I thought I’d read that with the newest version of the Range device you could leave it plugged in with no worries of battery drain. And that’s one reason I sent mine in for the update.

Well, I promptly got it back today just a week after sending it in. However, I was surprised to see a warning on the package stating that it should not be left in the OBDP if the vehicle won’t be driven for several days because it could drain the battery.

Is this just a CYA disclaimer, or does this newest version still drain battery if left plugged in? Those of you who have this latest version, what is your experience?

Thanks in advance.

 

I believe this has been discussed in one of the several 'range' threads as just being a general disclaimer carried over from the old packaging.

I've had mine about 6 months and am 100% convinced there is no longer a battery drain issue. I've even tried to get such as issue to surface to be sure and
haven't been able too.

 

Exactly nothing to worry about

 

OK. Just one more question. Once plugged in, does yout blue light on the device stay on? I just plugged my new device in about 10 minutes ago and the light is still on. I'm not going anywhere... just sitting in my car in the garage engine off.

Mine is a 2016 Z51.

 

I now have the latest software update and mine does the same thing....one blue light stays on. It did not do that before the latest update. Weird.

 

Not really sure about that as I don't see/notice the lights with the devise plugged in unless you look down under the dash.

I've always kept mind plugged in all the time, no switch installed. Works great.

 

I got mine back in a box that said the same thing but the power consumption issue is solved.

 

Thoughts of an old retired electronics repairman:

It may be that the newest version Range includes circuitry that allows power on/off that is not in the older versions. Consider this, software alone cannot turn a device on and off. Software controls hardware for this purpose, relays or solid state devises. Its possible they've added this circuitry in response to users complaining of battery drain. The older units do not have this circuitry, apparently, since its never been implemented.

If this is the case with the Range family of devises then you may well have the latest, greatest software release but lack the ability to turn on/off. Call them and ask.

 

The range battery issue was related to the device having to poll the communications protocol thru the OBD port every so often to check and see if the car was running , if so the device would turn on ... they have modified this feature , and I have no idea what they did but what I can tell you is that there is not any problems with Battery drain any more
Dave

 

Their website under q&A gives info on bat. drain. Unless the info is outdated I think the range still pulls a tiny bit of power, if blue light is on you know it is getting power from somewhere. I think it goes into a sleep mode when car isn't on and wakes up occasionally. MY blue light comes on and then goes off when not in use.

 

Have you driven the car since plugging in the device? That little blue light stayed on in mine as well after first plugging it in, but now goes out after driving the vehicle. Also, I’ve not experienced any battery drain.

 

Mines been in for months now, no codes no battery drain.

 

This ^^^^

I just returned from driving around for a bit today. Shifts are as smooth as butter butter butter, (thanks to the CF member who started that thread) and the light did indeed go out once I got back home and turned off the engine.

It was a multi-stop trip today and I left the device on (plugged in). If I'd left the old one on and had done the same, I'd have seen the CEL come on. This time, no CEL at all.

Good job, Ranger...and thanks for all the helpful responses y'all....

 

I'm sure they've addressed the power drain problem some way or another. As far as having a device turn itself on and off periodically, then its not really off. Something is alive and under power for the device to do anything. Some circuit inside has to be powered on to know when its time to turn the rest of the device on, right? And it will drain power to do that.


As far as knowing whether or not you're having power drain from your own Range, what ever release you might have, you'd have to connect it through an ammeter to know. Otherwise you really don't know. I'd connect my own for a test but its an old release and most definitely drains. I have mine powered by a circuit that comes alive when I start the car so I know mine isn't connected to power when the car is off. Never had a CEL. '15 base coupe, by the way.

 

This is what Range web site Q&A states:
To add some more detail:

The device will go to a VERY low "sleep" state after the engine is off (within 3-10 seconds of the engine shutting off)
In this state all the LEDs are OFF and it hibernates at about 1-3mA
Every 7-25 seconds it will wake up to a "light sleep" state to check to see if the vehicle is running. In this mode, there will still be NO LEDS lit but current draw will spike for < 0.1 sec to about 7-10mA.
If the vehicle is NOT running (i.e. RPM < 500) then it'll go back to deep sleep. Rinse and repeat until the vehicle is running, at which time it'll fire up completely and you'll start seeing LEDs light again.
Given this and the normal draw from other modules (a modern vehicle will always have a small draw for the security systems, BCM, remote start/locks, OnStar, etc. .. sometimes as much a 50mA), it is recommended to reduce the risk of battery depletion by unplugging the module when the vehicle is going to be sitting for an extended period. Cold weather, weak charge state, age, etc. can all contribute to less battery capacity.

A healthy battery with decent capacity should be able to go much longer than the recommended length of time but it worth it not to come out from a 3 week vacation and find the battery dead in the airport parking lot!

 

Still not convinced the Range has anything to do with making, “Shifts smooth as butter butter butter”. The function of the Range device is to intercept (and then not pass on) the command code that tells the engine computer to go into V4 mode.

 

Maybe a tiny bit but I'm with you on this

 

All I know is that the shift from 3rd to 1st is now a lot smoother than before. It used to, for lack of a better work, 'jump' at the point when it shifted down to first from third when coming to a stop. Since having my new device and driving around a lot yesterday, it no longer does that. Smooth as butter. And I'm really watching for it every time I come to a stop.

It may very well revert to doing that 'jump' again, but for now, it's very smooth unlike before. And there's no other explanation for it other than the new version of the Ranger device.

I'll report back if it starts to 'jump' again.

 

Here's my SWAG on the smoother transmission. I was getting the same jumps, shakes, and shudders as you Ex. I'm thinking the reason is that at that "certain point" when the car was down shifting from 3 to 1 the cylinder mode was also trying to move back into V8 mode making the thing jump a little. And, while moving at slower speeds in V4 mode I would get a shudder when I would lightly accelerate. There again I'm thinking the car was trying to do two things at one time, shift to a lower gear and transition back into V8 mode thus causing the shudder. With the Range plugged in keeping the engine in V8 mode none of that crap happens. Mind you I'm not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to this new fangled technology.