Another dead battery this morning. Back to the drawing board. Love the gauge info but may have interface issues. Will email tech again.

 

Mine just shipped I hope this can be quickly resolved.

There has to be more MINI folks with the gage who aren't experiencing the battery drain...

 

Thanks for following up with these issues, please keep us posted. I was planning on going with an Ultragauge soon, but if it is just going to kill my battery and throw CELs or I have to unplug it every time, then it might not be as good of a deal as it seems.

I really wish the Scangauge looked better than it does...

 

I agree, the Scangauge is not a good looking piece. I'm hoping the issues with the Ultragauge get resolved.

I'm also seriously considering this:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=38354

But at $99, plus the cost of a compatible device (as luck would have it, mine is not) it's a far more expensive option.

The display looks great, and no wires to run, but it's to hard to pass up the great price on the Ultragauge.

I'm holding out for now. Hope tech support gets back to you guys soon.

 

I have more info from tech but I gone thus weekend. Here is the message.


Date: 04-06-2011 15:17:06
Name: UltraGauge
Message:

Larry,

The OBDII connector has 16 possible pins. The pins are defined in the OBDII standard. For the CAN protocol that your vehicle uses, only four pins are needed. The other pins are used by the other flavors of the standard, namely Ford, GM and foreign vehicles. However, some manufacturers decide that they are above the standard and they use the other pins for their own purposes. Since UG supports all the interfaces of the standard, UG has connections to the other pins. It could be that these connections are connecting to pins that Mini has inappropriately used.
You are the first to report this in the mini, but it is possible and we have seen it before.
There are a few options we could try.
1. Break off the pins on UG that are not needed for your vehicle. This would limit the use of UG in pre 2006 vehicles.
2. Attempt to insulate the pins with tape or some other means so that there is no connection to the vehicles pins.

Here is a picture of your vehicles connector:
http://www.obdii.com/connector.html
The only pins that are important for you vehicle are pings 5,4, 6, 16 & 14. If I had to guess, I would look to the mini having connections to pins 7 and 15. It would be 7 and 15 that I would insulate or snap off. Note that this picture is looking into the female connector. The male connector is the mirror image.

Best regards,

UltraGauge Support
http://www.ultra-gauge.com
Support is available Monday-Friday, 9-5pm Pacific Time
*

Date: 04-08-2011 08:19:47
Name: Larry McNeil
Message:

Dead battery again this morning. Any other suggestions. I have not broke off the pins yet but would this affect the battery drain.

Date: 04-08-2011 08:53:44
Name: UltraGauge
Message:

Larry,

Increase the "Power on Detect delay" to 300 seconds
Set the "Power on Detect mode" to mode 2
Set the "Power off detect mode" to mode 2.
See pages 34-35 of the user manual

The issue with the pins only potentially relates to the check engine light.

Best regards,

UltraGauge Support
http://www.ultra-gauge.com
Support is available Monday-Friday, 9-5pm Pacific Time
*

 

So there's still hope. Their technical support seems great.

I hope that fixes it.

 

They respond super quick, hopefully we can work it out.

 

I'm hoping this works...

 

I too, just had another dead battery. I had changed the "Power on Detect delay" to 200 seconds, hoping that would solve the current drain. I'm just going to keep the UltraGauge disconnected until I hear more. Thanks Larry,

 

Just installed mine. Going with a 500 second delay. If it works I'll back down by 50's until I see an issue.

Love the info though, even if manifold pressure is based on 14.7 as atmosphere. At WOT I've already seen 26.09 psi. 12 lb of boost, stock, is cool.

 

Any other users with problems. Lets get this worked out so we can use our gauges. I have not been able to test the detect delay as of yet because I need my car to have a charged battery. Will try again on my days off.

 

They had a Laurel edition on the lot when I picked up mine. Sweet ride....

 

So what exactly does the delay do? They call it "power on detect delay" but I'm sure that doesn't mean the UG waits 500 seconds to turn on after the car is started...

Does it have something to do with it making sure the car is actually running before it powers up? If so, why not leave it at 500 to be sure? What's the downside to having that set so high?

 

theres suppose to be a water cooling pump that continues to run after the S is shut off to cool the turbo. u might hear it if u park the front end close to a wall or are in a really quiet area.

 

Going, going, going...... gone!

Well, battery drain even with all the UG recommended changes.

Can't deal with it. IMO not an acceptable product for MINI.

Yes, there is an auxiliary fan that cools the turbo on the S-models. There's also some hi-pressure fuel pump stuff going on.

If you are bored go for a ride, park it and sit for 10 minutes. You;ll here all sorts of neat noises...

