Alright, so I'm going to run a new set of wires, split out the two radios into different sets, then get the regulator linked above because why not. I'll let y'all know how I make out.
2016 F150 Auto Start/Stop and scanner rebooting
- Thread starter mavrickma
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BTW, had a BCT15X hanging around. Plugged it in to the same cable and tested - does not present the issue. The 15X stays on without issue.
JamesO
Member
What I have in BOLD raises a flag.
Not sure I 100% I understand the conditions, but 11.2 Volts is BAD.
10.2 or 10.5 Volts on restart is also on the lower side of what I would like to see on restart of a warm engine with a battery that is not cold. Assuming this Voltage is the same or close to battery terminal Voltage, I would be nervous. I see you also stated on restart that at times the battery would not drop below 11.2-11.3 Volts while starting back up, this is more in the area that I would expect to see with a good, fully charged battery.
It sounds like either the battery is not fully charged due to all the stop and starting the vehicle does with the anti-idle and/or the battery is bad.
I would never expect the available Voltage to drop below 12.0-12.2 Volts while the engine is not running and some accessory load is on the battery. Either there is TOO much accessory load, the battery is not fully charged, the battery is not sized properly/have the proper technology, or the battery is bad.
You need to confirm the Voltage at both your radio and at the battery terminals in the truck when you have the 11.2 Volt condition. If the battery is much higher in Voltage, then there is too much Voltage drop somewhere in the wiring.
The reason the CB and the BCT15X do not reboot is they are pretty much "analog" radios without digital or software circuit control.
Also how are you powering the radio, by the coaxial connection or the 3 pin connection (if I recall correctly)??
I have one vehicle that has quite a load on the battery due to all the accessories and I often shut the engine down and keep the radio on. The vehicle has a 220 Amp alternator, but has a BIG load while in accessory mode. I often put the battery on charge every 3-4 weeks as a "maintenance" charge because I also have too many short trips where I stop and restart often.
The sad part is I suggested quite some time ago that Uniden might already have ALL the hooks on the 536 to offer some control to the radio for mobile use when using a smart phone/tablet as a remote head. With the 3 wire plug, the "Dimmer" source wire could be used a "Trigger" for an ignition source if the firmware was tweaked and allow the radio to follow or trigger the shut down timer. This could also be used to auto start the radio. Again if all the hooks are in the hardware. This does nothing for the low Voltage drop out, but could be helpful with remote head applications and proper shut down when the vehicle is turned off, like writing the Lookouts or other changes to the SD card.
Anyway, the 11.2 Volts while the anti-idle feature is enabled and the engine is not running is alarming to me. Again, not sure if there is a Voltage drop problem in the vehicle or if this is true battery Voltage. If this is true battery Voltage, this needs a serious investigation. You may be in a situation where the vehicle is stopping and starting TOO often, you sit for TOO long with the vehicle not running at traffic lights and this may be combined with short driving trips.
I would not expect the Voltage to drop below 12.0-12.2 Volts for my taste in the anti-idle mode.
If you have a battery charger, put the truck on charge overnight and retest to see what happens and if the 11.2 Volts appears again.
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D
darunimal
Guest
Car Dealerships, batteries, and siting on the lot = dead or semi-dead batteries. We did have a problem w a Factory ordered GM, in its first year iteration, that did NOT have the correct computer-controlled-charging-circuit programming, and it never fully charged 2 batteries (causing premature failure), until GM came out with a programming Update, to allow full replenishment of cells, it took until the update and a 3rd battery (lasted 7yrs), for the low voltage problems to go away.
Update: New wire run with dedicated 18awg to scanner for both power and ground. 2 capacitors wired in parallel with Diode to prevent backfeed. Wired direct to 10A fuse - still have the issue. Awaiting the buck/boost converter to try that.
With the truck off I measured voltage at the battery and at my fuse block and both were 12.8V
With the truck off I measured voltage at the battery and at my fuse block and both were 12.8V
thundermedic
Database Administrator
Because you have tried everything else, let me float this idea...
Perhaps part of the issue is that the radio doesn't like the change of voltage in either direction. When your engine turns off the voltage drops down to the 12v range. There is going to be a second when the engine starter turns on to crank the engine on there is inevitably going to be a voltage drop because of the amount of power the starter motor needs. You have done everything you can to minimize how this affects the radio with the capacitors (personally the ones I would have used would be one for a car audio system just because it is heavy duty and a sealed unit made for a 12v system)
Have you thought that the radio doesn't like the voltage bump when the alternator starts to work and the voltage increases to 14v? With the microprocessor controlled radios any sudden change in voltage could cause the internal circuitry to turn off or go into a "survival" mode to protect the radio from surges.
