Let's talk qualcomm......

[Wild Child]

Is anyone else having trouble with their QC killing their battery after turning the engine off for 8-10 hours? They installed the units on 3 of my trucks and all 3 have the same problem. I know one other Sprinter having the same issue. So far I have bought one new battery at a cost of $270 for one of the Sprinters. One QC is installed on a Ford CV that is experiencing the same issue.

The shop says we can simply un-plug the 9 pin connector each time and that should prevent the drain. What a pain in the a** just to get 8 hours of sleep. They swear the QC will not drain that much on a battery. We always turn the light off all the way when we shut the truck down.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Wolfeman68]

Is anyone else having trouble with their QC killing their battery after turning the engine off for 8-10 hours? They installed the units on 3 of my trucks and all 3 have the same problem. I know one other Sprinter having the same issue. So far I have bought one new battery at a cost of $270 for one of the Sprinters. One QC is installed on a Ford CV that is experiencing the same issue.

The shop says we can simply un-plug the 9 pin connector each time and that should prevent the drain. What a pain in the a** just to get 8 hours of sleep. They swear the QC will not drain that much on a battery. We always turn the light off all the way when we shut the truck down.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Shooter, didn't know you were here at Load 1, welcome.

We have similar problems with battery drain on my Sprinters when they sit. Turning the light off on the QC works for awhile, but will come back on when the QC cycles.

One of my drivers is a certified Sprinter tech, and I worked on them to a lesser extent spending 20+ years in a Chrysler dealership.

We feel that the QC wakes up one or more computer modules on the truck when it cycles. For that period of time, the QC and modules are drawing power. It is also possible that the QC "brain" is keeping one or more of the truck modules awake constantly. We'll let the shop know if we find anything, but for now do a test yourself. Unplug the QC like the shop suggests. If your trucks start after the 8-10 hour period, then you just confirmed the QC's involvement. If you can let me know the result, it will help.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

My sprinter has been sitting at least 5 days now..Plan on starting it to-day...

 

[Wild Child]

No problems when we unplug the pin connector. That is the procedure when the drivers go home for several days at a time. One other driver had issues with his 06 Sprinter and his shop wired his to the ignition switch so that when he turned the engine off it also turned the QC off. that was the end of his dead battery problem. What do you think of that as a possible solution?

Great to hear from you and thanks for the warm welcome. Sure seem to be a lot of E1 refugees over here though!

 

[OntarioVanMan]

No problems when we unplug the pin connector. That is the procedure when the drivers go home for several days at a time. One other driver had issues with his 06 Sprinter and his shop wired his to the ignition switch so that when he turned the engine off it also turned the QC off. that was the end of his dead battery problem. What do you think of that as a possible solution?

Great to hear from you and thanks for the warm welcome. Sure seem to be a lot of E1 refugees over here though!

Tired of giving them all that FSC!! They are thieves!!

 

[Wolfeman68]

No problems when we unplug the pin connector. That is the procedure when the drivers go home for several days at a time. One other driver had issues with his 06 Sprinter and his shop wired his to the ignition switch so that when he turned the engine off it also turned the QC off. that was the end of his dead battery problem. What do you think of that as a possible solution?

Great to hear from you and thanks for the warm welcome. Sure seem to be a lot of E1 refugees over here though!

I'd say that points the finger at the QC. What needs to be determined is the QC's amperage draw during the 2-3 hr. cycle and when it goes into sleep mode. This is time consuming since you have to let both the QC and the van's modules power down. A multimeter has to be connected to the system to register the draw. You can tell if the van's modules are powered up as well, and if the QC is causing them to power up. I'll see if I can get some numbers.

I don't like connecting the QC to the ignition switch. It does two things. First, it's another power draw taking away from the volts needed to start the van. Second, the QC's brain is a computer. Any surge from the ignition system could fry it. I would suggest an inline toggle switch separate from the ignition to turn the QC on and off.

Tired of giving them all that FSC!! They are thieves!!

Let's just say it didn't work out in our case.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I'd say that points the finger at the QC. What needs to be determined is the QC's amperage draw during the 2-3 hr. cycle and when it goes into sleep mode. This is time consuming since you have to let both the QC and the van's modules power down. A multimeter has to be connected to the system to register the draw. You can tell if the van's modules are powered up as well, and if the QC is causing them to power up. I'll see if I can get some numbers.

I don't like connecting the QC to the ignition switch. It does two things. First, it's another power draw taking away from the volts needed to start the van. Second, the QC's brain is a computer. Any surge from the ignition system could fry it. I would suggest an inline toggle switch separate from the ignition to turn the QC on and off.



Let's just say it didn't work out in our case.

That is being polite about it...*L*

 

[jelliott]

NOOOO! I will get with the shop and Qualcomm. We have not had a rash of problems at all. We have these in over 45 sprinters. Wiring to the ignition could fry the unit and I am sure an owner is not going to want to pay $2300 to replace it. A toggle switch will allow the driver to shut the unit off when he is late or for other reasons and can/will block paperwork from transmitting.

 

[chefdennis]

Hey I just found out the hard way on the disconnect and the paperwork...

