Car Memory Saver Advice

I'm posting this here so it gets the most views.

What I'm considering is one of those memory savers when one changes out the battery. Lots of options out there. Some plug into the aux power socket, what we used to call the cigarette lighter socket. Some plug into the OBD-II port. I'm thinking of the OBD-II port type as a lot of aux power sockets are switched. Prices are all over the place. I'm looking for good quality and no Chinese/Alibaba stuff. Budget is whatever I want it to be, so there is no budget.

The cable is just part of the equation. There has to be an external power source. I'm looking at battery chargers/boosters/maintainers to provide the power. This is where I need the advice. Prices are all over the place and there are a LOT of options. Here is where I'm at.

Battery chargers: I have to keep a charger plugged in to an AC source. I don't want the extra cables involved. I have both battery chargers and a Battery Tender but both use alligator clips. I want to get away from alligator clips since this item will be used inside the car. Alligator clips can be an option if the device can accept different plugs

Lithium battery boosters are looking good. I can get one large enough to jump batteries. For saving car data it would have enough capacity to provide power for hours, if not days.

Maintainers? Very workable but I have to keep it plugged in to an AC source. As stated I already have one for battery storage but it has no options for using different cables.

I'm Looking at NOCO as they have a great selection of quality products and cables. What else is out there? What are your experiences?

All input is welcome.

If your power socket is switched, you can move a fuse to a different spot and then it will not be switched. That would allow you to use a maintainer that plugs into the aux power/lighter socket. That seems like the simplest solution to me.

I can’t remember the fuse number, but on my wife’s 2015 Golf all you had to do is move the cigarette lighter fuse to the slot beside it and it was no longer switched. Looks like they intentionally designed the circuit with that option.

You just have to figure out how to do it on your specific car.

I have one of these jump packs with a power socket built in.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000JFJ...0-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp_srdg2

Use this memory saver with it:

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-OBD-L-OBDII-Memory-Detector/dp/B00CH59OAS

You get double duty from the jump pack for starting your car if needed as well as charging phones and stuff when the car isn't available. I have a 1935 Ford and no socket there. I just take this to power my charger and stuff. Should work nicely for what you have stipulated and get some extra use from it if needed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's what I'm talking about.

Perhaps one reason the the lighter socket is powered is 20 yrs ago or so VW used to have the 12 v solar panels for the TDI's. Perhaps they deleted the socket to save weight in the newer cars.

The socket is still there and works fine. It is just switched now so it is disconnected when the key is off.

No memory saver is required when changing the battery in a TDI.

I read somewhere that VW dealers quote 3 hours of shop labor time to "train the computer" after installing a new battery. It might be required for a VW gasser to do the throttle body adaptation and maybe a few other adaptations. NONE of this is required for a TDI. Don't fall for this scam at a VW dealer.

The radio head unit might need the radio code entered if it is not the factory original unit. The car normally recognizes its own radio head unit but might not if the head unit has been replaced. (IIRC)

My 02 Golf TDI years ago was off the road for about 2 months during some of my modding to it in 2007 and the battery was out of it the whole time. No "memory saver" device was used. There was no issue when I reinstalled the battery. The clock on the instrument cluster needed to be reset but no other issues.

My 05 PD Jetta Wagen TDI had the battery out of it for 4 months while waiting for an engine after a TB failure in 2009. An engine swap and a whole bunch of go-fast mods were installed while everything was apart. The car became an ATD PD Jetta Wagen TDI. There was no issue with the battery being out of the car with no "memory saver" attached other than needing to reset the clock on the instrument cluster. TDIclub forum member mrchill owns the car now since 2014 after I broke the upgraded clutch from enjoying too much weapons-grade torque with it.

I recently changed the battery in my 2014 Jetta TDI. I was under the impression I was going to have to use VCDS to reset the comfort settings I customized to my preferences when the car was new (one-touch windows, 5 blink signals, mirror heat on w/rear defrost, etc.).

I noticed the one-touch windows didn't work at first, but within a day or two the memory for one-touch windows began working again. I have the car parked out of town at a friends house, but now I'm curious if everything else is magically working again, too? With the number of features I changed, it will be easy to verify when I pick up the car in a week or so.

There’s no need for any memory saver on tdi.
Here’s the things that you need to readjust after a battery replacement :
- date and time
- radio code (only for cars without canbus)
- reactivate comfort Windows.

All others parameters will not be lost.

I just put the jump pack on the fuse box main lug (that is from the battery), and ground wherever I can find it. No need for anything fancy. I do this with a lot of cars.

It's good to know TDIs don't require any memory saving device. My wife drives a 2014 Passat 2.5 gasser. what about that?

My boys drive a whole bunch of different makes, Hyundai, Chevy, Ford, Toyota, etc.

They DO actually, as many of them lose different radio settings that will require you go back in with VCDS and change the coding. Some even lose the backup camera function, as well as all the other memory stuff like seats, etc. Some cars won't idle either (non-TDIs) as they learn that value, and if memory is lost you have to go in and relearn the idle with a scan tool.

