and speaker. Search the forum and you'll find the removal procedures for both locations. IIRC, both procedures are thanks to Matt (Conaero).

They seem to exhaust their own battery after about 6 years, after which they will have a considerable draw on the main battery. This cold weather will magnify the drain as our cars are stood for longer between drives, or garaged over winter. If the tracker is pulling on the battery it will drain a new correctly specified, fully charged battery in about 72 hours (based on my experience).

Once located you can either just pull the plug and leave it, or remove it completely.

Oh and to any thieving scrotes out there, this wasn't a removal, it was a replacement.

Hope it helps.....

 

[bigbob]

Useful for people. My tracker started doing this on the 4200 at about 5 years old so MP Supercars found where it was piggy backed into a fuse and disconnected it. That way the tracker is still there for a future owner.

 

[Emtee]

Hi Bigbob, Yes that's right. For anyone choosing to take this route the fuses are to be found in the uppermost cable shown in the last photograph. It bypasses all other fuses and wires directly to the battery so that it's always active.

 

[Parisien]

Very good Miles.....thanks


P

 

[alfatwo]

Dont want to appear silly but if you happen to find one on your ten year old Maser,how does it to work if you wanted it to,ie who tracks the tracker?

Dave

 

[Emtee]

It's a subscription service Dave. Cobra Navtrak in our case. On a ten year old Maser' the battery will be done, so this will need replacing, which CN will do for you as part of the renewed subscription. Costs about £300 a year, but there is an insurance benefit. Doesn't make it a neutral expenditure, but it does at least contribute towards the cost. The service, though costly, is actually very good. Many times I've left mine at the garage for service etc and CN have phoned me within seconds of the car being moved without the 'tab'. (the tab is the gismo you keep in your pocket to show the system the rightful owner is behind the wheel).

 

[alfatwo]

Thankyou Miles,does it work on a GPS system? would it locate your car in mainland Europe

Thanks Dave

 

[Emtee]

Thankyou Miles,does it work on a GPS system? would it locate your car in mainland Europe

Thanks Dave

Hi Dave. Yep, to within a few feet and it's a live feed to CN, so the chances are it would be on trace before your car got to the end of your road. And if you don't answer the phone for whatever reason, the assumption is theft, and the authorities are called.

I know people that, as well as using the service as a security, go for the enhanced service and use it as a data-logger. The service can tell you how quickly you did the Nurburgring if you want it to!

 

[Brendan]

Do all 4200 have trackers? And is there an easier way of disabling it?

 

[alfatwo]

Hi Dave. Yep, to within a few feet and it's a live feed to CN, so the chances are it would be on trace before your car got to the end of your road. And if you don't answer the phone for whatever reason, the assumption is theft, and the authorities are called.

I know people that, as well as using the service as a security, go for the enhanced service and use it as a data-logger. The service can tell you how quickly you did the Nurburgring if you want it to!

That very impressive for what must be now 14 year old tech,I suppose the latest hardware is half the size making it easier to hide

Thanks Dave

 

[Emtee]

Do all 4200 have trackers? And is there an easier way of disabling it?

I can't answer with absolute certainty Brendan, but as far as I'm aware... yes. The tracker is fitted at the factory (by Navtrak rather than Maserati) for all cars destined for the UK market. Whether they were ever activated is a different question, as this depends on the choice of the future owner, but the equipment is in there.

As for easy disablement, then no. That's largely the point. If they were easy to get to then the scrotes would have a go.The main connection is with the tracker unit and it's about an hours work to get to it and then put the car back together afterwards. If you want to, you can call Navtrak and from what I understand they will remove it for you. Not sure whether they charge, but I believe not, as I understand that the equipment remains their property.

 

[CatmanV2]

That's great stuff. Thanks, Miles.

C

 

[Emtee]

That's great stuff. Thanks, Miles.

C

No worries Cat. I hope it proves helpful.

 

[CatmanV2]

Given my battery getting lunched (sub zero temps or no) in about 10 days, I suspect it may well prove useful

C

 

[Emtee]

That's one of the main reason's I posted the details Cat. Your battery may well be fine. I suspected the same with mine. Battery only a year old, previously holding charge without issue and then suddenly it starts to behave like it's shot. I first suspected an earth drain (without any real evidence to be honest), but it soon became obvious the tracker was the culprit. Certainly for me it came on fairly quickly as well. If you get your battery checked and it comes back as holding a good charge, then well worth looking at the tracker and getting it replaced or disconnected as you wish.

 

[CatmanV2]

Yeah. This battery *looks* pretty new, but, in the boot, they don't seem to age quite as hard as bonnet mounted units, in terms of appearance at least.

In any event, it's got to be a good thing to sort out. I'm tempted to have the tracker re-enabled, but, again, it's priority cash spending while I get the lady up to standard. £50 to remove it or £300 to make it work (less insurance reduction of course).

As my 4200 seems to have been somewhat un-loved, I'm aiming to spend on stuff that really matters, as it were (although spending £60 on a CTEK charger may well be 'non-essential')

C

 

[mjheathcote]

I assume I have one, if they where all fitted when new, somewhere...
How do you go about enquiring whether it is serviceable, and restarting the service?
Who do you ring, Navtrak I assume (telephone number anybody?) and then what do they need? (Vin number I assume?)
If I don't where it's fitted, do Navtrak have a record?
Ta!

 

[Emtee]

£60 on a CTEK is money well spent if you drive your car less frequently Cat. It'll keep the battery in good fettle and there-after all the car's electronics. The electronics have a designed memory long after the key's removed. Things like the alarm, window dip functions, all the things that 'arm' the car when you blip the remote to get in remain active after you blip it again to lock it. If you take a charge reading from the battery after the car's been 'turned off' you'll notice a drain for at least ten minutes afterwards as the systems close down.

Many CEL's are a result of battery discharge; nothing to do with the component being knackered (hopefully) but just that the system has lost it's memory of the component position. The tracker drain (if you experience it) just exacerbates this.

 

[Emtee]

I assume I have one, if they where all fitted when new, somewhere...
How do you go about enquiring whether it is serviceable, and restarting the service?
Who do you ring, Navtrak I assume (telephone number anybody?) and then what do they need? (Vin number I assume?)
If I don't where it's fitted, do Navtrak have a record?
Ta!

Hi Mike, All installations are logged. The tracking company has changed ownership at least once since the equipment was first fitted (now owned by Cobra), but the records are in place.

This is the web-site... http://www.cobravehiclesecurity.co.uk/cobra-home-.aspx

Re-starting the service is no more than making your enquiry and paying the subscription, as the equipment is activatable whether it's drawing it's power from it's own battery (unlikely) or the car battery. If you don't have the tabs (you get two) they'll send you new ones.

 

[Brendan]

I can't answer with absolute certainty Brendan, but as far as I'm aware... yes. The tracker is fitted at the factory (by Navtrak rather than Maserati) for all cars destined for the UK market. Whether they were ever activated is a different question, as this depends on the choice of the future owner, but the equipment is in there.

As for easy disablement, then no. That's largely the point. If they were easy to get to then the scrotes would have a go.The main connection is with the tracker unit and it's about an hours work to get to it and then put the car back together afterwards. If you want to, you can call Navtrak and from what I understand they will remove it for you. Not sure whether they charge, but I believe not, as I understand that the equipment remains their property.

Thanks for that Miles