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EC's new Ipod Interface won't shut off....

8K views 50 replies 29 participants last post by  Jeff in Ferndale WA 
#1 ·
Is anyone else having this problem. When my Ipod is fully charged the interface isn't shutting down like it should. The Ipod shows a full battery on the LCD screen and says charged. The Ipod screen stays on until I unplug the connection. I didn't have this problem with the original EC interface. It worked just like it should, charged the Ipod and shut everything off.

I've gone out to find my battery drained too low to start the bike twice now. I know it's the interface because I disconnected it and let the bike sit for days and it started with no problems.

Figured I'd throw it out on the board before bothering Lewis in case someone has the solution. Could it be the dip switches? How should they be set? Maybe I bumped one or something.

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
Is anyone else having this problem. When my Ipod is fully charged the interface isn't shutting down like it should. The Ipod shows a full battery on the LCD screen and says charged. The Ipod screen stays on until I unplug the connection. I didn't have this problem with the original EC interface. It worked just like it should, charged the Ipod and shut everything off.

I've gone out to find my battery drained too low to start the bike twice now. I know it's the interface because I disconnected it and let the bike sit for days and it started with no problems.

Figured I'd throw it out on the board before bothering Lewis in case someone has the solution. Could it be the dip switches? How should they be set? Maybe I bumped one or something.

Thanks!

I just went and checked on mine,it was showing the full battery logo on the screen.I last rode the bike on Monday. I did find the battery drained one morning last week,and have been using a battery maintainer since then.I checked,and the dip switch settings are as shown in the second post.
 
#4 ·
so in order to do any valid troubleshooting ... if you plug the iPod into your computer, what happens ... same symptoms or not??
What type of iPod?
 
#6 ·
Mine is also a 4th gen, 20 gig. When I charge it in the house I get the same thing but that's due to power being on. I let it fully charge in the house, left the Ipod in the dock and unplugged the charger from the wall. The screen went blank while it was still connected.

It seems to me that the interface is not cutting the power once the Ipod is charged.
 
#7 ·
OK, it could well be my ignorance over how it is supposed to work, but HOW would the interface know the unit is fully charged?? All it is doing is providing power, and the iPod should be shutting down once it is charged.
And ... if it is pulling so much juice, when fully charged, that your bike won't start, I would be TERRIFIED that it would burn down your bike and the building it is in ... just considering the heat it would be generating trying to shed that power.
My cell phone and other devices that are recharged from a dock or cable actually sense when the battery is fully charged and then go into "standby" rather than continuing to charge, since overcharging will burn out a battery darned quick.
My opinion (ymmv) is that you need to get the iPod checked out ... the charging system seems to be faulty ...
 
#9 ·
OK, it could well be my ignorance over how it is supposed to work, but HOW would the interface know the unit is fully charged?? All it is doing is providing power, and the iPod should be shutting down once it is charged.
And ... if it is pulling so much juice, when fully charged, that your bike won't start, I would be TERRIFIED that it would burn down your bike and the building it is in ... just considering the heat it would be generating trying to shed that power.
My cell phone and other devices that are recharged from a dock or cable actually sense when the battery is fully charged and then go into "standby" rather than continuing to charge, since overcharging will burn out a battery darned quick.
My opinion (ymmv) is that you need to get the iPod checked out ... the charging system seems to be faulty ...
I don't know if the EC unit is supposed to sense when the iPod is fully charged.I thought I read it someplace,but could not finds it on EC's site.Would be interesting to know for sure.
The iPod is not hot and it's not pulling so much juice it won't start,it's a slow discharge over several days,in my case about 10 days.
I think the charged display drains the iPod just a little,then recharges,drains again etc.
Keeping the battery maintainer on it keeps the bike battery charged.
 
#11 ·
I talked to Phil at EC today and he's not sure if it's supposed to turn off after charging the Ipod. He's gonna have Lewis call me. I just wanted to know if the new one should shut down after charging like the old one did. If not then I'll just get in the habit of unplugging the Ipod.
 
#12 ·
I did some tests, and it looks like the interface box is pulling about 67 milliamps with the bike shut off. With the interface box unplugged from the CD connector under the seat, the bike only draws about 2 or 3 milliamps. Unplugging the Ipod from the dock connector drops it to about 56 milliamps.

This appears to be excessive. Lewis is aware of the problem and is looking into it. I'm sure they will get it ironed out, but we may need to give them some time to figure out a fix.

In the meantime, you might be wise to keep a battery tender on the bike if you aren't going to ride it for few days and have one of these installed on your bike.
 