Anyhow, the UG is going back, ASAP. Time for GRIFFIN to release this:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/cartrip

 

I agree, I am going to email them today about returning mine. Too bad, it really is a neat little gauge.

 

I went from a Scangauge II to the Aeroforce Interceptor. Similar in function but more expensive, and way more expensive than the Ultragauge. It requires a switched 12v source. Ultragauge should just add that and it would work fine with the Mini.

 

I just received another email from tech support, I will try this before sending it back.....

Date: 04-09-2011 16:11:41
Name: UltraGauge
Message:

Larry,

There was a previous Mini owner that spent a good amount of time trying to figure out the details behind why and for how long the Mini's systems stayed active. I was reviewing his findings and he was able to confirm that the necessary UG settings are:
power on detect mode =2.
power off detect mode = 3.
Power-on-detect delay = 300 seconds.

Please let us know if the above settings work for you as well.

Best regards,

UltraGauge Support
http://www.ultra-gauge.com
Support is available Monday-Friday, 9-5pm Pacific Time

 

Larry, thanks so much for doing this testing for us. You can see there's a bunch of us who will benefit. I really appreciate not having to do all the trial and error work. We're going on a big West Coast RV trip in the Fall, towing our MINI, and if you'll be at a MINI event along the way, I'd like to bring you a homebrew.

 

Here's a copy and paste from the ticket I opened and the UG response...

Date:04-14-2011 05:58:23Name:UltraGauge
Message:
Dale,

A recent experiment by another Mini owner, with a FOB convience package, found that the Mini's systems stay active for longer than 10 minutes after the ignition is switched off. In this case a UG delay setting of 660 seconds would be required. This is hardly ideal.

Attached is a USPS shipping label. Print, trim, and attach to the sealed box. Once complete, you may hand the package to your postal carrier.

Please return the unit in original condition with all contents including:
UltraGauge
Windshield mount
Windshield mount bracket
Velcro
Yellow information sheet insert
Internal cardboard packaging
plastic protector bags

Once received, we will inspect for damage and if all is well, you will receive a refund of your purchase price. The refund will be credited to your original payment source.

Best regards,

UltraGauge Support
http://www.ultra-gauge.com
Support is available Monday-Friday, 9-5pm Pacific Time

 

I just picked up and installed an Edge Products SC electronic gauge, and it is super sweet. I dont have any pics yet, its not in a final install situation yet and I dont really like the way the wire is currently routed but as to the quality of the product, magnifico !!!!!!!! The display is very easy to read even in bright daylight, the wallpaper is programmable, all the gauges are programmable, and all the gauges have optional alarm set-points for visual and audible alerts that are programmable. The unit goes to sleep about 2 min after the car shuts down and awakes when the engine starts and initaites ALDL communications. Any downsides, the cost is a bit steep (just under $300) and I think the screen could be a touch bigger but I am super satisfied. I have mine currently reading out engine coolant temp, MAP (same as boost just subtract 14 from the displayed number) and intake air temp. Anything the ECU can see this thing can display, including fuel rail pressure, throttle position and spark mapping, all sorts of esoteric stuff like that, its pretty phat. I will post some updates after I have some pix and also after I've lived with it for a bit. So far, two thumbs waaaaay up.

 

Do you have a link? The Edge gauge does look amazing. Sounds like a good option.

 

Let me know if you have had any issues with battery drain or anything else. I am contemplating this device.

 

Hi All,
So far I have had no battery issues but it just arrived Tuesday PM, far too early to tell but so far its great.
http://www.edgeproducts.com/categories.php?p_cat=218
Do some digging, I got mine on Amazon for under $285.00 and yes it is as colorful as the pix show. Just be prepared, its about the size of a cell phone so if you are looking for a giant piece of ICE to color up your dash with, this isnt it.
If you just want something practical that will show almost any parameter, buy it. I think I am still going to add oil press and temp gauges sometime in the future because the ECM doesnt monitor the oiling system so this cant either. Thats really the biggest, but small drawback, and it seems better than some of the others I've seen as far as quality, its an LCD so it cant burn in an image, its not a doty text-matrix only display like some of the others that look like throwbacks to the early 1980s, and the backlighting is automatic and well modulated to match ambient lighting conditions, I have yet to see it wash out under bright sun or clouds. 1 yr warranty, obviously I have no idea on longevity but the company is 12 yrs old so they must be doing something right, so far very good, I'm a convert for now but I'm always wary.
- Ryan

 

Any progress in testing over the weekend? The last possible UltraGauge battery drain solution I saw was;

power on detect mode =2.
power off detect mode = 3.
Power-on-detect delay = 660 seconds.

I don't want to pack it up and start over, but if that's the only solution, so be it. The other side is, do any of the other OBD gauges work without excess battery drain? Thanks, -- Dave