John Boggiano

Does anyone who's installed a Becker head unit with an iPod link have this problem:

The Becker continues charging the iPod for 30 minutes after it's turned off, which is fine - but after that time, the iPod itself is staying on, running down its own battery.

When it's not connected to the Becker, the iPod turns off (goes into Sleep mode, in fact, I believe) after a couple of minutes.

'Sleep' is turned on for the iPod, and the Becker definitely stops passing a charging current to it after the 30-minute period.

Any ideas?

McJohn

Does it matter? If you are using a dedicated iPod for the car, and not removing it, it will always be on charge when you need it, i.e. when the Becker is on. It would not realy matter if it de-charged while the car was standing.

... or is this too easy an answer?

JH

John Boggiano

Well that's a fair point, I suppose, but I doubt it will be doing it any good having its battery continually flattened.

McJohn

Quite the contrary actually. Shallow discharging and then re-charging is what ruins this type of battery, in that they develop a "charge memory". They are actually best to be deep discharged and then fully re-charged. Unlike lead acid car batteries which prefer the reverse.

Ask Joel though, he is the battery expert.

mongrelcat

Hmmmn, sounds like a $$-making scheme for Apple. Depending on the model it can be a real PITA to replace an iPod's battery... Imagine that.

Some models aren't so bad though...
http://lifehacker.com/software/ipod/...ery-236138.php

John Boggiano

Hmm... Wkipaedia says these (lithium-polymer) don't have as many charge-cycles in them as Lithium-ions, but perhaps I'll give it a try.

John Boggiano

Just did some more digging - it seems they don't like full discharges at all... :-(

http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

McJohn

So there goes my credibility as a battery expert!

If I were you I'd stick with di-lithium crystals Captain!




Truth is, no Ipod batteries last that well, so why not buy a cheap old iPod off eBay and just use it as a dedicated permanent file server in the car, and then the battery won't really matter cos you would only ever be using it on charge.

DaveK

What ipod do you have? I know the itouches have changed the way they charge - my car charger / mains charger (which I used for my previous ipods) won't charge it.

I know you say yours is actually charging - so I guess that's probably not your issue - but thought I'd mention it in case you have some compatibility issue between ipod and cable.

John Boggiano

It's a Gen 4 - it definitely is charging okay.

I'll just see how it goes for a while and maybe buy a cheap one just for the car.

McJ - you are an expert on much, but it seems not this. :-)

McJohn

Indeed Master Yoda, the Force is not strong with me on this issue, much like an iPod battery!

lapu01

It not just a Becker problem, Alpine does the same with the different Ithings I have hooked up. Actually drained my old car battery. So I replaced the battery and disconnect the Ipod evrytime i park.

Bluey964

OK thanks for that John - have had the Becker interface for probably a couple of years and now realise why the iPod is rebooting each time I use it in the car. Never twigged it was completely draining the battery! I have an old 3rd gen 40gb that lives in the car so not an issue about the battery. Less space than an autochanger and many more songs on it!

cwrm4

My iPod Touch and iPod Shuffle both stay on as long as any type of audio cable is connected to them. Mine is connected via the mini-stereo jack...I just pull the cable out of the iPod whenever I shut off the car.