#15 ·
I did some tests, and it looks like the interface box is pulling about 67 milliamps with the bike shut off. With the interface box unplugged from the CD connector under the seat, the bike only draws about 2 or 3 milliamps. Unplugging the Ipod from the dock connector drops it to about 56 milliamps.

This appears to be excessive. Lewis is aware of the problem and is looking into it. I'm sure they will get it ironed out, but we may need to give them some time to figure out a fix.

In the meantime, you might be wise to keep a battery tender on the bike if you aren't going to ride it for few days and have one of these installed on your bike.

This is a real problem - I sometimes end up in areas without access to a plug for a battery tender. it seems to me that the only way to make this safe would be to interrupt the current flow to the EC interface box . Its not practical to do this everytime you stop for the night unless there is a way to wire in a switch that you could turn off easily. Any ideas on how to do that? I think I may end up removing this I hope Lewis will get this fixed and send out the correction otherwise its not worth the possibillity of getting stranded
 
#17 ·
I did some tests, and it looks like the interface box is pulling about 67 milliamps with the bike shut off. With the interface box unplugged from the CD connector under the seat, the bike only draws about 2 or 3 milliamps. Unplugging the Ipod from the dock connector drops it to about 56 milliamps.

This appears to be excessive. Lewis is aware of the problem and is looking into it. I'm sure they will get it ironed out, but we may need to give them some time to figure out a fix.

In the meantime, you might be wise to keep a battery tender on the bike if you aren't going to ride it for few days and have one of these installed on your bike.
Thanks for running the test. I just unplug mines if its going to set for a few days. Hopefully the will come up with a fix.
 
#18 ·
I did some tests, and it looks like the interface box is pulling about 67 milliamps with the bike shut off. With the interface box unplugged from the CD connector under the seat, the bike only draws about 2 or 3 milliamps. Unplugging the Ipod from the dock connector drops it to about 56 milliamps.

This appears to be excessive. Lewis is aware of the problem and is looking into it. I'm sure they will get it ironed out, but we may need to give them some time to figure out a fix.

In the meantime, you might be wise to keep a battery tender on the bike if you aren't going to ride it for few days and have one of these installed on your bike.
Fred...can you confirm something for me?

I mounted the box in the trunk. So if I just disconnect the lead that goes from from the CD changer interface plug under the seat where it connects into the box in the trunk, this should stop the amperage draw...correct?

So, for those who mounted the interface box in the trunk, this would mean you simply have to unplug the cable going into the interface box and NOT have to remove the seat....
 
#21 ·
well, based on Fred's test, that certainly makes a lot more sense ... I couldn't fathom an iPod rechargeable battery chewing up that many (milli)amps that the battery would be drained ... but the interface, very likely having a transformer or xfmr circuit ... yeah ....
hmm ... maybe it's a good thing I haven't ordered the interface yet ...

Anyone with the "other" iPod interface have a comment on battery drain??
 
#22 ·
Fred...can you confirm something for me?

I mounted the box in the trunk. So if I just disconnect the lead that goes from from the CD changer interface plug under the seat where it connects into the box in the trunk, this should stop the amperage draw...correct?

So, for those who mounted the interface box in the trunk, this would mean you simply have to unplug the cable going into the interface box and NOT have to remove the seat....

Yes, unplugging the box should stop the current drain. However, just unplugging the Ipod only drops it to about 57milliamps. You would need to unplug the box (at either end of the cable) if you want the drain to stop.

Based on an 18 amp hour fully charged battery, a 67milliamp current drain should deplete it in about 268 hours (about 11 days). My guess is that you would start to see the bike becoming hard to start after about 5 - 7 days depending on the age and charge condition of the battery.

11 more posts to go....
 
#24 ·
i guess the $4 charger from ebay and the aux plug in is still the best choice

have fun
For you maybe it's the best choice. For me....I like the improved sound quality, ease of control, the ability to change tracks and playlists without taking my hand off the bars. This is the best choice for me.

This electrical thing is not that big of a deal to me and I'm sure will be resolved sooner or later.
 
#25 ·
Anyone with the "other" iPod interface have a comment on battery drain??
I have the Dension on my bike and I just checked it for current draw.

I checked it connected, with the box unplugged, and with the iPod turned on. No change at all in the current draw. It was a constant 6 mA.
 
#26 ·
I have EC's original iPod adapter, which isn't controlled by the CD controls. I've never noticed any battery drain, but then, I don't usually leave my iPod in the bike for long.
 
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