WiFi battery drain?

[Daff]

I have played with the WiFi remote control app and, although rather underwhelmed, at least I can make it work fairly well on my particular phone. The range is very limited though: I really have to be standing in a window with the car in view for it to connect.

So: I'm not overly concerned about the security scare, because a would-be attacker would need to camp out within 20 feet of the car for a considerable time and with a considerable amount of computing power at their disposal. Hence it's probably less likely to be hacked than a cloud-connected system would be.

The only useful thing is the ability to turn on the climate control for pre-heating, and I plan to do that when the cold weather arrives. Using the timer is not an alternative because our journeys are not at fixed times. So, to finally get to my question: have people noticed a significant battery drain from having the WiFi running all the time? And does it deplete the drive battery or the aux battery?

Is there any other way to trigger pre-heating? I wouldn't actually mind opening the car, pressing a button and then leaving it (with the car otherwise switched off and locked).

-- Steve

 

[ps44]

This thread contain pertinent info http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2888&hilit=heathrow

I leave mine on all the time, even when parked up for weeks. Got a long trip abroad coming up and will turn it off this time to see what difference it makes.

 

[Daff]

Thanks for the pointer. So, it seems as long as the car is in regular use, it's nothing to worry about.

-- Steve

 

[jthspace]

Is there any other way to trigger pre-heating? I wouldn't actually mind opening the car, pressing a button and then leaving it (with the car otherwise switched off and locked).

-- Steve

The only way you can do this is to leave the ignition on and lock the door manually with a key, the "blipper" will not lock the car if you get out with the key in your hand. Unadvisable though - if the engine is running (for example) it is illegal on a public road and it will also probably invalidate your insurance (engine on or off) wherever you are parked.

Leaving an engine idling is an offence.

Stationary idling is an offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The Act enforces rule 123 of the Highway Code.

Doing this can incur a £20 fixed-penalty fine under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) Regulations 2002. This goes up to £40 if unpaid within a given timeframe.

Quote (UK Highway Code)
Rule 123. You MUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road. However it is permissible to leave the engine running if the vehicle is stationary in traffic or for diagnosing faults.
Unquote

Jeff

 

[Lance]

Thanks for the pointer. So, it seems as long as the car is in regular use, it's nothing to worry about.

-- Steve

Agreed.

 

[Tipper]

The wifi is powered by the 12v auxiliary battery which is charged by the car from the traction battery when running (ie 'ignition on') or once a day at 2pm if not - this applies only to wifi models I believe.

When the car is sat unused for a period such as at airport parking there seems to be no significant drain on the traction battery that I have been able to detect when viewing the car's instruments on returning to the car.