Added an extra USB power outlet to the dash

[DaveL59]

Since my car has a non-standard entertainment system installed, only one USB outlet (in the front) seems hooked up and doesn't seem to deliver much current. I noted that my phone could start to lsoe charge on a longer trip when using android auto and satnav. Temporarily I tested out a USB Y cable that was data+power and power to a single USB and that made a fair bit of difference, tho I didn't really want to have a USB ciggy adaptor, esp as it'd eventually rattle out enough to lose contact. So I bought a switch-plate type USB outlet with a volts display to fit into the centre switch bank:


I had to round out the corners to get it to fit but it looks reasonably OK I think

Upside too is I get a volts reading which should give an easy check on the aux battery. It reads 14.5v when the car is Ready and fully powered, more worrying tho is the initial read was 11.8v on aux/standby, not good. After letting the car sit in Ready mode that's picked up a little, to 12.4v dropping quickly to 12.1 and below. I guess the aux battery (4 years old) will be a candidate for replacement in the near-ish future.

I did cross-check that reading with my Fluke meter which matched, of course reading on the same live feed wire. Hopefully a useful add-in using the spare switch position, UK doesn't get the high voltage outlet hence the blank (with the factory wiring behind it).

 

[DaveL59]

So, given the low voltage readings, I hooked my C-tec mx5 charger up, set to car AGM mode hooked to the jump start point under the bonnet. Took around 2 hours on the bulk charge phase which should get the 12v battery to 80% and then a further 7 ish hours to get through the absorbtion phase. It did complete to stage 7 and green lights so it believes the battery passed its checks OK, no guarantee tho but sure confirms that battery was pretty flat. I'll do a voltage test in the morning and see if it held up overnight before deciding on replacement.

Not knowing the history of the car prior to Jan this year its entirely possible that the 12v has run flat in the past so may well be needing replacement sooner rather than later.

 

[DaveL59]

To keep those interested posted, checking just now, so 12 hours after disconnecting the charger, battery read 12.26v at the terminals at the jumpstart terminal. Not so good. Power the car to ACC and that dropped rapidly in the USB panel to 12.0 and then 11.8v. Power off and back on the jumpstart terminal and its 12.0-12.2v after a few mins. I'd have more expected a stable 12.6-12.8v, ideally but then this is an early 2019 model so the battery is 4 years old now.

So I guess that pretty much declares the 12v aux battery is fading away. So far not had any issues with using the car irregularly but glad that I carry a 12v Lithium jumper kit in the boot as I may find myself needing that one day.

Out of interest, what are others seeing at the jumpstart terminal on "good" batteries when the car has been left for a few hours/overnight?

 

[Stevepl11]

To keep those interested posted, checking just now, so 12 hours after disconnecting the charger, battery read 12.26v at the terminals at the jumpstart terminal. Not so good. Power the car to ACC and that dropped rapidly in the USB panel to 12.0 and then 11.8v. Power off and back on the jumpstart terminal and its 12.0-12.2v after a few mins. I'd have more expected a stable 12.6-12.8v, ideally but then this is an early 2019 model so the battery is 4 years old now.

So I guess that pretty much declares the 12v aux battery is fading away. So far not had any issues with using the car irregularly but glad that I carry a 12v Lithium jumper kit in the boot as I may find myself needing that one day.

Out of interest, what are others seeing at the jumpstart terminal on "good" batteries when the car has been left for a few hours/overnight?

Put your lithium jumpstarter in the glove box. The day you need it you'll thank me for the advice or curse yourself for not following it.

 

[nrayanov]

Why don't you use the lighter? There are multiple cheap lighter slot to USB out there. They come with 2 or 3 USBs that you can use.

Also, be sure to keep your 12 V in good health. If it dies one time, it's time to change it. You never know when it will fail, and you will be stuck.

 

[DaveL59]

Why don't you use the lighter? There are multiple cheap lighter slot to USB out there. They come with 2 or 3 USBs that you can use.

Also, be sure to keep your 12 V in good health. If it dies one time, it's time to change it. You never know when it will fail, and you will be stuck.

The problem with the lighter socket adaptors is they can jiggle loose after a time and then you lose power to the thing you've connected. I was doing that until I fitted that switch blank one which works nicely and of course doubles as a quick voltmeter to check the 12v aux battery.

Understood re the 12v, since the vehicle is 2019 and owned by myself from start of 2023 I've no history on the 12v's past life and it already seems on its way out to me, based on the volts showing after a charge. So when I find one in stock I'll be replacing it.

 

[DaveL59]

A quick check this morning since temps are down in the 0C-2C range showed 11.5v on the 12v aux battery, not good. So I've ordered one of these since the 12v 45AH ones don't seem to be in stock anyplace here in the UK:

https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/optima/8073-176/
Will see how that goes...

