I'm just wondering if anyone else that is using XM Direct notices if the unit seems to be always on.
When I fire up the car and radio I get XM right away. In my other two cars one uses a RoadyXT and one uses the Direct box. They both have a 3 second delay as they boot up and start to receive a signal.

The main reason I ask is this. I haven't started the Mini for 10 days now. I went out last night and the battery was flat. I put it on the trickle charge and got it started a couple hours later. It got me thinking "what could be draining the battery" (car was in a heated garage). It's an 04, so maybe the battery is going, or mayne I have an issue.

Any thoughts?

 

No thoughts? I've put the car away now until Spring. I'd like to figure out if I should be buying a battery, or if I should start trying to figure out a wiring issue.

Maybe other can describe how long it takes for their XM Direct to turn an and start playing after the car is turned on. Is it instant, or is there some delay?

 

If this is the first battery change (maybe) and you have had the XM, then I would check the battery first. A low level power draw would have shown up before three years had passed. This is assuming that the XM and the battery have been present all along.

 

My XM Direct starts playing as soon as I turn the car on, no delay for the receiver to get a signal. I don't think the XM Direct box is actually on all the time.

 

I agree with Kilted. If the XM direct was always on you'd have a flat battery pretty soon.

If my radio is left on XM comes right on no delay. I do make a habit of always turning off accessories when I shut the car off.

chpsk8 why is your MINI sitting for 10 days at a time? If it's in storage I'd buy a battery tender & hook it up.

 

Thanks guys. Here's the deal. In the Mini the XM turns on straight away, which sounds like what everyone else does also.
But when I take the XM Direct out of the Mini and plug it into my truck, there is a 2-3 second delay at least, before it turns on. So you can see why I was thinking that it is possibly on all the time. Why the difference from one vehicle to the other?
I added the XM Direct over the summer, so it is fairly new to the car. This was the first and only time the battery ever went flat, but it's also the longest I've gone without driving it.

I'll probably just have to get the ohm meter on it this spring and see if I can see any ghost voltage. Anyone know what standard draw is on a Mini? I know there's some, just wondering what the range is.

I've got it on a tender now that it's put away for the winter. The 10 day period was just the transition from fall to winter here. I was trying to find a dry day to drive it over to the storage place.

 

I have an XM Direct that I have hooked to my computer and it also takes a couple of seconds to turn on whereas the one in the MINI is instant. I just touched it and it is warm. My MINI install is mounted where I can't reach it. Perhaps you can get to yours and see if it is warm to the touch?

However, I would think if it was a huge power draw someone would have had issues before now. Could be that your battery is nearly dead.