IQ-Plug is the one AirIQ device you fit without an installer. It draws power from the vehicle's diagnostic port, so there is nothing to wire and nothing to drill. When you sell the truck, it unplugs and goes into the next one.
Hybrid and electric vehicles are the exception. Use a hardwired device on those rather than a plug-in one, and talk to Client Care before you order.
Where the device goes
Work this out before you drill anything or run any wire. Decide where the device sits, where the bracket goes if there is one, and how the cable gets there.
- Give it a clear view of the sky. GPS reads through glass and plastic, but not through metal, so mount it above anything that would sit between the device and the satellites.
- In a vehicle, the usual spot is near the dash on the passenger side, with open exposure to the windshield. On a trailer or a piece of equipment, put it on the asset itself with the sky in view.
- Keep it clear of the airbag system. Nothing you install should sit anywhere that could interfere with deployment.
- Leave the status lights visible. You will want to read them later, and a device buried behind trim is a device you cannot troubleshoot.
- Keep it out of the weather and out of the way: sun, heat, rain, moisture, feet and cargo.
- Fix it to solid body, not to a plastic panel. Secure any slack cable with nonconductive ties, and do not crimp or flatten the wire. Do not reuse the shipping tie, and do not glue the device to the dash.
Fitting it
- Take the vehicle outside, and start the engine. Some devices need the engine running to wake up, and all of them need sky to find their first fix.
- Plug the device into the diagnostic port. Push until it is fully seated. A connection that wiggles is a connection that drops.
- Check the status light through the window in the housing. It should come to life within a few seconds.
- Give it one to two minutes to join the network before you go looking for it in your dashboard.
Two connector types, depending on the vehicle
Light vehicles use the familiar trapezoidal OBD-II connector under the dash. Heavy trucks often use a round green nine-pin connector instead. On the nine-pin, tighten the collar until the connection is fully seated. On OBD-II, confirm it cannot be moved or wiggled. A zip tie holding it into the port is cheap insurance on a rough road.
Reading the status lights
A blinking green light means the device is working normally. Blinking green quickly means the ignition is on and the internal battery is charging, which is also normal.
A red light that blinks in a repeating series is telling you which subsystem failed: one blink for Bluetooth, two for cellular, three for GPS, five for the modem. On some models a steady red light means the opposite: the device has a good connection to the engine module. The card in the box tells you which behavior your model uses, and Client Care can confirm it in a phone call.
If someone might unplug it
A plug-in device is as easy to remove as it is to fit. If you think a driver or anyone else might pull it, fit a tamper-evident seal over the connector. It will not stop a determined person, but it will tell you it happened.
Confirming it worked
Give it a minute or two to find the network, then open your dashboard and look for a Power Up event on the asset. That one event tells you three things at once: the device has power, it is talking to the network, and its position has updated.
If the vehicle was switched off when you fitted the device, ignition state and voltage may not show until the vehicle has been through one ignition cycle.
Nothing showing up? Read the status lights first, then call Client Care at 1-888-606-6444. Have the vehicle and the device in front of you when you call.