We all know how the QC works when scanning and sending paperwork...well I scanned a BOL down here in El Paso TX on the 7th before I flew out of here...Well I scanned it, sent it and then drove to the airport and proceeded to disconnect all power for the van..the main battery, the house bank and the alternator feed to the isolator because of how it is wired .... then when I got back down here on the 14, i hooked everything back up. Had an issue with the reboot and worked it out with Tim in the shop...

Ok so I didn't get paid for the run that i scanned from El Paso on the 7th....I called in and talked to Renee, seems the scan didn't go through until I re-hooked the power back up.....a week later...

If you are going to turn off or disconnect the QC, make sure all of you paper work as gone through and is not "stuck" in the send mode in the QC....

 

[Wolfeman68]

Hey I just found out the hard way on the disconnect and the paperwork...

We all know how the QC works when scanning and sending paperwork...well I scanned a BOL down here in El Paso TX on the 7th before I flew out of here...Well I scanned it, sent it and then drove to the airport and proceeded to disconnect all power for the van..the main battery, the house bank and the alternator feed to the isolator because of how it is wired .... then when I got back down here on the 14, i hooked everything back up. Had an issue with the reboot and worked it out with Tim in the shop...

Ok so I didn't get paid for the run that i scanned from El Paso on the 7th....I called in and talked to Renee, seems the scan didn't go through until I re-hooked the power back up.....a week later...

If you are going to turn off or disconnect the QC, make sure all of you paper work as gone through and is not "stuck" in the send mode in the QC....

That why I'm not having any of my guys mess with the QC if they are sitting. It can take as much as 12 hours for the paperwork to be sent. They can start the truck and let it idle to keep the batteries up. Getting that paperwork in on time is more important.

Also told them not to touch the QC plug, wires, etc. and that if they break it, they buy it. Issues are to be directed to Steve in the office or the guys in the shop.

 

[Wild Child]

NOOOO! I will get with the shop and Qualcomm. We have not had a rash of problems at all. We have these in over 45 sprinters. Wiring to the ignition could fry the unit and I am sure an owner is not going to want to pay $2300 to replace it. A toggle switch will allow the driver to shut the unit off when he is late or for other reasons and can/will block paperwork from transmitting.

Thanks John for your assistance. We are not messing with the QC at all until a solution is found. I am having the problem with 2 Sprinters and also with my Ford CV. Several others are having the same problem with their QC killing the battery. I have replaced 1 Sprinter battery already and they are rather costly. The toggle switch sounds like a possible solution if it can be worked out.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I just started mine after almost 6 days of sitting...not even a hesitation....ZOOoooom...

Its an 05...the best year ever!!

 

[MR.SNAPPY]

I had 2 kill switches installed on my truck a couple years ago..one on my start batteries and one on my house batteries. if I am going to be out of the truck for a period of time such as at home I will flip the the kill switches.I think the kill switch was only around 60.00 dollars each..they work great. just remember to turn them back on when starting the truck...LOL...not that it has ever happened

 

[TonyG]

Well with our 08 Sprinter we have never had an issue with drainage or low power, we have let the sprinter sit for days and never had the vehicle not start or even slow starts.

 

[jelliott]

Thanks John for your assistance. We are not messing with the QC at all until a solution is found. I am having the problem with 2 Sprinters and also with my Ford CV. Several others are having the same problem with their QC killing the battery. I have replaced 1 Sprinter battery already and they are rather costly. The toggle switch sounds like a possible solution if it can be worked out.

What model year are the sprinters? We haven't had any reported van problems.

 

[Wild Child]

What model year are the sprinters? We haven't had any reported van problems.

Both Sprinters are 08 and the Ford CV is 2010, one other driver I know is a 06 Sprinter. There are several other posts on here experiencing the same problems.

 

[dadeo2my3]

I have taken the issue directly to Qualcomm (our rep, area rep and corporate tech support) and here is some of what they have come back with...

"MCP200 operating at +12V (antenna and display unit) = draws a maximum of 1.5 amps
MCP200 Asleep = draws 20 mA
Year of the truck does not matter. How a truck handles the unit and power depends on the size of the batteries and the health of the batteries and charging system. With good batteries and good charging system the MCP200 qualcomm units should be able to stay on for weeks without affecting the batteries."

"Let us know a couple of truck # ‘s or qualcomm serial #’s. Is it possible to get some specs of the truck? Battery system? Charging system?"

I can get the serial numbers for the MAS unit (black box) I would just need to know the truck numbers that are experiencing this power drain issue.

 

[RoadKing06]

We had to have one of our batteries replaced since installing the Qualcom in our truck. 3032

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[jelliott]

Wanted to post the following message up. Fr8shkr is not on with Load One so EO does not let him post in the company forum. Here is what he sent me in a pm:

Hi John, I was reading in the Load 1 forum that you have some drivers having a problem with dead batteries because of the qc draining them. You might also ask these drivers if they are leaving their gps plugged in. A friend of mine had that problem and after checking the amp draw on his gps which he said was alot, he unplugs it now. I don't think he is having a problem now. Just thought I would let you know.

I tried posting in your forum but could not. So I figured I just pm you.

Fr8 Shaker

 

[comet_4298]

Got some new macro's yesterday and would like to know about the part that is worded (Dispatcher or Manager that confirmed layover or deadhead?

Does that just mean that I need to call dispatch and let them know that I've been here 48hrs and write down who I let know?