IQ-Wired connects directly to the vehicle's power rather than to a diagnostic port. That is what makes it the right choice for a covert install, for equipment with no OBD port, and for hybrid and electric vehicles. It also makes it a job for someone who wires vehicles for a living.
This page is here so you know what you are booking and how to check the work. It is not a wiring procedure. Ask Client Care at 1-888-606-6444 for the install guide for your device, and give it to whoever is doing the fitting.
Before the appointment
- Start the vehicle and confirm there are no check-engine lights, error codes or dashboard warnings. If there are, sort those out first, because an existing fault will be blamed on the install.
- Check that the electrical systems all work: lights, windows, heating and air, locks.
- Note any existing damage to the body, the interior and the windshield before anyone starts work.
- Park somewhere level, with the wheels blocked.
What the installer does
Three wires do the work. Constant power and ground are what keep the device alive; the ignition wire is what makes engine-hour reporting accurate. If the ignition wire is left off, the device falls back to guessing ignition state from voltage, and the engine hours drift.
Two rules matter enough to say out loud, because getting them wrong is expensive. The device should never be wired into the engine module port, because that connection is unreliable and it degrades how the device performs. And the wiring must never share a connection with another aftermarket product; every device gets its own independent connection.
Wiring these three incorrectly can flatten the vehicle battery. This is the main reason the job goes to a qualified installer.
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.
Confirming it worked
Once the device has power it connects to the network on its own and downloads its configuration. Leave it alone for five to ten minutes while that happens, do not disconnect it, and do not start testing features, or you will interrupt the download.
After that, open your dashboard and look for a Power Up event on the asset. Every unit also carries an internal backup battery, shipped enabled, so it keeps reporting briefly if main power is cut.
Reading the status lights
Hardwired devices carry two lights on the side of the housing. The navigation light blinks once a second when GPS is working and sits permanently on when it has no signal. The status light blinks once a second in normal operation and once every two seconds in sleep mode. Either light off entirely means the device is asleep or not running; both blinking fast means firmware is being updated, and should be left to finish.