Dead Battery and Invisible Dog Fence Systems (Seriously!)

[Tsani]

I have a weird question for the forum if you don't mind. I have a 2016 Ford Explorer XLT with remote start setup that uses the Smart key. Seems the battery dies rather quickly when I visit my son. Battery is less than two years old and voltage measures normal as well as the alternator output. I can leave my vehicle parked for a number of days at home with no issues but at my Son's, over the weekend and it is dead. What I think is happening is that he has one of those dog invisible fences and part of the loop passes quite close to where I park, like with in two feet or less. That wire is a transmitter wire. And while the frequency may be different, it is still like a proximity key in my mind. And, since that fence is on 24/7, and I believe its power output is stronger than my keys, is it possible that the explorer sees it as a proximity key and is causing a drain on the battery. I know this sounds odd but odd things happen in the real world. I am a retired electrician with a strong engineering background and I going nuts trying to figure this out. Have you ran across something like this? My next trip down I am going to park somewhere different and see if it works, but thought I would fly it by y'all.

Thanks taking a read,
Tsani Carter

 

[bigdude2468]

My question would be where is the induced (caused be the dog fence) draw going to? Turning on the heated seats, headlights etc?

 

[Tsani]

My question would be where is the induced (caused be the dog fence) draw going to? Turning on the heated seats, headlights etc?

It’s my understanding that when you bring your fob within range, it wakes the vehicle up. Which draws a good bit more than when it is asleep. I have not measured that yet. This is why when checking for parasitic draw you need to wait about forty minutes before checking in order to give the car a chance to go back to a non wake state. So my thought is that this would be enough over a weekend if the car is awake 24/7.

 

[JAPeterson]

The first thing to do would be to find out the frequency that the dog fence runs on and then compare it to the one used on the Explorer.

You also should be able to have them shut off the fence and see what happens overnight. Most dogs once they get hit with the charge of the fence will avoid going near the area even when the fence is turned off. They know that if they cross that boundary that something unpleasant is going to happen. But then you get those dogs that learn that they can just go past it and have fun on the other side after that shock.

 

[Tsani]

The first thing to do would be to find out the frequency that the dog fence runs on and then compare it to the one used on the Explorer.

You also should be able to have them shut off the fence and see what happens overnight. Most dogs once they get hit with the charge of the fence will avoid going near the area even when the fence is turned off. They know that if they cross that boundary that something unpleasant is going to happen. But then you get those dogs that learn that they can just go past it and have fun on the other side after that shock.

Well, since we are 480 miles apart, it will be a spell before I get the chance to test it at my son’s. His dog is very stubborn but now stays 5 feet from the boundry…

Those fences are typically in the 7-10 khz range. The car fobs are in the mhz range I believe. But if you place a transmitter very close, it can over ride or otherwise induce issues. And the power output of the fence boundary wire is going to be higher as well.

I will keep checking on this and if I figure it out, I will post what I found. Was curious if anyone else has ran into a similar problem. I know these proximity keys can be a issue. Once we had push a friends motorcycle about a hundred feet away from where he was parked so the fob would work. He was parked practically under a cell tower. He forgot his pass code and so could not manually override the system. These modern things are nice but they come with their own problems.

 

[peterk9]

It’s my understanding that when you bring your fob within range, it wakes the vehicle up. Which draws a good bit more than when it is asleep. I have not measured that yet. This is why when checking for parasitic draw you need to wait about forty minutes before checking in order to give the car a chance to go back to a non wake state. So my thought is that this would be enough over a weekend if the car is awake 24/7.

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[Tsani]

Welcome to the Forum.
Peter

Thanks Peter. Glad to be here.

 

[Tsani]

Happy 2022 to y’all.
A follow up…

Down here visiting my son again, finally. Before I came down, the wife noticed that entry keypad was doing some weird blinking stuff. So I looked into it and yep, Ford’s ace mounting method failed and water corroded the circuit board. And what a PITA it was to change that with my paws. So…
Battery drain is doing well. Been parked in the same spot for a week and no dead battery. The drain is more than I would like to see, 70% on the battery right now. Better than zip. I am going to keep at tho.

 

[Tsani]

Happy 2022 to y’all.
A follow up…

Down here visiting my son again, finally. Before I came down, the wife noticed that entry keypad was doing some weird blinking stuff. So I looked into it and yep, Ford’s ace mounting method failed and water corroded the circuit board. And what a PITA it was to change that with my paws. So…
Battery drain is doing well. Been parked in the same spot for a week and no dead battery. The drain is more than I would like to see, 70% on the battery right now. Better than zip. I am going to keep at tho.

Annnnndddd….
My verdict is that it was a malfunctioning door keypad. Was down for easter weekend and no issues what so ever. So now I am moving on to changing my speakers. That should be fun.