Thanks Jack :2thumbs:

For reference:

The average LED pulls about 35 mA (.035 A) at full bright. The Evo/Gryphon has 12 of them for backlighting (4 of each colors... Red, Blue, Green) which means the LEDs alone pull 420 mA. The processor on the programmer pulls another 50 mA or so, but that stay constant with the key off while the LEDs turn off.

As for leaving the program in and unplugging the programmer, that is perfectly acceptable. Just be careful going to the dealer. If they reflash you with the programmer still in a level, it will disable the programmer. We always recommend returning to stock if going to the dealer for service.

Bill's post about the current draw of average LEDs makes me revise my response to you SinCityFX4. If there's one LED in your switch pulling .035 amps, your total parked draw without the Gryphon could be around .085 amps, and you'd have a 50 amp discharge in just over 24 days. If there are two LEDs that are lit, the time is reduced to just over 17 days.

It's possible that your truck doesn't use as much power when parked as my King Ranch does, but I wouldn't bet on it. To cut the power consumption when I open my doors, I replaced the interior dome and map lights with LEDs, and since I have a cap over the bed, I simply removed the bed light bulbs. (They could be replaced with LEDs though too). I think all of these bulbs are rated at about 10-15 watts, which means they each pull between .83 - 1.25 amps when lit, much more than an LED. I know they all go out 20 seconds after I close the door, but still, there's a high draw for a while.

I know you want the PIAA 525's in an "always ready" configuration, but if the switch remains lit up, you may be risking a dead battery if your truck sits for over two weeks.

- Jack

The switch for the PIAA's has 2 led's
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ment-8aspx.jpg

I have dome/map interior LED's, and the tails are Recon LED's as well. When I went on a "tour of the east coast" so to speak a few months ago I was gone for 2 weeks, and then over 3 weeks. It was fine for the 2, but when I left for the 3, I undid the battery to keep it from croaking (and a few other things to keep it from starting if someone was interested)


I think the paranoia of a break in alone will have me remove it before parking it for any length of time. The pod does not seem to be hard to remove, and the guy that is making a bracket for it says the bracket just snaps on where it is so should still be easy.

Thanx for all the info.....a sparky I am not.



Jer

Oh yeah, stock every time. Now I have the cover for the OBD too so as long as they follow instruction (:hehe:) I should be good at the dealer.

I dunno, Jer - looks to me like you can hold your own! :thumbsup:

- Jack

Hehe...we'll see if I can get this Sub/Amp wired in right w/o blowing something before I head back to work:hehe:

Jack: How much of an impact does cold weather have on these figures?
My truck is an FX4......doesn't have quite as many bells and whistles as yours but does have 6 disk changer, power seats, etc. I left my truck for exactly 7 days (with gryphon plugged in) in covered parking lot and average temp during that time was -25c or -13F and battery didn't have enough juice to even roll starter.
Another funny thing is.......when I put key in the ignition things started to go wonky as well. The CD player started screwing around with the discs. It's like it couldn't remember which disc was supposed to be in which of the 6 slots. I'm surprised the digital clock was even able to keep the time - it was so :censored3: cold!

I really can't say what the effect of cold weather is except that it's bad. Batteries produce electricity through a chemical reaction between the electrolyte and the plates. Cold temperatures slow this reaction down, which means less power available for starting (which is when you really need it). The starter, as you know, pulls a relatively HUGE amount of current and even a moderately discharged battery can supply that current when it's warm, but put the same battery in cold and there's just not enough power producing capability available. If it's cold enough, even a fully charged battery will act like it's dead.

Batteries aren't even rated at -13F. The Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA) rating is how many amps the battery can supply for 30 sec at 0F without the voltage going below 7.2V. Cranking Amps (CA) are measured for 30 sec at 32F and this figure is quite a bit higher.

I've seen the same wonky behavior in my CD changer after pulling and then resetting the CD player fuse. At first I thought I'd broken something. It cycled through all disk positions. Clocks seem to do pretty well though, as long as there's just a little bit of power.

I don't have any good solutions for those of you in cold climates except try to make sure your battery is healthy and always carry good (6 gauge minimum) jumper cables. If I was in a cold climate and I started seeing corrosion on either of the terminals (which is a sign of gassing) or if the electrolyte dropped in any of the cells, I'd replace the battery.

- Jack