All the Questions
All the Answers
What is it?
Plug & Track vehicle tracking is a simple way to start tracking your cars and light commercial vehicles without the need for a permanent installation. The tracking units are called Plug & Track as the tracking unit simply plugs into the vehicles OBD II port or clips across the vehicle battery terminals.
Once connected to the vehicles power then tracking starts. As quick and simple as that.
There are lots of questions asked about Plug & Track telematics such as:
How does it work? Will it benefit my business? It’s just a cheap alternative for a small fleet?
Here we look at answering the most common questions asked.
Plug & Track Telematics in simple terms is a version of vehicle tracking that does not require a permanent hardwired installation.
The tracking hardware is either plugged into a vehicle OBDII port ( vehicle diagnostics port ) or attached to the vehicle battery. All the aerials for GPS and GSM are contained within the tracking unit and no wiring to the vehicle ignition is required.
There are two types of Plug and Track solution – units that plug in to the vehicles OBDII port and those that connect to the live and negative terminals of the vehicle batteries.
If you opt for the OBD plug in then we can check that the vehicle OBD will support a plug-in unit. generally this is vehicle manufactured after 1996 but always ask first.
Another thing to check is that there is room to fit the OBD unit as a number of vehicles have a cover over the ODB port and there needs to be space to close the cover after fitting.
Units that connect to the battery terminals have less issues with space but some modern vehicles have a number of electrical connection on the live battery post that a check is a sensible precaution.
Connection to the battery terminals requires some basic tools and an understanding of how a vehicles battery is connected. If you have the tools and knowledge to replace a car battery you can install a battery connected tracking unit.
Watch the self install video to see how simple it is.
Both units are recommended for 12 v vehicles only.
No. The costs will be lower as there is no need to send an engineer out to install the unit but the functionality will, depending on the provider, be the same as a hardwired unit.
Over the long term there are savings to be made if the tracking unit needs to be moved to another vehicle, Again, as there is no cost for an engineer attend to de-install and re-install in another vehicle.
Watch the Self Install Video to see how to install the Battery Connect unit.
Exactly the same as a permanently installed tracking unit in terms of monitoring the vehicle movements, where it stops and starts journeys etc. Depending on the providers solution the Plug & Track unit will also monitor driver behaviour, speeding, harsh braking, harsh acceleration etc.
The only main difference is the way that the unit detects that a vehicle journey has started. This may be by monitoring the battery voltage, it will increase when the vehicles engine is running, or movement in GPS locations, or a combination of both.
Save Time, Save Money, Drive Safe
The benefits are the same as a hardwired tracking unit in terms of managing your vehicles.
There are a number of added benefits if you need to replace vehicles on a regular basis, have short term use vehicles on your fleet or want to use telematics on a Grey Fleet where permanent installs may not be practical.
Examples include:
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- Leased / Rental Vehicles
- Temporary Sub-Contractors
- Regularly Replaced Vehicles
- Grey Fleet Vehicles
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Plug & Track – Self Install Vehicle Tracking
Plug & Track self install tracking units are ideal where a hardwired permanent installation is not feasible. This may be due to the vehicles in the fleet changing on a regular basis; a need to use rental vehicles or the use of subcontractors.
In all cases, you still need to manage the vehicles activity but want to reduce the cost of regular re-installations of the tracking units.
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Pinpoint the position of your vehicles
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Follow them with Online Maps
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Analyse their daily activity
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Use vehicle tracking to track your vehicles in real-time, anytime, using any Internet-connected device. There is no need for additional software – everything is accessed over the web.
Vehicle tracking systems can help you save on fuel, cut fleet expenses, and improve your drivers’ safety and security.
All our Telematics solutions come with inclusive consultancy services and implementation support.
All the benefits from day one.
Easy to follow Installation Guides are available to get started as soon as your devices arrive.
If you need help locating your OBD port use our OBD locator tool.
Key Benefits and Features
Plug & Track units easily plug into the vehicles standard 12v OBD II port or clip across the battery terminals It just minutes you will be able to access all your vehicle tracking information.
Plug & Track solutions are a simple way to monitor vehicles, driver timesheets, routes taken and driver behaviour analysis. Full tracking and driver behaviour monitoring.
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- No installation appointment required. Simple quick self-installation
- Easy to change the vehicles used for tracking
- Compatible with most cars and vans
- Supported by an internal battery
- Low battery warning alerts
- Tamper detection alerts* when:
- The device is plugged in
- Device is unplugged
- The vehicle is moving with ignition off
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*Functionality dependent on the specification of the tracking unit.
Typical User Examples
Temporary sub-contractors
If you need to track temporary sub-contractors, the Plug & Track option gives you access to all the monitoring and tracking data for both your temporary contractors as well as permanent staff. This gives you consistent data as well as peace of mind for new temporary vehicles.
Vehicle Replacement
A major benefit of using Plug & Track is where you need to replace vehicles in your fleet regularly, you can easily move the tracking devices from one vehicle to another, once moved you can just log in and change the registration details associated with a specific vehicle ID. This saves you both time and costs.
Leased / Rented Vehicles
Many companies hire vans and vehicles to fill the gap for when vehicles are off the road for repairs or to meet a growth in demand from your customers. Using Plug & Track is a great way to ensure that the leased vehicles are tracked consistently with the rest of your fleet. Making sure there are no ‘gaps’ in fleet data – whether you used leased or owned vehicles.
Grey Fleet Vehicles
More businesses have staff using their own vehicles for work purposes. A Plug & Track solution allows a business to monitor the vehicle activity, tracking mileage for expenses claims, time on-site reporting and for driver safety responsibilities whist ensuring that an employees vehicle does not require any installation or wiring.
