Battery drain? - Disconnected Navtrak = Transmission Failure 'Go to dealer' ?

Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

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1,767
It was raining today, so I decided to do a couple of little jobs on the GT-Sport.
One of which was to disconnect the Navtrak as I suspect it's draining my battery.
Once removed, I went to fire it up and got 'Transmission Failure go to dealer' up on the dash and the car wouldn't start. :eek:

Initially I was worried that I had done/disturbed something, when doing other jobs fitting a C-tek comfort connector to the battery and boot interior and fault finding the boot power socket not working.

So I checked all that, carried out a battery reset and still the same error.
I also got side tracked as I thought I'd heard the F1 relay chatter a bit, and didn't think the F1 pump was priming as often as it should.....Is it every time you open the drivers door? I thought it was, but mine isn't.

I then re-connected the the NavTrak with a battery reset, and although the error message was still on the dash, this time the car started and then it cleared. I was able to cycle the gearbox in 1 and R in the garage with no problems.

Just to double check, I disconnected the Navtrak again, and again got the same 'Transmission Failure go to dealer' up on the dash and the car wouldn't start. Re-connected the the NavTrak and all seems normal again.

So, I've read many times that people remove these units, so why can't I ?
 
Last edited:
Gazcw

Gazcw

Member
Messages
7,763
Sam McGoo said:
It was raining today, so I decided to do a couple of little jobs on the GT-Sport.
One of which was to disconnect the Navtrak as I suspect it's draining my battery.
Once removed, I went to fire it up and got 'Transmission Failure go to dealer' up on the dash and the car wouldn't start. :eek:

Initially I was worried that I had done/disturbed something, when doing other jobs fitting a C-tek comfort connector to the battery and boot interior and fault finding the boot power socket not working.

So I checked all that, carried out a battery reset and still the same error.
I also got side tracked as I thought I'd heard the F1 relay chatter a bit, and didn't think the F1 pump was priming as often as it should.....Is it every time you open the drivers door? I thought it was, but mine isn't.

I then re-connected the the NavTrak with a battery reset, and although the error message was still on the dash, this time the car started and then it cleared. I was able to cycle the gearbox in 1 and R in the garage with no problems.

Just to double check, I disconnected the Navtrak again, and again got the same 'Transmission Failure go to dealer' up on the dash and the car wouldn't start. Re-connected the the NavTrak and all seems normal again.

So, I've read many times that people remove these units, so why can't I ?
Click to expand...
Interesting. I disconnected my tracker with no issue but I guess the later versions operate differently
 
Zep

Zep

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9,270
There is a start command that comes from the TCU through the trackers and then to a relay under the bonnet which energises the starter. When you unplug the tracker the link is broken and you get that fault.
 
Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

Member
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1,767
Zep said:
There is a start command that comes from the TCU through the trackers and then to a relay under the bonnet which energises the starter. When you unplug the tracker the link is broken and you get that fault.
Click to expand...

Thanks Zep.
OK, so do I have to leave it in?
Or can the connections be shorted to enable normal function? If so, would some kind Sole tell me which ones or have a diagram? ;)
I don't really want to start ripping things to bits too much, but if it can be done easy enough, I'd probably do it.
 
Zep

Zep

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You can either leave it in or splice the cables. I might be able to help, but not on the open forum.
 
T

Templar

Member
Messages
107
Sorry to hear of your problems with Navtrac. Why not contact Vodaphone and get them to disconnect your unit. In my GT as far as I know the Navtrac unit is still in the car somewhere but not operative. When I phoned Vodaphone and was told that the unit was still in the car but it would cost me £300 to connect the unit and for 12 months subscription I didn't pursue it and obtained another tracker which I installed which so far has done the job. No battery problems as far as I know!!
 
Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

Member
Messages
1,767
So I had a bit of a 'play' yesterday, and after some good advice from @Zep, decided to do a current drain test before taking it any further.

I did several tests, but the general outcome was;
Initial current draw when the battery was first connected was around 3A this dropped to around 2A and after a few seconds dropped again. This is obviously the various systems powering up.
After that ...
With the NavTrak all plugged in, 90% of the time the drain seemed to settle between 570mA and 610mA
With it disconnected, it ALWAYS settled at 225mA - a fair bit lower.
There was one occasion, with the Navtrak still connected, that it dropped to 225mA which then put doubts in my mind as to whether its a problem or not.
Maybe it stopped draining as it had topped its internal battery up for a while and only becomes parasitic when its battery drops below a certain voltage ? Would make sense.

Anyway, I stopped my testing at that point for a few reasons..
  1. I was getting paranoid about repeated battery connecting and dis-connecting causing further issues.
  2. I'm not 100% certain it is a problem, and without a wiring diagram, I wasn't totally comfortable shorting out the wires to the transmission to remove the tracker, just in case I got it wrong.
  3. I forgot myself and left the door open on the last test, and this of course meant my F1 pump kicked into life blowing the fuse in my multi meter! :as001 (2)::saifi3:

Even if it is draining it, its not a big problem at the moment anyway as my battery does last at least a couple of weeks before its starts to slow, and hasn't yet gone totally flat.

So I'll continue to stick it on the C-tek when its not in regular use for now, and maybe come back to it at a later date if it becomes a problem.
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,782
Sam McGoo said:
So I had a bit of a 'play' yesterday, and after some good advice from @Zep, decided to do a current drain test before taking it any further.

I did several tests, but the general outcome was;
Initial current draw when the battery was first connected was around 3A this dropped to around 2A and after a few seconds dropped again. This is obviously the various systems powering up.
After that ...
With the NavTrak all plugged in, 90% of the time the drain seemed to settle between 570mA and 610mA
With it disconnected, it ALWAYS settled at 225mA - a fair bit lower.
There was one occasion, with the Navtrak still connected, that it dropped to 225mA which then put doubts in my mind as to whether its a problem or not.
Maybe it stopped draining as it had topped its internal battery up for a while and only becomes parasitic when its battery drops below a certain voltage ? Would make sense.

Anyway, I stopped my testing at that point for a few reasons..
  1. I was getting paranoid about repeated battery connecting and dis-connecting causing further issues.
Click to expand...

Simpler to pull each fuse in turn and see what makes the current drop....

C
 
Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

Member
Messages
1,767
CatmanV2 said:
Simpler to pull each fuse in turn and see what makes the current drop....

C
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the best way to find which circuit might be causing the most drain. But I have no idea where the navtrak is wired into as obviously its not on any diagrams/fuse box charts. And you can't tell when the power disconnects to it, as the leds flash away regardless due to its internal battery.
 
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