Whenever you can, it is always a good idea to keep the car's memory alive.

Well, I bought one of those cheap China made OBD Port connectors with the alligator clips. It works great and I use a lawn mower battery for the power. I only use it to save the radio settings, trip-o-meter and clock setting.... otherwise, there's really no need to worry as others have indicated.

I did open up the unit and remove the wire to the beeper that was driving me nuts.

Ironically, several years ago, on my formerly owned 2000 Jetta, due to a battery cable ground connection acting up, the Radio went into safe mode. Well, I did not have the code... fast forward to approximately one year later, just out the blue the radio started working properly on its own.

PeterV said:

Perhaps one reason the the lighter socket is powered is 20 yrs ago or so VW used to have the 12 v solar panels for the TDI's. Perhaps they deleted the socket to save weight in the newer cars.

Click to expand...

LOL, I have one! Years ago at the first MI TDIFest there was a guy selling them. I think I paid like $20 for it. Yeah, won't work now as the power socket is switched. If I recall, all VWs came from the factory with those mini solar panels plugged in. The dealers had to collect them as part of the dealer prep and send them back to be used again.

Since most care are covered now in protective plastic film during delivery, no reason to use the mini solar panels or have the power socket constant power on. Then again, I can imagine the people inadvertently running their batteries down leaving stuff plugged into the unswitched power sockets.

The solar panels were on the windshields, which were NOT covered, and they were thrown in the trash at PDI. I have a few of them, but they were Chinesium, so they rarely worked for long.

The newer cars allow for the CAN bus to be put to sleep for transport. So they are not as likely to kill the battery.

I decided to go with a NOCO GB40 Boost Pus. The GB40 is not a charger, it's a small powerful jump box. NOCO says it can provide between 25 to 30 jumps for 6L gas or 3L diesel engine between charges. That's plenty of capacity for my needs. I already have a battery charger and battery maintainer. I wanted something portable and not have to be tethered to an extension cord. NOCO has a decent selection of cable accessories so that's why I went with them.

NOCO GB40 booster came with the short cables. One of the few criticisms is that the short cables are too short to reach the battery on some cars. I agree so I bought some longer ones.


NOCO has this OBD-II memory saver connector with an inline 10A fuse, but it's made to fit another much more expensive NOCO model. I went to a RC hobby shop, bought some connectors, and designed a way to connect the OBD-II plug to my NOCO unit. This is the after photo showing the banana plugs and connectors so I still have the use of the original NOCO connector.


NOCO makes this replacement cable with eyelets. Using an audio speaker style banana plug would be the perfect to mate the OBD-II plug.


Yeah, this will work very well.


I bent the eyelets 90 degrees so the banana connector would not be at a 90 degree angle to the cable.


Banana connector and cable ready for some black electricians tape.


Good to go.


My rig is ready to go.


Exactly what I wanted, a small portable unit with minimal wires. I should have more than enough power to leave the unit plugged in for several hours. Plenty of time to remove a battery, battery tray, clean up all the dirt that collects under there, and install a new battery, without upsetting those whiny, needy control module settings, or triggering an alarm system.

Oh yeah, for the DYIers, you need to have some basic soldering skills and a small soldering iron. I had the guy at the hobby shop solder the connectors as he does stuff as this all day, every day. My total cost for everything was just under $200. Yeah, way too much money just to save some memory settings, but I wanted a jump box and this was a great excuse to get one. So there! I'm going to be swapping some batteries between cars tomorrow. I'll post how my memory saver rig works.

That is an elegant and small solution, but very very expensive. If you could have lived without the jump start feature, the same thing could have been done for about $40 though.

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-LLC-6800...hargeable+battery+pack&qid=1573930653&sr=8-42

https://smile.amazon.com/Vehicle-Em...words=obdii+power+plug&qid=1573930181&sr=8-11

Might help someone on a tiny budget.

Lightflyer1 said:

That is an elegant and small solution, but very very expensive. If you could have lived without the jump start feature, the same thing could have been done for about $40 though.

Click to expand...

Yeah I could have. But then my OCD kicks in and I have to make a production out of something, then I think about it more and I add to it, and the project grows and grows.

You can also use a 9v battery in some cases, although that may cause some memory loss of some modules. Usually 9.6v is about the threshold of most control units (according to a Bosch publication I read years ago).

Hobby stores used to have battery cages for various sized disposable batteries (AA, C, D, etc.) that can be used for this too. Each of those batteries is 1.5v so a cage holding eight of any of those would be enough.

It would be hard to beat that $20 Li-ion pack with recharger I linked to. Even with a battery cage and a bunch of common size batteries.

This reminds me when I purchased my new to me '05 Golf 15 years ago this month, there was a solar panel stuck to the inner windshield; as were some of the other VW's on the dealer lot. It was plugged into the accessory port. I was allowed to keep mine.

My dealer gave me two when I bought my 2006. They had a pile of them. Still for sale too!

https://www.ebay.com/p/1311316953