iPod draining car battery??

[FloodSim]

I'm thinking of buying one of those Pioneer iPod adapter things that connect to your HU and charge iPod at the same time. The thing is i remember reading somewhere that this will drain your battery majorly. Is this true?

Anyone use one of these and had any problems?

Thanx

[vividjazz]

If the headunit is wired correctly there will be no power with the ignition is off. iPOD won't charge, battery won't be drained.

[ITRBoI]

If the headunit is wired correctly there will be no power with the ignition is off. iPOD won't charge, battery won't be drained.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[2NTICN]

ive had the alpine version for months now and it hasnt drained the battery at all. I think what you may have read is that it can affect the battery life of your ipod, not your car battery. Id strongly recommend them though, they are a great device!!!

[mugeneration]

Yeah unless its a bodgy wiring job it shouldnt. I mean theres NO WAY that you could be talking about while the engine is on, so we are all assuming while the engine is off. Trust me when I say this, you are much better off with one of these adapters than an FM transmitter.

[FloodSim]

Hey, i found where i orginally read about the battery drain thing. It was on these forums and it was actually by you 2NTICN


...
Last of all these is the Alpine or Pioneer head unit option with the ipod adapter box. I have the alpine version myself, and as Vivski said, its great because it allows you to access your songs via the head unit and it charges your ipod. However, as you ipod is recharging everytime u connect it to your car it depletes your battery life considerably. This i have also learnt from experience.
...

I read this to mean it drains your cars battery, or did you mean to say iPod battery... but that doesnt make sense :confused:

Please explain..

[FloodSim]

Yeah unless its a bodgy wiring job it shouldnt. I mean theres NO WAY that you could be talking about while the engine is on, so we are all assuming while the engine is off. Trust me when I say this, you are much better off with one of these adapters than an FM transmitter.

I didnt think it would drain while the car was running neither but from what 2NTICN said he seemed to think it does. And i'd have to agree about the FM transmitter thing.. I bought the iTrip... what a sack of shit :thumbdwn:

[nedgeworth]

He is reffering to the ipods battery life.

[FloodSim]

Why would this decrease the life of the iPod battery? isn't it just like charging it normally from your computer?

[nedgeworth]

Lots of info here for you. http://www.ipodbatteryfaq.com/

Q: I heard that the iPod's battery only lasts 18 months, and then you have to buy a new iPod! Is that true?

A1: NO! The vast, vast majority of even the earliest iPods, now over two years old, continue to function just fine. Some iPods, however, have had issues with batteries. Lithium ion batteries are only good for 300 to 500 charge/discharge cycles (more). For this reason, certain customers' usage patterns may cause the batteries to degrade, or fail, sooner than others.

Q: Will the iPod's battery degrade over time?

A: Yes. Over time, the battery will not hold the same amount of charge as when it was new. This is natural, and is true of all lithium ion batteries. This slow degradation will not affect, or be noticed by, most users. However, based on usage, environmental factors, and many other variables, some heavy users may notice a greater degradation than others. It is important to understand that this is the exact same degradation that would occur with any lithium ion battery used in any laptop, cell phone, portable music player, etc., and is not unique to the iPod.

[mugeneration]

Yeah with any battery recharging it constantly depletes its battery life. Which is why it is good to completely run-flat you battery on your phone/laptop/ipod once a week, to extend its life. But personally i couldnt b bothered and id hate to need my phone and its battery is flat.

[newmski]

to get the most out of batteries u should:
when u first get it charge it up FULLY
you should not charge until completely flat
then should charge fully again each time

but i mean like mugengen said who could be fuked really?

[IN73GZ]

it wont decrease your car battery that much, HOWEVER
(and guys i work at dick smith and i sell these Ipods every day, i have to know everything about them!!!)
every time your ipod is recharged without running the battery near dead it shortens the life, so if u go driving every day and connect your ipod it will be getting charged at time when it does not require it, this will shorten its life.
eg, the new ipod mini battery is supposed to last 18hours off a full recharge, after connecting it to you alpine head unit everyday for 6months, it may only give 10hours off a full charge,(these are approx figures just for example)
It will affect the Ipod battery, not so much the car battery, however i wouldnt recommend leaving ur car stereo on with ur car off, it will drain the car battery regardless.
Does everyone understand now?