Is my rear power socket broken? or is it meant to be this way?

[Dorko]

Hi All,

Just went to plug my mini waeco in the back of my D4 and when the car is off i get no power.... correct me if i am wrong but what the? My FL2 always stayed on and it was great because it meant i always had a cold drink in the car.

Is any one else got this problem? If its standard can it be re wired or something?

Dorko

[CaverD3]

Quite normal. No power unless ignition is at least on Acc.

Designed to stop you draining the battery. Get a Taxside system and second battery, you can wire it to the rear socket.

[bee utey]

I remember reading about this last year on this forum. On RAVE find the relay that controls the power feed to the outlet. Remove the relay and fit a jumper wire from terminal 30 to terminal 87. Keep the relay handy so you just plug it back in for standard.

[Bushwanderer]

Hi bee utey,
There are no RAVE manuals for D3/D4.

Dorko,
Look in the manuals that came with your vehicle.

Best Wishes,
Peter

[Dorko]

Yeh the manual says bugga all about the power sockets.

I spoke to LR this arvo and they said the same thing, it design that why as it a proper 4WD....(I think he was hinting my FL2 was not) and i should get a second battery fitted to the D4....

I was like sure but i thought it couldnt fit, but LR confirmed that ARB is in vibrating testing with a new bracket and should be here next month.

Hopefully this is true :angel: I miss my cold drinks in the back....

Dorko

[Bushwanderer]

Dorko,
I think that you are wise to consider fitting an auxiliary battery. The trouble is that LR in their wisdom have decided to use what was the aux battery spot in the D3 for other items in the D4.

I have heard of others shifting this "stuff" around in the D4 in order to make space (but I must admit that I'd hesitate to do that while under warranty.

Drivesafe (Traxide) has investigated fitting the aux battery in front of the starting battery, but (IIRC) concluded that it was too hot for the battery. He has instead designed a system where the aux battery is in the rear of the D4. Look here:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/verandah/97847-1st-traxide-discovery-4-specific-dual-battery-kit-2.html
From it, you can see how new this system is.

HTH,
Peter

[bee utey]

Hi bee utey,
There are no RAVE manuals for D3/D4.
Peter
Live and learn, thanks for that:).
Can't be too hard to find a way to charge a sealed battery pack off the socket while running, then run the fridge off that. I'm sure I have seen a setup like that. Similar to one of those jump starter devices.

[Dorko]

Apartently ARB is makign this bracket to go in the engine bay, next to the wiper filler.

I just open my bonnet and yes there is a big-ish gap.

Am i missing something?

Dorko

[Disco4SE]

Hi Dorko, I have had my second battery in for 11,000Klm's now and haven't had a problem. My auto electrician left the original 12 volt socket where it is and put another beside it that runs to the second battery.
Will send photos through soon

[ADMIRAL]

Hi Dorko,

I noticed that once you unlock the vehicle with the remote, these aux sockets go live. I have no idea if they time out or stay up. Obviously not much good if you are not around the vehicle.

The Traxide kit for the D3 gives you the option of installing a new 12V plug, with a feed from the second battery, or connecting the existing rear plug into the circuit. The remote D4 kit, has plugs on the battery pack.

[Bushwanderer]

Hi Disco4SE,
Do you have pics of the installation?

TIA,
Peter

[Disco4SE]

Hi Peter, I am posting some photos in the next few days

[Bushwanderer]

:BigThumb:

[Dorko]

Will be good to check out how it looks

Dorko

[sniegy]

Apartently ARB is makign this bracket to go in the engine bay, next to the wiper filler.

I just open my bonnet and yes there is a big-ish gap.

Am i missing something?

Dorko
Hi Dorko,
Not for our market anyway.
In Europe they have what is called a "Fuel Burning Heater"
It pre heats the cabin & the coolant for the vehicle.

We are classed as a Hot Climate, therefore not needed.

Cheers

[Dorko]

Awww thank you... so has anyone else made a bracket to plug a battery here and then using the above product to wire it together?

Dorko

[sniegy]

Graeme did a test & fitted his battery in this position & gained some figures wrt temps at this position.
He summarised that the battery would die in approx 6 months due to the massive amount of heat that the engine bay retains.
Hense why no one else has gone there.
If ARB decide to make a tray as they usually do, then again it would be useless as the battery would die unless they make some sort of compartment.

Cheers

[Dorko]

Would a case work/ improve life?

Dorko

[drivesafe]

Hi Dorko, years ago a mate and I manufactured a small number of battery mounts for the D2s.

We made them out of stainless steel and supplied them with a stainless steel heat shield.

This improved the life span of batteries mounted close to the engine like they were in the D2, but the batteries still seemed to have a less than expected life spans.

The D4 engine bay is likely to be worse as there is no way to vent air around the battery so just putting the battery in a box may help but I suspect they will still have a less than average life span.

The other problem is that you are still restricted to a fairly small battery and it would have to be something like an Optima to be able to tolerate the extreme conditions.

If your going to go to such extremes and still only end up with a small battery, then the re-arranging of the auxiliary battery compartment is in my opinion the better option.

I personally prefer not to play around with the gear in the auxiliary battery compartment and by putting the battery in the rear cargo area, ( and this will not suit some people ) but you can then use any type and size of battery you want.

[Dorko]

Bugga.... so much issues with the design and space. Do they design batteries to take this heat?

Dorko

[drivesafe]

Bugga.... so much issues with the design and space. Do they design batteries to take this heat?

