unplugging Gryphon once PCM is tuned?

Chris74 · #1 Sun, January 25th, 2009, 01:01 PM

Hey folks: I just returned my truck to stock and unplugged Gryphon because the truck is going to dealer tomorrow for a Ford Reflash.

But for future reference........is there any reason I can't load one of my tunes and unplug Gryphon once PCM is programmed with the tune (and truck would still function properly on loaded tune)?
I was just thinking that if it's done stock why can't it be unplugged with any tune?
Was thinking I could unplug it for the winter.....or atleast during the bitter cold weather to save the drain in the battery while programmer is in sleep mode. But I would still be driving my truck on performance tune.

***Jackpine*** · #2 Sun, January 25th, 2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris74

Hey folks: I just returned my truck to stock and unplugged Gryphon because the truck is going to dealer tomorrow for a Ford Reflash.

But for future reference........is there any reason I can't load one of my tunes and unplug Gryphon once PCM is programmed with the tune (and truck would still function properly on loaded tune)?
I was just thinking that if it's done stock why can't it be unplugged with any tune?
Was thinking I could unplug it for the winter.....or atleast during the bitter cold weather to save the drain in the battery while programmer is in sleep mode. But I would still be driving my truck on performance tune.

Yes indeed you can do that. I removed my Gryphon when I drove my truck about 150 miles into Mexico out of fear it would get somehow "liberated".

The unit simply acts as a monitor once the PCM is programmed on any level and has no effect on the truck at all.

Before I bought a Battery Tender, I unplugged the Gryphon too, since my truck does a lot of sitting in the garage.

- Jack

Chris74 · #3 Sun, January 25th, 2009, 01:46 PM

Thanks Jack!
.....that's exactly what I thought........I just don't know why it never dawned on me to do that. I wouldn't have needed a boost in the airport parking lot!
For some reason it just never occurred to me that I could unplug but still be on my performance tune.

SinCityFX4 · #4 Sun, January 25th, 2009, 09:40 PM

Does it pull that much juice in sleep mode??

johnnyd · #5 Sun, January 25th, 2009, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinCityFX4

Does it pull that much juice in sleep mode??

x2

***Jackpine*** · #6 Sun, January 25th, 2009, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinCityFX4

Does it pull that much juice in sleep mode??

I measured it and Bill confirmed my measurement. It uses about 50 milliamps (or 0.05 amps) as "keep-alive" current. Now, that's not much by itself, but my truck also pulls 0.05 amps when it's turned off once everything is powered down according to my measurements.

So, if you add the two, you have a steady 0.1 amp drain on the battery when the truck is parked. In 24 hours, you've sucked 2.4 amps out of the battery.

Interstate says a battery is dead when it has lost 50 amps. That happens in just under 21 days at a steady 2.4 amp/day drain.

If you open a door, use the keyless entry system, etc., you turn on lights that really suck power out of the battery for a while until everything is allowed to power down again. Once a battery gets low, its voltage is reduced which causes the amp drain to increase too since all these "gadgets" need a specific amount of "keep alive" power (which is volts x amps). I also know that a low battery causes the Gryphon's screen to stay lit, even when off, and that pulls MUCH more power too.

Bottom line, if your truck is going to be parked a long time, disconnect the Gryphon or use a Battery Tender, like I do.

Hope this all makes sense.

- Jack

SinCityFX4 · #7 Mon, January 26th, 2009, 12:03 AM

Cool. Thanx for the info. My PIAA 525's are wired straight to the battery so they
Can be used whenever. So the led's on the switch are always on.

***Jackpine*** · #8 Mon, January 26th, 2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinCityFX4

Cool. Thanx for the info. My PIAA 525's are wired straight to the battery so they
Can be used whenever. So the led's on the switch are always on.

The LEDs should pull VERY little current. I wouldn't worry about them at all. In fact, if your truck is pretty much driven daily, the Gryphon is no problem either. However, my truck sits for long periods - I use it when I need it, otherwise, I drive a small car.

Twice now, we've returned from a long trip (I get to do this now that I'm retired), of about 3-4 weeks to find a dead battery in my truck. The first time, I thought it was just due to being an old, OEM battery, so I changed it. The second time, of course, the battery was new, so I knew I had a problem (the alternator charges at 14.1-14.2 volts, so I knew it was all right). That's when I started measuring current and I learned a lot about the various draws on the system when the engine is not running. For instance, if the lights come on, the draw exceeds 10 amps (it blew the fuse in my meter), so that's a real killer. Interior and bed lights pull well over 2 amps if you open doors. And, there's "something" that continues to pull about 1/2 amp for about 20-30 minutes even after I close the doors.

Hope these observations help.

- Jack

SinCityFX4 · #9 Mon, January 26th, 2009, 11:44 AM

Yeah, knew they were ok by themselves, but the Gryphon together is why I asked wasn't sure. Electricity is not my friend . As for it being a driven alot, that it is but I travel alot so it tends to sit in the airport parking lot for a couple of weeks here and there. I will probably remove it anyways just so it doesn't grow legs or draw an attack on the truck in the parking lot.

thanx for the input

***Jackpine*** · #10 Mon, January 26th, 2009, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinCityFX4

Yeah, knew they were ok by themselves, but the Gryphon together is why I asked wasn't sure. Electricity is not my friend . As for it being a driven alot, that it is but I travel alot so it tends to sit in the airport parking lot for a couple of weeks here and there. I will probably remove it anyways just so it doesn't grow legs or draw an attack on the truck in the parking lot.

thanx for the input

I think I'd definitely take it out if the truck were going to be parked for a long time in a "public" lot. I've found it's easy to just slip the Gryphon out of the pod and then unplug the cable from the back of the Gryphon, leaving the pod and the cable as is (since no one should want those anyway). Makes it easier to reinstall - just make sure the ignition is ON before reconnecting the cable to the Gryphon, so the unit initializes properly.

- Jack