During the holidays, many of us look forward to slowing down, relaxing, and even leaving our car standing idle while we travel or enjoy time at home. But nothing dampens the post-holiday mood quite like returning to find your car won’t start because the battery is flat.

There’s a long-standing misconception that a tracking device is the main reason for the drain on a vehicle’s battery. Around 25 years ago, this might have been true, and as a result, the belief took hold that if a car wouldn’t start, the tracker was to blame. It became easier to blame the tracking device than uncover the real cause of the problem.

As vehicles have evolved and become more sophisticated, power management has become a critical issue for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Cars have more electronics than ever before, and this means less battery capacity for the tracking device among other aftermarket fitments. OEMs allow up to 50 milliamperes (mA) during 24 hours for all aftermarket fitments. It’s not a fixed rule, but any more would drain the battery power within a few days. A tracking device should use two mA or less in 24 hours when the vehicle is switched off. To put that in perspective, a tracker should use less power than a small LED light left on for a day.

“Tracker’s units use one mA or less. They do this through engaging ultra-low power mode for most of the day. The units will only draw more current under certain circumstances, for instance when detecting unauthorised vehicle movement or when transmitting during stolen vehicle recovery. With a drain of only one mA or less during a 24-hour period, a car battery would last for months, perhaps even years, depending on its size,” says Duma Ngcobo, Chief Operating Officer at Tracker.

“All Tracker units have “intelligence” – microprocessors and algorithms built into the units that enable them to control their power use and charge their own backup battery. For instance, when the vehicle’s alternator is charging the battery while driving, the intelligence will allow the unit to become more active and thus use more power. It will go back into low power mode as soon as the car is switched off,” continues Ngcobo.

So, if it’s not the tracker, what could it be? Bear in mind that all batteries degrade over time and will eventually reach the end of their service life. The older the battery, the less likely it is to keep its charge. So, while the car’s radio and lights might still function normally, the battery might simply not have enough charge to turn the starter motor.

Also, there are many bits of electronics in modern vehicles and some of these are on all the time, even when your car is switched off, for example the clock and the internal memory of engine computers. Other aftermarket products could be causing battery drain. For a modern tracking unit to drain a healthy car battery, the tracking unit has to be faulty or the unit could possibly have been installed incorrectly.

“Tracker works closely with OEMs to ensure that its installation technicians receive the latest training and install the devices correctly to ensure no damage or interference with the electronic circuits of the vehicle. It’s incredibly unlikely that it’s the tracking unit causing the problem,” concludes Ngcobo.