Should We Turn Off RD Before Turning Off Car?

[1DREAM2REALITY]

Should we turn off the radar detector manually before we turn the car off (which will cause the RD to turn off automatically)? I have a big feeling its very bad to do it that way, because according to my IT knowledge, it is always safer to manually power off any system. What are your opinions?

[kpatz]

No, you can just let it shut off with the ignition. RDs aren't running Windows, you won't corrupt them by not "shutting them down" properly.

Powering on is a different story. It's best to not apply power to the RD while starting the engine, since the starter draws a lot of current and causes lots of surges and fluctuations that can over time damage a RD, or at least it may make it perform erratically until you "reboot" it. Easiest way to achieve this is to put it on a circuit that cuts out when the key is turned to "Start".

[CastIronFoot]

Doesn't matter honestly. Regardless of whether you manually turn it off or just leave it on and turn the car off doesn't make a difference. Your not shocking it if that's what you're concerned about. It is still losing the 12v power supply either way. I've had my V940 for 7 years and never manually turned it off and old faithful still boots up and operates fine. "Surges," hence why your detector has a fuse so if it does get surged the fuse will blow and not the detector. One more note, I have a Scan Gauge II and I've never seen any surge of voltage or amperage upon start up.

[corkguykev]

I have all my RDs, jammers and dash-cam on switches and I do not power any of them up until the car is running just to be sure.

[ExoticRadar]

If you have an newer car i wouldnt worry about voltage spikes when you turn on the car. Its the older cars you might need to be concerned about. A dc line conditioner would help.

[alex.krebiehl]

Should we turn off the radar detector manually before we turn the car off (which will cause the RD to turn off automatically)? I have a big feeling its very bad to do it that way, because according to my IT knowledge, it is always safer to manually power off any system. What are your opinions?

The reason you dont turn off computers this way is because files can get corrupted if the power is cut while reading/writing to the file. This is not the case with a radar detector, so it is safe to just cut the power.

[yellowcab]

9500ix needs to be powered down, so new data isn't erased.

[alex.krebiehl]

9500ix needs to be powered down, so new data isn't erased.

I didn't have this problem for the short time of owning a 9500ix. It should write the data instantly, so I don't see why it would be an issue. Plus, the detectors are designed knowing that they will be powered off by just killing the power. I would be very surprised if Escort has not already thought of safety measures for this (ie, a backup battery that will give it power long enough to finish writing the data)

[Event Horizon]

RDs aren't running Windows

Apparently there is a God.

[CastIronFoot]

You can cut the power constantly to Linux without a problem. Windows is the worst program ever invented/stolen.