bluspikez Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I'm interested to know how the 12v power points in our cars work - what triggers them to be on, when they turn off, etc. I read in the owner's manual the following: Run the engine for full capacity use of the power point. To prevent the battery from being discharged: • Do not use the power point longer than necessary when the engine is not running. • Do not leave devices plugged in overnight or when the vehicle is parked for extended periods. This would lead me to believe that the power points are always on, even when the vehicle is off. Today, though, when I plugged something in to the power point (under the MFT screen, not sure that that matters...), there was no power going to the device until I started the car. The power point then functioned as normal, but when the car turned off there was still power going to the device that was plugged in. I unplugged the device to be safe and returned to the computer to do some research. Not having found anything, I again went back to my car and plugged in the device before starting the vehicle. Again, no power from the power point. This makes me think there is some sort of timeout going on, where the power point will disconnect after some period of time when the car is off. I haven't found anything in the manual about this behavior. It does mention that it will automatically turn off your headlights after 10 mintues of them being left on - maybe this 10 minute delay is for the power points too? Have any of you played with the power points enough to know how this works? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boogs Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 It does mention that it will automatically turn off your headlights after 10 mintues of them being left on - maybe this 10 minute delay is for the power points too? I remember reading something like this either in the manual or online. If there's a power draw on the battery after the car is turned off and key removed, it will deactivate certain features to conserve battery power. Or something. Another thought: does the plug continue to work after you turn off the car AND open the door? Sorta in conjunction with how the radio works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Power points are always on on my Edge. Don't know what that means for the Fusion though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluspikez Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Another thought: does the plug continue to work after you turn off the car AND open the door? Sorta in conjunction with how the radio works. I thought the same thing - I did open the door and it didn't seem to make a difference, the device I had plugged in was still getting power. I'm almost thinking I'll have to sit out there in the car for a bit to see what happens, because when I return to the car after a long period of it being off (was about an hour in between), the power point doesn't give any power to the device when I plug it in, until the car is started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincep5 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 i had the same question, but no one answered me. I guess its good to start a new topic. Yes, i've seen the same behavior. Even with the doors open after the car is off I see the light on my phone charger on. I've never left anything plugged in for hours after the car is turned off. I think the power will eventually turn off to preserve the car's battery. I can confirm that the USB ports power on when the doors open and power off shortly after you turn off the car and exit the vehicle. I added some footwell LEDs and they are plugged into the arm rest USB ports. I didnt want to mess around with fuses and wire splicing. Maybe my next time i'll tap into the wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboTi Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Every vehicle is different. My truck for example has one that always stays on, and one with key on only. But my guess is the Fusions will shut down the power points after 10 minutes. I get to test the power down feature every day, because I sit in the car for about 45 minutes before I go into work (girlfriend goes in before me). The map lights go off after 10 minutes, and the radio goes off after 20 minutes. To reset the lights, I open and close the door. To reset the radio, just hit the radio power button. The only way to tell for sure, is try all 3 power points with a lighted charger, and leave the windows down so you can stick your head in and check it without opening the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluspikez Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Every vehicle is different. My truck for example has one that always stays on, and one with key on only. But my guess is theFusions will shut down the power points after 10 minutes. I get to test the power down feature every day, because I sit in the car for about 45 minutes before I go into work (girlfriend goes in before me). The map lights go off after 10 minutes, and the radio goes off after 20 minutes. To reset the lights, I open and close the door. To reset the radio, just hit the radio power button. The only way to tell for sure, is try all 3 power points with a lighted charger, and leave the windows down so you can stick your head in and check it without opening the door. This is good information - since you do tend to sit in the car quite often, is there any chance you have some device you could plug in to test how long the power ports stay on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSKershaw Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I'm interested if anyone has looked into this more. I have a DVD player installed in the back seat that plugs into the 12v outlet. I noticed that it was still on after my kid left the car when the car was turned off. I usually left the unit on in my old car and the DVD player would shut off when I turned the car off. If it stayed on all the time this could be a problem as I don't want it to kill the battery. I guess I could try turning it on and checking it out through the window every 10 minutes or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionNewbie Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I tested this out today: Plugged in my phone charger that lights up when it's powered; plugged it in on the way home from work and left it in after I turned the car off. I locked and exited the car and confirmed that the light was still ON. I checked back 5 hours later and the light on the charger was off and the car started up fine. It looks to me like it shuts off after a predetermined amount of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT90SC Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 According to the WSM, its either 10 or 30 minutes. It is not exactly forthcoming as to which. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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