I caught a short video, a technician was trying to find a battery drain and had located a specific item i.e. a radio taking current.

He was using an infra red scanner when besides the radio there was an even bigger hotspot plugged into the ODB.

This item is fitted by some insurance companies to monitor driving skills and can result in lower premiums.

But it is constantly looking for data and the power consumption goes up even when the car is not in use.

I apologise if I have not quite got this right but I thought it might give a pointer to someone trying to trace a battery drain.

Sounds like sloppy design - but who would expect any better from insurance companies as they are just looking after their own interests.

Far more likely to use them seeking reasons to penalise.

I guess fair enough if used to punish persistently hazardous road behaviour - but suspect will often just be used inappropriately.

I'd not think it a good idea to have anything permanently plugged into the OBD port anyway it risks off-board computer programs buggering up the onboard ones and they already have enough potential to do that for themselves - as well as the possibly battery drain.

Unless things have improved recently there's also the possibility of incorrect information being collected by the insurance information the car industries don't always use the best hard or software available, VW certainly have had a few ups and downs.

I know where the dongle that the VW dealer's workshop left in my wife's 2015 Polo went after we collected that car after its first service - at least I think that I know where it is - and it isn't in the car, nor did I take up the AA's offer of a similar dongle.

Edit:- just to make it clear, that VW workshop just left the box etc on the passenger seat, so they didn't feel the need to force it on us, just supply it as probably requested by VW.

Edited 29 August, 202529 Aug by rum4mo

A GOOGLE-search on car battery drain infrared camera will retrieve more videos about this diagnostic method than one can shake a stick at.

(Also handy for making sneaky porn movies.)