Datatool Tracker Problems
- Thread starter Slowcoach
- Start date
I've used Datatool for a few years and have the Stealth fitter to both my bikes.
No issues whatsoever but I do use a trickle charger if parked up for a few days.
Peace of mind and all that
No issues whatsoever but I do use a trickle charger if parked up for a few days.
Peace of mind and all that
I must have either or both a dodgy battery and tracker, as when I started the bike early last month after something of a winter layoff the battery only just about had enough in it to turn the engine over, despite being on a trickle charger.
EPG 19 you're right, I don't really want a tracker. If it goes, I wouldn't want it back. So, I'll probably steer clear of anything like that in reality. I think I can spend my dosh on something more worthwhile.
My wife and I have both had faulty Stealth trackers lately. They were fitted to our bikes at new in 2020.
When we got our new bikes at the beginning of March the dealer moved them over FoC. When they contacted Datatool to amend the bike details they were told mine hadn’t contacted the servers since September. My wife’s was working but draining the battery which had gone unnoticed as they’re left on Optimates when in the garage.
We both contacted our insurers and were told it made no difference to our premiums so removed them both.
When we got our new bikes at the beginning of March the dealer moved them over FoC. When they contacted Datatool to amend the bike details they were told mine hadn’t contacted the servers since September. My wife’s was working but draining the battery which had gone unnoticed as they’re left on Optimates when in the garage.
We both contacted our insurers and were told it made no difference to our premiums so removed them both.
If your bike is stolen, you may want it recovered and repaired, if possible. If the tracker helps, so much the better.
Mine was stolen, costing me an extra £1k per year - 1st year and whatever there after for the following 4 years, a £2k excess, and the uninsured loss of around £1k in the top box.
Protected no-claims makes no difference when you suffer a total loss - you are still tarred with the loss.
If a tracker would have helped recovering a salvageable bike I'd have been happier.
Mine was stolen, costing me an extra £1k per year - 1st year and whatever there after for the following 4 years, a £2k excess, and the uninsured loss of around £1k in the top box.
Protected no-claims makes no difference when you suffer a total loss - you are still tarred with the loss.
If a tracker would have helped recovering a salvageable bike I'd have been happier.
Let’s get back to the flat battery issue: there seems to be a strong weight of observations that there is a problem which is fixed by removal or at least disconnection of the Datatool tracker.
There’s also a weight of non-observations; presumably most trackers do not cause a problem, though of course we cannot know how many of these bikes are kept on a charger day-in-day-out.
My 2c is that I had some real issues last winter, after some serious fixing by the dealer (they replaced the bloody alternator ffs) the problems went away, but they came back a few weeks back, and I’m now keeping the bike on charge whenever it’s at home in the garage until I have a chance to have a dig. My tracker has been connected continuously.
So, has my battery died?
Has my alternator packed up again?
Has the tracker suddenly decided to draw several hundred mA instead of the normal 0.4mA?
I don’t believe the CAN bus is being kept awake, as I have fitted a garage door opener remote, which is powered from the 12V socket on the dash. That goes off a few minutes after I turn the bike off, suggesting the CAN is off.
I’d be interested to hear of anyone else’s efforts to investigate the issue. I hope to take some measurements at the weekend.
There’s also a weight of non-observations; presumably most trackers do not cause a problem, though of course we cannot know how many of these bikes are kept on a charger day-in-day-out.
My 2c is that I had some real issues last winter, after some serious fixing by the dealer (they replaced the bloody alternator ffs) the problems went away, but they came back a few weeks back, and I’m now keeping the bike on charge whenever it’s at home in the garage until I have a chance to have a dig. My tracker has been connected continuously.
So, has my battery died?
Has my alternator packed up again?
Has the tracker suddenly decided to draw several hundred mA instead of the normal 0.4mA?
I don’t believe the CAN bus is being kept awake, as I have fitted a garage door opener remote, which is powered from the 12V socket on the dash. That goes off a few minutes after I turn the bike off, suggesting the CAN is off.
I’d be interested to hear of anyone else’s efforts to investigate the issue. I hope to take some measurements at the weekend.
Well, yes, that’s an option, and if it’s the tracker misbehaving, it might be a solution, but given that I’ve had the bike for two and a half years, and I’ve had battery issues effectively twice in that time, and there was lots of time with “no issues”, I’m inclined to think there’s something else going on.
Maybe the tracker is faulty
Maybe the tracker suddenly starts drawing much more current than it should.
Maybe the tracker is kept awake (eg poor phone coverage, keeps trying to report?) by something external causing extra consumption
Or maybe the battery in the bike is shite and should be replaced under warranty
Or the bloody alternator has gone tits up again (that’s of course only possible if it was correctly diagnosed the first time)
Or something else is faulty on the bike
Or?
Disconnecting it would possibly allow me to eliminate the first group of faults if the problems don’t go away, or confirm that the problem is within the tracker if they do, unless of course the fault is an interaction between bike & tracker.
Maybe the tracker is faulty
Maybe the tracker suddenly starts drawing much more current than it should.
Maybe the tracker is kept awake (eg poor phone coverage, keeps trying to report?) by something external causing extra consumption
Or maybe the battery in the bike is shite and should be replaced under warranty
Or the bloody alternator has gone tits up again (that’s of course only possible if it was correctly diagnosed the first time)
Or something else is faulty on the bike
Or?
Disconnecting it would possibly allow me to eliminate the first group of faults if the problems don’t go away, or confirm that the problem is within the tracker if they do, unless of course the fault is an interaction between bike & tracker.
Well, yes but…
I paid good money, quite a lot of good money, for a brand new bike with a brand new tracker. I’d quite like it to work properly, and as it’s not at all convenient to take it to the dealer, and they probably “won’t find anything wrong with it, sir”, I think to get it sorted, I need to. If it’s a plug that’s loose or something, ok, fix it, but if it’s a new battery, then I want BMW to fulfil their warranty obligations.
It’s not working fine for months, then not working, then fine for months, then not working for no reason.
I paid good money, quite a lot of good money, for a brand new bike with a brand new tracker. I’d quite like it to work properly, and as it’s not at all convenient to take it to the dealer, and they probably “won’t find anything wrong with it, sir”, I think to get it sorted, I need to. If it’s a plug that’s loose or something, ok, fix it, but if it’s a new battery, then I want BMW to fulfil their warranty obligations.
It’s not working fine for months, then not working, then fine for months, then not working for no reason.
I’ve not had the chance to do anything about it, but I very much suspect you’re right. Which one did you fit?
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