gryphon did not come up when i started my truck

[cody994x4]

thankx jack...yea im gonna switch one of the pids to batt voltage ltr today...my battery is from like 06 so yeah.

how would i perform a load test?

[88Racing]

A lot of auto parts stores do load testing for free.
Call around.

Peace!

[cody994x4]

ok ill do that. probably just gonna get a battery too cause in a month or so ill be seeing 100degree temps daily.

the roads are filled w dead cars down here in the summer months.

a load test would test voltage or charge w a given load(accesories running) right?

[cody994x4]

when i disconnect my battery...do i need to do anything w the gryphon, keep it installed or unplug it, anything like that?

[Jackpine]

I'm VERY glad you asked that question!

PLEASE, disconnect your Gryphon before you disconnect the battery! Leave the Gryphon disconnected as the new battery is being installed. Voltage transients that occur when a battery is reconnected (or when a vehicle is jump-started) can fry the electronics in a pre-04 Gryphon's OBDII cord and, they don't do the post 04 Gryphon's internal electronics any good either. Finally, when everything is hooked up, turn the ignition to ON without starting the engine, and then reconnect your Gryphon to the OBDII port.

I wouldn't have the Gryphon connected during any load test on the battery either.

In other words, anything that can put big fluctuations on the DC voltage in the vehicle can harm electronics like the Gryphon, probably sound equipment, and maybe some other things.

This information needs to be included in the FAQs on PHP's website and we need to make it pretty obvious here too. I'll see what I can do to make that happen.

A load test essentially measures the battery's voltage with a high load (like starting an engine) applied. It really needs to be applied to a battery that has "rested" for a while after any recent charge, so that the "surface charge" has had time to bleed off.

- Jack

[Jackpine]

OK, I've just added a new "sticky" in the FAQ section of this forum that warns people about leaving the Gryphon connected when large power surges can occur on the vehicle's circuits.

Because of the keep alive memory feed, the only way to isolate the Gryphon is to physically unplug it (or pull the circuit breaker that powers the cigarette lighter and OBDII port).

- Jack

[88Racing]

Here's the link Jack is talking about:
http://forum.gopowerhungry.com/faqs-...w-battery.html

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by cody994x4

thankx jack...yea im gonna switch one of the pids to batt voltage ltr today...my battery is from like 06 so yeah.

how would i perform a load test?

You probably can't do a "load test" - it takes special equipment. A store like Autozone will generally do one for you for free though. (You don't HAVE to buy a battery from them if your battery fails). My guess is, your battery IS weak.

Monitoring the voltage on the Gryphon will tell you a lot about your charging system, but not much about the battery. If you see readings of 13.9-14.1V when driving, the charging system is fine. I monitor my battery voltage all the time for this reason. A big electrical load will drive the charging voltage lower. When I tow with two additional batteries in my trailer to keep charged and an electric refrigerator, I regularly see 13.6-13.8V.

- Jack