OBD Device advice regarding 12v battery drain

[em5quare]

Which OBD's are safe from the point of view of not draining the 12V battery when the car is off? TIA

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[RickMachE]

The OBDLink MX+ is highly rated - and not inexpensive. https://amzn.to/3zxZCnj

 

[Mach-Lee]

And just note any of them can drain your battery if you forget to end data collection when exiting the vehicle.

 

[EasyPass]

Why not just plug it in when you are going to interact with it, and pull it off when you are done. I'm at a loss for a reason to have it connected all the time, since the port is easily accessible, no? It's unlikely to have an app connected to it 24/7 as well, IMHO.

However, I did always want to have the app displayed on Android Auto on the big screen, but developers have advised this will likely not ever happen.

 

[hartmms]

Why not just plug it in when you are going to interact with it, and pull it off when you are done. I'm at a loss for a reason to have it connected all the time, since the port is easily accessible, no? It's unlikely to have an app connected to it 24/7 as well, IMHO.

Some of us lazy (sometimes me). Some of us are forgetful (often me). Some of us don't want yet another thing to fiddle with in our lives (definitely me).

However, I did always want to have the app displayed on Android Auto on the big screen, but developers have advised this will likely not ever happen.

Car Scanner app now has an official Android Auto screen that shows a text based listing of each of the dashboards configured. It also allows provides a screen to connect and disconnect the OBD adapter. I'm not quite sure how Android Auto allowed for that since a graphical dashboard with dials/graphs would be less distracting to the driver, but I'll take what I can get.

 

[em5quare]

Do you have to actively stop data collection, or does that happen automatically when you walk away with your iPhone (and presumably get out of Bluetooth range)?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Do you have to actively stop data collection, or does that happen automatically when you walk away with your iPhone (and presumably get out of Bluetooth range)?

You should always try to stop data collection. I’ve walked in my house and had it keep running from 50’ away and drain the battery.

 

[EasyPass]

Some of us lazy (sometimes me). Some of us are forgetful (often me). Some of us don't want yet another thing to fiddle with in our lives (definitely me).



Car Scanner app now has an official Android Auto screen that shows a text based listing of each of the dashboards configured. It also allows provides a screen to connect and disconnect the OBD adapter. I'm not quite sure how Android Auto allowed for that since a graphical dashboard with dials/graphs would be less distracting to the driver, but I'll take what I can get.

How do you get that to display? When I look in Android Settings for AA under Customize Launcher, I do not see a toggle control for the Car Scanner App like the other AA approved/integrated apps.

Otherwise, I can relate to your three "behavioral" points somewhat. ?

 

[hartmms]

How do you get that to display? When I look in Android Settings for AA under Customize Launcher, I do not see a toggle control for the Car Scanner App like the other AA approved/integrated apps.

Just go to the apps page of AA. Car Scanner app should show up there. You might want to check to make sure you have latest CS app version: 1.111.8

 

[EasyPass]

Just go to the apps page of AA. Car Scanner app should show up there. You might want to check to make sure you have latest CS app version: 1.111.8

Didn't have 1.111.8 (9/8/24), got it now. Thanks for the pointer!

 

[kindofblue]

I hadn't realized that the OBDLink MX+ could drain the 12v battery. Thanks for the tip.

 

[hartmms]

I hadn't realized that the OBDLink MX+ could drain the 12v battery. Thanks for the tip.

Any OBD adapter that keeps communicating on the car CAN bus will prevent the car from going into the proper sleep mode. However, when you disconnect the OBDLink MX+ from your app/software, it will only use enough power to keep the bluetooth ready to accept connections. This is a trivial amount of power draw.

 

[Mach Len E]

Why not just plug it in when you are going to interact with it, and pull it off when you are done. I'm at a loss for a reason to have it connected all the time, since the port is easily accessible, no? It's unlikely to have an app connected to it 24/7 as well, IMHO.

However, I did always want to have the app displayed on Android Auto on the big screen, but developers have advised this will likely not ever happen.

Car Scanner is on Apple Play so there is hope.

 

[Rudi Krupsdahl]

Do you have to actively stop data collection, or does that happen automatically when you walk away with your iPhone (and presumably get out of Bluetooth range)?

You must stop the Carscanner app, otherwise it will continue to log, as in some situations you would like it to continue logging even if the car is switched off - perhaps when troubleshooting or something else.

I only close the app and don't take out the OBD (MX+), it's worked fine like that for the last year and a half.

 

[Snakebitten]

I hadn't realized that the OBDLink MX+ could drain the 12v battery. Thanks for the tip.

Depends on the app, from what I have experienced.

In the truck, I use the OBDlink app with the OBDlink MX+. I've never had to do anything with the app or the phone to ensure things go to sleep properly and protect the AGM battery.

However, on the Mach-E, using Carscanner and the OBDlink MX+ I have to "disconnect" the app on the phone to ensure the session ends and the MX properly shutting down.

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