Range AFM arrived today

[jhbrennan]

Go to the Range website and they say who the authorized vendors are - buy direct to make sure warrantied.

[Josh154]

Ive been using a range afm on my 2018 6.2 now with no issues. I called range directly and they had came out with a new firmware not to long ago that works great with 17 and 18s. They also told me the new firmware has no battery draw. 

[jhbrennan]

9 hours ago, Josh154 said:

Ive been using a range afm on my 2018 6.2 now with no issues. I called range directly and they had came out with a new firmware not to long ago that works great with 17 and 18s. They also told me the new firmware has no battery draw. 

If the LEDs are illuminated then there is a battery draw...although very small.

[TRG]

It does sound like they do have a battery draw although it's minimal - this is directly from their website:

 

Battery Draw

The Range Device does NOT draw much on the vehicle battery during normal operation.  If you drive your vehicle daily (or almost daily), then this will not be a concern.  However, if you drive your vehicle infrequently (i.e., only on weekends), please remove the device.  It is best practice to remove the device if your vehicle will sit for anything longer than a week.

To add some more detail:

1. The device will go to a VERY low "sleep" state after the engine is off (within 3-10 seconds of the engine shutting off)
2. In this state all the LEDs are OFF and it hibernates at about 1-3mA
3. Every 7-25 seconds it will wake up to a "light sleep" state to check to see if the vehicle is running.  In this mode, there will still be NO LEDS lit but current draw will spike for < 0.1 sec to about 7-10mA.
4. If the vehicle is NOT running (i.e. RPM < 500) then it'll go back to deep sleep.  Rinse and repeat until the vehicle is running, at which time it'll fire up completely and  you'll start seeing LEDs light again.

Given this and the normal draw from other modules (a modern vehicle will always have a small draw for the security systems, BCM, remote start/locks, OnStar, etc. .. sometimes as much a 50mA), it is recommended to reduce the risk of battery depletion by unplugging the module when the vehicle is going to be sitting for an extended period.  Cold weather, weak charge state, age, etc. can all contribute to less battery capacity.

A healthy battery with decent capacity should be able to go much longer than the recommended length of time but it worth it not to come out from a 3 week vacation and find the battery dead in the airport parking lot!

[Josh154]

Yeah i mentioned all of that to them and they said this new version has NO battery draw. My leds do not illuminate till i start the truck.

[Sierra706]

Funny coincidence with this thread. Brought my truck to the dealer for state Inspection today and it failed emissions. Service manager told me to unplug the device and come back Monday after I’d driven 150 miles. Same guy who asked me where he could buy one for his truck and his sons truck. Anyone have any input on how a range would effect the emissions check?


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[jhbrennan]

17 minutes ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Funny coincidence with this thread. Brought my truck to the dealer for state Inspection today and it failed emissions. Service manager told me to unplug the device and come back Monday after I’d driven 150 miles. Same guy who asked me where he could buy one for his truck and his sons truck. Anyone have any input on how a range would effect the emissions check?


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If the Range caused a code and a CEL that was corrected you may still have the code in history preventing emission monitors to show as being "ready".  In Texas you're allowed one of 5 to show not ready and pass.  Not sure what your state allows.  What your tech recommended is what Range describes in their website.

 

NOTES:  Since the "Historical" code is stored (even if you unplug the battery cables) for a number of drive cycles, you need to complete 6-8 drive cycles without the code reoccurring to have the messages regarding the ABS or PowerSteering or Stabilitrak system clear.  It's a requirement by the govt. to NOT be able to clear the historical so that a technician can diagnose it if it was a communications error (which is what is stored ... a U1xxx - communications lost DTC)

 

Here's the drive cycle described:

https://rangetechnology.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204980435-What-is-a-Drive-Cycle-

 

[rastasquid]

4 hours ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Funny coincidence with this thread. Brought my truck to the dealer for state Inspection today and it failed emissions. Service manager told me to unplug the device and come back Monday after I’d driven 150 miles. Same guy who asked me where he could buy one for his truck and his sons truck. Anyone have any input on how a range would effect the emissions check?


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I had this with my 2010, as it turns out, emissions system will read "not ready" on a check. I was told by a service tech that since the Range turns off the AFM, there is certain data that will not exist on an emissions check. In order for the truck to log data and the system to read as ready, you have drive it without the range in, as mentioned above. 

[jhbrennan]

Once a CEL occurs, even if cleared, a drive cycle will have to be done to get all the monitors to "be ready".  I don't think AFM on or off affects the direct triggering of a monitor not ready - it's the CEL that's the trigger.