How to Find a GPS Tracker on Your Vehicle: Detection and Inspection Guide

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Learn how to detect and locate GPS trackers on your vehicle. Follow these steps to inspect your car and identify GPS tracking devices, ensuring privacy and security

How to find a GPS tracker on your vehicle: a guide

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Transportation and logistics technology is always improving? This means, you should always know what your fleet needs to make the most of emerging technologies. The vehicle GPS tracker system is a proven technology that offers various benefits to fleet owners and others. It helps minimize fuel costs, improve safety, prevent theft, lower operational costs, and improve productivity.

If you plan on upgrading your fleet, you must ensure there is not already a commercial vehicle GPS tracker. Many vehicles nowadays are equipped with a GPS tracker. If you want to integrate your fleet management system with the GPS device, you should know how to find it.

Common Signs Your Vehicle May Have a GPS Tracker

There are a few signs that tell you whether your vehicle has a GPS tracking device or not. The most notable ones include unusual electrical activities and unexplained battery drain.

Sudden battery drain and unusual electrical activity

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A commercial vehicle GPS tracker can cause your truck’s battery to drain without any clear reason. It can further cause a series of electrical issues.

Unexplained Battery Drain: If your vehicle’s battery keeps draining out without any apparent reason, it may be due to a GPS tracker. The tracking device may pull power even when the vehicle is off.
Electronics Interference: Do you find your radio having constant static interference? Does your dashcam go haywire? Sometimes, GPS trackers interfere with other electronics, causing them to act strangely. This usually occurs when the GPS tracking device is not installed properly.
Blowing Fuses: Sometimes, the fuses keep blowing because a tracker is drawing excess power.Unexplained electrical anomalies and flickering lights can also be indicative of a GPS tracker. Detecting low-frequency sounds, interference with certain equipment, or unexplained clicking or buzzing, even when parked, may also mean you have a tracking device.

How to inspect your vehicle for a GPS tracker

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Whether you want to locate a GPS tracker in a car or truck, you will have to conduct an external and internal search of your vehicle.

Exterior Search of Your Vehicle

An exterior check for a GPS tracking device will include the following steps:

Check the Undercarriage: An effective way to check the undercarriage is to use a mirror. This area tends to get dirty and if the GPS tracking device is there it is easy to skip it. Look out for any part that seems significantly cleaner than the other areas underneath.
Check Behind the Bumpers: Bumpers have a very small space behind them and they can be perfect for hiding a GPS tracker. Since bumpers are made of injection-molded ABS, they are the perfect place to install trackers. You can use an extendable pole with a mirror and a flashlight to check this area.
Check the Wheels: Next, you should check all the wheels. It is recommended to check the invisible areas with your hands. Make sure to check behind the wheel’s covers.
Check Under the Bonnet: GPS trackers can also be attached to the strut bar or firewall. They can also be attached between the air ducts, batteries, or behind the radiator. The chances of a tracker under the bonnet are not high because of the heat produced in the area. Look for any wires leading to the battery.
Check the Fuel Tank: GPS fuel level sensors are usually installed on the fuel tank. So, make sure to check the fuel tank for any signs of a GPS tracker.

Interior Inspection

When it comes to an interior check, follow these steps:

Search the Trunk: Check the trunk for the tracker hidden under the spare tire. There are a few small spaces inside the trunk where a GPS tracker can be hidden.
Check the Seats: Check under the seats and the edge of the covers.
Check Under the Dashboard: Remove the glove box compartment. Look for any loose wire not connected to other cables. It is further recommended to check for an antenna under the dashboard.
Check the Data Port: The best vehicle GPS tracker available today can be easily plugged into the vehicle’s data port. So, check the data port under the dashboard. The trackers can also be plugged into the 12V power outlet.

Tools for locating GPS trackers

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If you do not want to disassemble parts of your vehicle to find a vehicle GPS tracker system, you can use a GPS bug sweeper. These devices can detect GPS or radio signals and point out their location.

GPS bug sweeper to detect trackers

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GPS bug sweepers are designed to detect electromagnetic signals. If you suspect the presence of a commercial vehicle GPS tracker but cannot find it through manual inspection, a bug sweeper can help find even a well-hidden tracker.

There are different types of bug trackers and you will need a specialized GPS tracking device. These units scan for GPS signals and locate trackers that transmit data.

There are different types of GPS trackers, with the real-time GPS tracker is used more commonly in fleet management systems. These systems are known as active trackers and provide real-time data transmission. So, they can be more easily tracked with a bug sweeper. On the other hand, passive GPS trackers store data locally.

The other types of bug detectors include radio frequency, wireless cameras, infrared, and cell phone signal detection tools.

When to seek professional assistance?

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If you cannot find a vehicle GPS tracker system using any of the above-mentioned methods and still suspect its presence, you have only one option left to proceed. It is to seek professional assistance. GPS system installers can help you find the tracker you are looking for.

Experienced professionals know what a commercial vehicle GPS tracker needs and where it can be located. Once they find the hidden tracking device, they can remove it quickly and securely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I buy a GPS tracker for my vehicle?
If you are looking for a reliable source of a commercial vehicle GPS tracker, https://escortsensors.com/ is the perfect place.

How to install a GPS tracker on a vehicle?
If it is a plug-and-play GPS tracking device, plug it into your vehicle’s diagnostic OBD port. Once plugged in, install the software on your mobile device and computer, and activate and test the tracker.

If it is a hardwired GPS tracker, follow these steps:

Connect the GPS tracking device’s red wire to the vehicle’s constant power cable
Connect the GPS device’s white wire and the vehicle’s ignition wire

How to use a GPS vehicle tracker?
This depends on the vehicle GPS tracker system you have purchased. Most units require logging on to the tracking system and activating the account. A tracker connected to a fleet management system will be integrated with central monitoring software.

How does a GPS tracker work on a vehicle?
A vehicle GPS tracker system uses satellite navigation to gather real-time data on your vehicle’s location, direction, and speed. Integrated with a fuel monitoring system, it can also provide fuel level data.

Where to put a GPS tracker on a vehicle?
A GPS tracking device can be installed almost anywhere that is a safe and secure place on a vehicle. The options include behind the bumpers, under the seats, in the wheel wells, or within the glove compartment. For fleet operations, GPS trackers are usually installed on the dashboard using the OBD port.