It’s easy to blame a GPS car tracker for your flat battery. But very often it’s another appliance or feature draining your battery. Most car trackers come with their own separate batteries, and even those attached to your car battery use such a small amount of power they can’t drain your battery.
Can car trackers drain your battery?
Car trackers are often the scapegoat for a flat car battery. However, it is unlikely to be the cause. Most car trackers have their own separate batteries, so don’t even need connecting to your car battery. Even those car trackers which do need to connect to your car battery use such a minimal amount of power, they couldn’t cause a flat battery alone.
What does drain your car battery?
Any electronic appliance in your car uses the car battery as a power source. That includes car radio, air conditioning and headlights. We’ve probably all been guilty of leaving our headlights on overnight and coming out to a flat battery the following morning.
Different appliances use different amounts of car battery power. So for instance, your car clock is unlikely to drain the car battery but a larger appliance like air conditioning can.
Even when your engine is off, certain appliances like the clock, car alarm and GPS car tracker will still use power from the car battery. The car battery gets its charge from the engine running, so if your car is sat still for a month all these electrical appliances combined could drain your car battery.
How to stop a car battery going flat
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Run the engine and drive - don’t leave your car sat unused for months. The engine recharges the battery, so it needs to be running and driving around or you’ll probably have a flat battery when you come to use it in a few months time. A 10-15 minute drive should be enough to charge it.
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Avoid short journeys - if your car battery is already low, a short journey will drain what’s remaining of the battery without giving enough time for it to recharge.
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Unplug unnecessary items - while your car is at rest, you should unplug any unnecessary items like dash cams.
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Use a trickle charger - these deliver a slow charge to your car’s battery over an extended period of time.
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Use appliances with a separate battery - get a dashcam, satnav or car tracker with their own battery, so they don’t have to use the car battery.
Best car trackers with separate battery
If you are still concerned that a car tracker could drain your car battery, check out some of the trackers available with their own separate battery.
Tracker Retrieve (Battery Powered)
Metatrak Pulsar (Battery Powered)
Are you looking for a car tracker to protect your vehicle against theft? Here at TrackerFit, we have hundreds of Thatcham approved car trackers to choose from. And, when you buy a car tracker from us, we’ll fit it for free at a time and place that suits you. If you need any help, give us a call on 0800 756 5100.