Ultragauge Killing 12V battery

DreadPirateJon

DreadPirateJon

New member
So I just installed an Ultragauge em1.2 last week, and immediately noticed issues with the vehicle starting, I would turn the ignition and just get a relay click and nothing else.

This weekend I left it plugged in and checked the battery before going inside, it was at 12.6v. In the morning the battery was at 1.3v.

Has anyone had any experiences with this?

I like the gauge but this is pretty annoying.
 
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I've never had a problem with mine draining my battery. I've let it sit for a week between startups with it plugged in. It's possible I guess, but I would test your battery first.
 
Is it somehow wired to a hot 12V source instead of a switched 12V off the ignition? I'm not familiar with how to use one but just a thought.
 
The Ultragauge is supposed to go to into a sleep mode with the ignition off, using only a miniscule amount of energy.

So unless your Ultragauge is a dud, the problem is likely to be elsewhere. Does the UG display stay on when the ignition is off?

You can unplug the UG and see if the problem goes away, in which case it's probably the UG. I'd be really surprised, but it's possible.
 
Mine has been installed for 5 years. Often sits for 2-3 weeks and does not affect starting.

There are user programmable settings for what turns the UG on and off. If yours is staying on I suggest you take a look at these, I believe I changed it from the default. The display should blank off a couple of seconds after shutting down the engine.

Mine turns on based on battery voltage (above 14v or something as in alternator running) and turns off when communication with the ECU is lost. That seems to work OK.
 
So the battery is only about 2 months old, and will hold voltage for weeks when the gauge is not plugged in. And the gauge is going into sleep mode when I key off.

I've reached out to the company to see if they have any ideas. I'm thinking either I have a one off issue in my gauge or at some point maybe a previous owner did something janky with the vehicles wiring.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk
 
Have you tried unplugging the UltraGauge to see if anything changes? I have these in 3 vehicles, and have never seen this happen. You have a drain somewhere, but I doubt it's the UltraGauge.

Mike
 
MStudt said:
Have you tried unplugging the UltraGauge to see if anything changes? I have these in 3 vehicles, and have never seen this happen. You have a drain somewhere, but I doubt it's the UltraGauge.

Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, and all my issues go away as soon as I unplug it, I dont have the issue with it not starting, and the battery will last overnight.

Im not certain it is the ultragauge's fault, but there is something in how it is interacting with the vehicle.
 
DreadPirateJon said:
Yeah, and all my issues go away as soon as I unplug it, I dont have the issue with it not starting, and the battery will last overnight.

Im not certain it is the ultragauge's fault, but there is something in how it is interacting with the vehicle.
Click to expand...

Sure sounds like you traced it down to the UG, no matter how odd. I think it the UG goes into the power saving mode, which it seems to do, then something must be wrong inside the UG. I don't think the OBD connector can "force" current into the UG unless the UG is "pulling" it by being active?
 
DreadPirateJon said:
Im not certain it is the ultragauge's fault, but there is something in how it is interacting with the vehicle.
Click to expand...

This could be it.

Take a look in the protocol settings, take a look at how it determines on and off. The manual is pretty good. I can't tell you exactly how to set it up, I did mine 5 years ago but I seem to remember some info in there about battery draining because things aren't going to sleep correctly.
 
The Cold War Kid said:
It would have to be one he77 of a drain to kill battery overnight! Is the thing hot?
Click to expand...

I am wondering if it is keeping some other CPUs awake on the CAN bus. Once I have the time after I fix my mistakes in the engine, Ill plug into the bus and try to figure out whats going on.

Being such an old OBDII vehicle with some older OBD parts still on it, im not exactly sure how much info ill be able to get out of the bus.
 
DreadPirateJon said:
I am wondering if it is keeping some other CPUs awake on the CAN bus. Once I have the time after I fix my mistakes in the engine, Ill plug into the bus and try to figure out whats going on.

Being such an old OBDII vehicle with some older OBD parts still on it, im not exactly sure how much info ill be able to get out of the bus.
Click to expand...
There is no CAN bus on the gen3 4Runner. The OBD port is directly connected to the ECU and that's it (well, and a power and ground connection). The 7.5A OBD fuse is hot all the time though...

Oh, edit before finishing: There is also a connection to the SRS (airbag) computer on the same SIL line that is used for OBD communication.

-Charlie
 
DreadPirateJon said:
I am wondering if it is keeping some other CPUs awake on the CAN bus. Once I have the time after I fix my mistakes in the engine, Ill plug into the bus and try to figure out whats going on.

Being such an old OBDII vehicle with some older OBD parts still on it, im not exactly sure how much info ill be able to get out of the bus.
Click to expand...

According to the Ultragauge website you can get these readings.

Manufacture Date: 12/1996
Transmission: Automatic
Protocol: J1850 VPM

Open/Closed Loop Emissions Status
Percent Engine Load
Engine coolant temperature (°F)
Engine coolant temperature (°C)
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1
Long Term Fuel Trim Bank 1
RPM
MPH
KPH
Ignition Timing Advance
Intake Air Temperature (°F)
Intake Air Temperature (°C)
Mass Air Flow Sensor output in grams/sec
Absolute Throttle Position Percentage
Bank 1 Oxygen Sensor 1 Voltage
Bank 1 Oxygen Sensor 2 Voltage
Brake Horsepower 1
Brake Kilowatts 1
Torque 1 (ft lbs)
Torque 1 (N.m)
Brake Horsepower 2
Brake Kilowatts 2
Torque 2 (ft lbs)
Torque 2 (N.m)
UG Battery voltage
Mass Air Flow 2, Calibrated/Calculated
Instantaneous MPG
Intantaneous Gallons/Hour (GPH)
Instantaneous KPL
Intantaneous Liters/Hour
Instantaneous L/100km
Distance to Empty(DTE)(miles)
Distance to Empty(DTE)(km)
Time to Empty (TTE)
Fuel Level (gallons)
Fuel Level (liters)
Oil Distance(miles)
Oil Distance(km)
Service Distance(miles)
Service Distance(km)
General Purpose
Average MPH
Average MPG
Average Gallon/Hour (GPH)
Fuel Used (gallons)
Run Time
Distance (miles)
Average KPL
Average L/100km
Average KPH
Average Liters/Hour
Fuel Used (liters)
Distance (km)
TRIP GAUGES
Run Time
Average MPH
Average MPG
Fuel Used Gallons
Average Gallon Per Hour (GPH)
UltraGauge Internal Temperature (°F)
Average KPH
Avergage KPL
Avergage L/100km
Liters Used
Average Liters/Hour
Distance (km)
UltraGauge Internal Temperature (°C)
SHORT TRIP GAUGES
Run Time
Avergage MPG
Fuel Used (gallons)
Average gallons/hour
Average MPH
Distance (miles)
Average KPH
Avergage KPL
Avergage L/100km
Liters Used
Average Liters/Hour
Distance (km)
 
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