The reason I'm thinking this is I have several HAM radios that are directly connected to the battery, and a aftermarket stereo system in my truck that restarts when the truck starts, but not when the voltage drops from 14v to 12v when I turn off the engine and is on the accessory power.
The scanner I have in my truck right now is a HP1 that uses a DC - DC adapter at 9v and is not affected by the state of the engine. (But it also has internal batteries)
Since you have tried everything else, that's all I can think of. I hope it helps a little...
hansheesbeen
Member
You could try an dc dc upconverter and set this to 18v after the up you place an downconverter to the wanted power. Cost about 6 dollar on eBay. The upconverter keeps the power to 18v in a dip from starting the car.
Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk
Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk
Just put another battery on the radios that charges with the main battery through a diode and be done with the issue. Your OEM battery simply cannot support the load you have on it. And I would hook it up with much larger than 18 gauge wire. Try 12 or so. 18 gauge wire is only good for 4 to 9A (depending on the number or cores), and if you have anything that transmits it will use most of that.
darkstar2002
Member
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- Jan 21, 2010
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- 17
With the ford autostart I would not run that scanner off the battery. As you have seen there is low voltage. The cab is powered from a boost converter so that interior never sees the low voltage. I would just find a good place to tap power from inside the cab since that is just a scanner.
Good News!
The DC-DC Buck/Boost converter worked. Got it wired in last night and now I have no reboots leaving stoplights!
No idea why my capacitors didn't work and this thing does, but it was the greatest $15 I've spent on Amazon. Lol.
Thanks to everybody for their help and advice. Never would have found the resolution otherwise!
The DC-DC Buck/Boost converter worked. Got it wired in last night and now I have no reboots leaving stoplights!
No idea why my capacitors didn't work and this thing does, but it was the greatest $15 I've spent on Amazon. Lol.
Thanks to everybody for their help and advice. Never would have found the resolution otherwise!
sfd119
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- Jul 18, 2009
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Good deal! Does it reboot when the vehicle is off and you start it up completely? What's the one you ordered off of Amazon...I'll have to order one for my 536 as well.
Not sure about the reboot on keyed start. I have it triggered off the accessory, so it turns on when the key turns on and off when the key turns off.
This is the one I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZGUI1Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the one I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZGUI1Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
eorange
♦RF Enabled Member♦
Good to hear. How and where did you mount it?
I've got a board bolted to the rear wall of the cab behind the rear seat that I have all my equipment mounted to. I found a spot there.
eorange
♦RF Enabled Member♦
Ah, ok. Was wondering if you had to put it in a case or otherwise protect it for any reason.
The scanner is key controlled. When the truck shuts off (and I open a door to kill the retained accessory), the scanner turns off. When I turn the truck back on, the scanner turns on.
Are you talking if I have the truck in accessory and the scanner is on, then go and start the truck, does the scanner reboot? If so, the answer is yes.
However, I was expecting that. The issue I was having was when my truck used its auto start/stop feature to kill the engine while sitting at a stoplight. The truck monitors the voltage on the truck while in this mode and if it gets low, it will start the engine back up again, even if I haven't taken my foot off the brake. No matter how long I'm sitting in "auto-stop" mode, the scanner stays on when using the DC/DC converter I mentioned above.
sfd119
Member
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Close enough answer for me...it looks like your solution won't work for me. I'm looking at trying to get it to stay on after a restart of the vehicle.
Powering a 536 during vehicle startup
I hope I am not hijacking the conversation and sorry to be joining this conversation so late but my situation is quite relevant and my attempted solution is exactly as I just found posted from last summer (quoted above).
This does work and it works well but... my car battery is only 18 months old, has been tested good, as has the charging system, and still twice in a month leaving the scanner and the battery connected for more than about 12 hours of the vehicle not being started, the car battery has run down. I do have the diode installed to prevent the battery from back feeding the vehicle. Not sure what to make of this except maybe my backup battery is not good.
I hope I am not hijacking the conversation and sorry to be joining this conversation so late but my situation is quite relevant and my attempted solution is exactly as I just found posted from last summer (quoted above).
This does work and it works well but... my car battery is only 18 months old, has been tested good, as has the charging system, and still twice in a month leaving the scanner and the battery connected for more than about 12 hours of the vehicle not being started, the car battery has run down. I do have the diode installed to prevent the battery from back feeding the vehicle. Not sure what to make of this except maybe my backup battery is not good.
JStemann
Member
I use a device that will drop the load (scanner) from the battery if the supply voltage drops too low. Mine is from west mountain radio, power werx or dx engineering. I think I have the powergate, but they may have changed the name of them.
They're kinda pricey, I've found similar deices for much less on Amazon.
Jeff.
They're kinda pricey, I've found similar deices for much less on Amazon.
Jeff.
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