Innovation Award Profile: Power Probe PPDRAW
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Q: What makes this product innovative?
A: It combines a couple of things to make parasitic draw testing actually quick and easy, while serving as a memory saver at the same time. So, it's kind of a unique combination of tool that really simplifies what can sometimes be a little bit of a headache in doing on certain vehicles.
Q: What was the inspiration behind creating this product?
A: Originally, I was only thinking about Memory Saver because that's becoming more and more important, especially on newer cars. I figured having a gauge on it, if all the electricity is coming out of this battery pack versus the vehicle's battery, it would be the same number if I set up a parasitic draw through a multimeter. Real quickly I can just connect it right to the vehicle's diagnostic port, select output, get a reading, and it's acting as a memory saver.
Q: How will this product improve the lives of technicians and shop owners?
A: Well, hopefully it saves time, and that's the feedback we're getting. Like I said, it's such a simple setup, plugging into the OBD-II port, enabling power out, disconnecting one of the battery cables on the vehicle, and you've instantly got a reading. It should simplify those things while also preserving all the presets and memories on the vehicles that you don't want to lose.
Q: What has the feedback been like from technicians who purchased this tool?
A: When we were coming up with the tool, we thought, 'Hey, this is a pretty good idea and this might be useful.' The feedback's just been enormous. People are really liking the tool. The feedback we're getting from it, they just want to be able to use it on more things. So we're coming up with some accessories and some of the feedback will improve on the app because there is an app tied to it. There are improvements coming there, which a lot of it has come directly from customer feedback on how to make it more useful for them.
Q: Anything else our readers should know?
A: There are some best practices, and you can check out our YouTube videos about those, and there are a couple new accessories because not every car can tie in through that 16-pin diagnostic port. We do have a couple new accessories, one that'll adapt to 9-pin heavy duty vehicles, and another one that'll adapt to battery clamps so you can just connect directly to the battery cables. Still get the same effect, the same memory, and parasitic draw number from the same tool.