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

Originally Posted by 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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