Source of Acura TLX Parasitic Drain
12-13-2020, 06:59 PM
#1
Source of Acura TLX Parasitic Drain
Thought I'd post here as a PSA for anyone else having similar issues.
Back in December of 2017 I purchased a new Acura TLX from Acura of Peoria. The car has been fantastic but I've always had seemingly odd issues with the battery either dying prematurely or experiencing heavy discharge. In March of 2019 I noticed the car cranked over slowly a few times and had the battery replaced under warranty by the dealer. In April of this year, I started having battery issues again (I was measuring the battery voltage on a recurring basis) and decided to buy an Optima AGM battery in lieu of going to the dealership during COVID.
A few weeks ago, I noticed the car was cranking over slowly despite my son driving the car on a near daily basis for extended trips and placing the car on a battery tender (designed for AGMs) as needed. I noticed that there was sometimes current draw in excess of 100mA despite the car being off/asleep for a significant amount of time. My sons and I started measuring fuses to identify the cause of the parasitic drain and my son noticed a GPS tracker installed by Acura of Peoria in the left side kick panel on the dash.
I suspect this was installed to locate the car if it was stolen off their lot. I can't believe on a new car (paid all in cash) they'd install this Chinese junk (self-tapping screw and 3M double sided tape) and fail to remove it after the car was sold. The FCC ID on the back of the label (2AAQ6AC05) identifies this device as a M-Labs APOLLO GPS tracking device. With the car off I measured at least a 50-60 mA minimum current draw from the module at any given time (probably peaking at various times). They also cut a significant number of wires off of the module leaving them exposed each with 0-3 VDC ready to short.
Just an FYI if anybody has a drain issue and wants a place to start.
https://imgur.com/a/ShUDhpQ
Back in December of 2017 I purchased a new Acura TLX from Acura of Peoria. The car has been fantastic but I've always had seemingly odd issues with the battery either dying prematurely or experiencing heavy discharge. In March of 2019 I noticed the car cranked over slowly a few times and had the battery replaced under warranty by the dealer. In April of this year, I started having battery issues again (I was measuring the battery voltage on a recurring basis) and decided to buy an Optima AGM battery in lieu of going to the dealership during COVID.
A few weeks ago, I noticed the car was cranking over slowly despite my son driving the car on a near daily basis for extended trips and placing the car on a battery tender (designed for AGMs) as needed. I noticed that there was sometimes current draw in excess of 100mA despite the car being off/asleep for a significant amount of time. My sons and I started measuring fuses to identify the cause of the parasitic drain and my son noticed a GPS tracker installed by Acura of Peoria in the left side kick panel on the dash.
I suspect this was installed to locate the car if it was stolen off their lot. I can't believe on a new car (paid all in cash) they'd install this Chinese junk (self-tapping screw and 3M double sided tape) and fail to remove it after the car was sold. The FCC ID on the back of the label (2AAQ6AC05) identifies this device as a M-Labs APOLLO GPS tracking device. With the car off I measured at least a 50-60 mA minimum current draw from the module at any given time (probably peaking at various times). They also cut a significant number of wires off of the module leaving them exposed each with 0-3 VDC ready to short.
Just an FYI if anybody has a drain issue and wants a place to start.
https://imgur.com/a/ShUDhpQ
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janeybop2000 (12-16-2020)
12-14-2020, 05:45 PM
#2
Senior Moderator
I would contact the dealership and have them pay to have it rectified. Unless it was part of a finance agreement the dealership should have disclosed or removed the device.
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