Dorko

Not really and I suspect that this is the reason Land Rover now puts all their FFRR, RRS, D3 and D4 cranking batteries in environmentally seal compartments.

Other than cranking batteries, very few lead acid batteries can tolerate the heat of an engine bay. Lots of people have had their AGM auxiliary batteries literally go football shaped when they have mounted them in the engine bay.

[Dorko]

Interesting.... going to test how much room my waeco takes in the boot tomorrow.

Dorko

[gps-au]

Interesting.... going to test how much room my waeco takes in the boot tomorrow.

Dorko

BOOT ?

Is this something new for the D4 ?

:angel:

[Dorko]

What do you call it? :angel:

Dorko

[gps-au]

What do you call it? :angel:

Dorko

I don't know what you were referring to as a "BOOT". I thought the D4 was similar to a D3 as to being a "wagon" which has open load space behind the 2nd row of seats. But alas, it seems that when looking at a D4 some months ago, I missed seeing a "BOOT", so wondering where the f:censored:k they managed to put that !! [smilebigeye]

[ADMIRAL]

Bugga.... so much issues with the design and space. Do they design batteries to take this heat?

Dorko
There was discussion on another thread, re opening up the vent in the guard on the lh side ( sorry I cannot recall who - may have been gghaggis ? ) to get better airflow. I have successfully used computer fans to create airflow in tight places for airpumps. They are good as they draw stuffall power as long as you don't get greedy.

I suspect all of this will only extend the life of an enginebay mounted battery, and it would be damn inconvenient it it failed when out in the wild overnight.

However, balanced against that, is the fact that most dual batteries in other 4WD's, are in engine bays, and in some cases very close to turbos. The Patrol is a good case in point.

Ultimately there is only one way you are going to find out. ....ummm, don't think it will be me.

[Dorko]

:huh:

Dorko

[roamer]

Looks like me been in since early Nov, holds charge better than main battery,
I tow a 2.5ton van and live up in the hills ,so probably gets hot in there,
Cheers Ken

[Disco4SE]

Hi Ken, is that the 55Amp hour battery?

[roamer]

Yes D34 optima

[Disco4SE]

Thanks Ken. I am glad that my other battery was a dud and ended up with the Optima the same as yours. Only been in a week. Sounds like I made the right decision

[ADMIRAL]

Hi Dorko,

I noticed that once you unlock the vehicle with the remote, these aux sockets go live. I have no idea if they time out or stay up. Obviously not much good if you are not around the vehicle.

The Traxide kit for the D3 gives you the option of installing a new 12V plug, with a feed from the second battery, or connecting the existing rear plug into the circuit. The remote D4 kit, has plugs on the battery pack.
Hi Guys. More data on this one.

I had my first trip out into the bush, and found a few things out. Also confirmed a few others.

The Aux plugs only go live once the ignition is on. If you turn the ignition on ( even without starting the motor ) and then turn it off, you get about 30 minutes of power to the aux plug before it dies. A repeat of the process reboots the aux plugs, but there must be a link into the ECU. Even starting the motor occassionally doesn't stop the time from slowly reducing during a day. I had a fridge full of food and drinks I needed to keep fresh. By the end of the day ( and it was a full 10 hours or so ) , the aux plug was staying up for about 8 minutes. I suspect the ECU was protecting the battery.

What a frustrating day. Needless to say, resolving where the dual battery goes, and how to mount it up, has gone to the top of the list. The priority will be determined by the next trip out. It is simply impractical to use the aux plugs for an accessory such as a fridge, when the vehicle is parked up.

[Disco4SE]

Hi Admiral, you have probably read how happy I am with my second battery set up in my D4. From the information that I have gathered from others and my own set up, I think that the choice of battery is just as important as where to mount it

[Dorko]

Well... i think i found a work around for now.

i have a 60L waeco fridge/freezer andit came with a battery pack. So what i have done is plug the battery pack into the back and the waeco into the battery pack.

So when i am driving its charging, when i stop it uses the battery. :angel:

Worked well perfect on the weekend, but im not sure about charging the battery pack whilst on the move.. could that effect battery life, because some drives would be 30 mins, some over a hour.... So the battery is not always getting a full charge....

Dorko

[drivesafe]

Hi Dorko, while continuous short drive will eventually charge a battery or in your case, replace some of the used capacity of your battery pack.

You have an additional drawback in that the wires used to supply power to power sockets in all makes of vehicles, are pathetic to say the least and this means you have a fair voltage drop at your battery pack and this will dramatically increase the amount of drive time you need to charge your battery pack.

What your doing should not damage your battery pack as long as you don’t do it for longer than say a few days between full charging of the battery pack by a battery charger.

[jonesfam]

When I was cleaning the D3 on the week-end I found a round blank that looks like it is for another power socket just behind the 2nd row seats on the passenger side.
Anybody know if this has the wiring running to it?
Be handy for charging the kids games.
Jonesfam

[ADMIRAL]

When I was cleaning the D3 on the week-end I found a round blank that looks like it is for another power socket just behind the 2nd row seats on the passenger side.
Anybody know if this has the wiring running to it?
Be handy for charging the kids games.
Jonesfam
On my D4 the wiring is present on the drivers side behind the panel,and the manual does state the 3rd row seat versions do get an additional AUX socket. ( mine is only the 2 row version ) Pretty sure this is it, but as per my previous post, it is pretty much useless for my purposes, and I doubt I will connect it up now.