Attaching a tracker

[Ty J]

Good evening fellow members

i want to wire a tracker into my 2019 fiesta.  However, I would like some advice. Let me explain. I fitted a wired tracker to a Mini Cooper. All seemed well until I was getting a message that car needed to be started as auxiliary power was draining battery.  The DME Module (digital motor electronics) was showing a fault code - Power Management - standby current violation. It must be picking up  the small current from the tracker.

i want to avoid any similar message with Fiesta. Where is the safest place to pick up a permanent live for the tracker. Is the fiesta electronics as sensitive as the BMW minis?

any help would be appreciated.

[unofix]

Is this a 2 wire only tracker - just constant live and a ground connection ?

[Ty J]

Hi unofix

thanks for response. My tracker is three wire.

Red is positive connection

Green for charging

Black ground connection

The manufacture states that the red and green can go to same 12 volt permanent live.

it is connected to mini like this but is somehow upsetting system to show standby current violation.

may be no such thing on 2019 fiesta but want to get connection rights and best place to connect.

thanks for help

Ty J

[Ty J]

Unofix

could you kindly give me your thoughts about 2 wire or 3 wire. My tracker being 3 wire. Where is best place to connect to car wiring please

Ty J

[unofix]

Hello Ty, I have in the last 10 years fitted many trackers (about 30) to many different vehicles. Mostly Ford but also Jaguar and Volvo.

Let me first say that 2 wire trackers are very quick and easy to install and are great for basic cover of trailers, caravans, old cars, and motor bikes. They simply monitor the battery voltage and make allowances for the battery slowly discharging over time. Any sudden momentary drop in voltage is interpreted as the vehicle waking up, and from then on changes both up and down keep the tracker in an active condition. The problem with modern cars is they are fitted with many modules that for all sorts of reasons can wake up at any time and give the tracker the impression that something is happening when in fact nothing has happened.

After a few issues with different types and makes of trackers I have been using one particular company for the last 4 years, a model called DB1 Lite. They are in fact a 5 wire unit but you only need to use 3.

They are easy to install, I find removing the glovebox is normally the best option. The tracker needs to be positioned under the top of the dashboard as near the windscreen as possible to get maximum affect. The use of large double sided sticky pads (as used for fixing car number plates) or plastic cable ties are a good way to fix them. Always make sure to install with the correct side up - normally the side with the lights on.

You can use fuse taps and connect one wire to ignition switched live (fuse 3), one wire to constant live and one wire to a good ground point. There is a switched negative output wire that can be connected to a relay if you wish and a remote signal can be sent to the tracker to activate the relay which might for example cut the supply to the electric fuel pump. The fifth wire (I've never used) is an analog voltage in signal. It could be connected to an auxiliary battery if this was being used in a caravan and it allows you to remotely see the battery voltage.

You can buy these direct from the tracking company, but at the moment amazon have an offer on which makes them cheaper.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracker-Security-Motorbike-Tracking-Telematics/dp/B07B51D2HX

 

[Ty J]

Hi Unofix

thank you so much for the superb detail you have given. Sounds good fitting behind glovebox. Is it fairly easy to remove. As the car is relatively new I don’t want to do any damage taking glovebox out. 

Does the DB1 Lite operate through a mobile I assume?

great help thanks

Ty J

[unofix]

4 hours ago, Ty J said:

Sounds good fitting behind glovebox. Is it fairly easy to remove. As the car is relatively new I don’t want to do any damage taking glovebox out. 

Does the DB1 Lite operate through a mobile I assume?

The glovebox is always easy to remove on almost every Ford. I've not taken one out on a 2019 Fiesta but if it follows Ford's normal system there will be 4 screws and the whole thing just pulls out.

The DB1 Lite can be viewed on your mobile phone using the Re-Wire App, or you can view it on a PC. You can set up warnings like if the car moves between certain times or moves outside of a given area it will text you and e-mail plus ping the app on your phone. My family are all using the DB1 Lite and we all share one tracking account so we can view all our vehicles together.

[Ty J]

Brilliant thanks very much

Ty J