 

[DaveL59]

So the new battery arrived yesterday afternoon, reading 12.67v but I popped it on charge once it had warmed up a little. After overnight settling post-charge it was reading 12.97v. Just finished fitting it to the car which went well, I noted some blue-green corrosion around the +ve terminal on the old battery when removing it too.

Easy enough swap really if a PITA to have to be removing the boot floor panel for access. Once in I see the battery now reading 12.4-12.6v where the removed one was showing only 11.9v disconnected.

Operated the auto boot lid a couple times and the drivers window and also had to lock/unlock a couple times before the mirrors folded. Likely I'll need to re-sync the app now since it no longer connects so I guess it reset the WiFi as well - I'll want that alive so it does the daily battery top-up.

On powering to ACC tho I note the volts display went 12.4 down to 12.0v fairly quick, I guess the extraneous gear like the head unit and anything else may be the reason. Knowing there's a new battery installed at least relievs the worry of things going AWOL unexpectedly even tho there's a LiPo jumpstart kit in the boot.
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hmmm, so I'm not seeing the SSID for the car at all, went thru the WiFi reset procedure and got the beep-beep after 5 lock/unlock then the single beep after 10 but still no SSID. Will take another look tomorrow I think, perhaps with the car away from the house so its not blanketed with orhter WiFi noise. Made me wonder if the non-standard head unit is related but I'd hope that's not the case.

 

[Thrasher]

hmmm, so I'm not seeing the SSID for the car at all, went thru the WiFi reset procedure and got the beep-beep after 5 lock/unlock then the single beep after 10 but still no SSID. Will take another look tomorrow I think, perhaps with the car away from the house so its not blanketed with orhter WiFi noise. Made me wonder if the non-standard head unit is related but I'd hope that's not the case.

I have the exact same issue. Hasn't worked for 2 years now. I go through everything and nothing, no SSID. 2 dealers have reset it and again it doesn't help. If you find a way to revive please let me know!!! What's annoying is that because of this the charge and climate timers don't do anything any more.

 

[DaveL59]

I have the exact same issue. Hasn't worked for 2 years now. I go through everything and nothing, no SSID. 2 dealers have reset it and again it doesn't help. If you find a way to revive please let me know!!! What's annoying is that because of this the charge and climate timers don't do anything any more.

I had another go today then noted the phone had disabled permissions for the app. Resetting didn't fix that so I tried my android tablet and that worked, but then wouldn't send commands after the initial sync (as noted in another thread earlier today).

https://www.myoutlanderphev.com/threads/connect-to-wi-fi-how-the-dealers-do-it.5498/
After coming back in from the cold for a coffee I tried the app on the tablet again and it worked just fine, go figure! I did the extra step of connecting the device to the car's WiFi SSID before starting the app to get things to pair up which may (or not) help.

I've removed and re-installed the app on the phone so will try that again at some stage and with luck that'll work.

For sure the app is the achilles heel, esp if like me you don't have the standard head unit (SDA) so have no access to vehicle settings other than via the app. The primary reason I wanted to get it connected tho was for the daily 2PM aux battery top-up cycle.

 

[Thrasher]

I had another go today then noted the phone had disabled permissions for the app. Resetting didn't fix that so I tried my android tablet and that worked, but then wouldn't send commands after the initial sync (as noted in another thread earlier today).

https://www.myoutlanderphev.com/threads/connect-to-wi-fi-how-the-dealers-do-it.5498/
After coming back in from the cold for a coffee I tried the app on the tablet again and it worked just fine, go figure! I did the extra step of connecting the device to the car's WiFi SSID before starting the app to get things to pair up which may (or not) help.

I've removed and re-installed the app on the phone so will try that again at some stage and with luck that'll work.

For sure the app is the achilles heel, esp if like me you don't have the standard head unit (SDA) so have no access to vehicle settings other than via the app. The primary reason I wanted to get it connected tho was for the daily 2PM aux battery top-up cycle.

I can't attach to the SSID because it doesn't appear. Hence the app won't move forward (for obvious reasons)

 

[DaveL59]

Yeah I had that yesterday for some odd reason. Today tho, after the reset and powering off and then powering back to ACC, 5 lock/unlocks immediately following got a single beep. Then the SSID appeared and presto I was able to connect.

 

[DaveL59]

Now I have the Optima battery installed, which was a simple drop in, even the gas vent connector was a simple push fit, I noted the voltage when I was trying to get the app connected.

Initial power up to ACC saw volts at 12.4-12.6 and quickly dropped to 12v but stayed there. I guess that's the head unit and other bits like 2 dashcams pulling a load.

It held at 12v with the occasional momentary drop to 11.9v then back to 12v while I was fiddling with the app and getting to connected and sync'd.

Powering to Ready saw volts drop to 11.6-11.5v until the EV system kicked in and raised that to 14.5v. I guess the boot-up and throwing the contactors added a surge load and whatever other components in the car that are IGN switched. Climate was set to off while I messed about.

Thought it might be a handy reference for myself and perhaps others in the future.

The old battery showed 11.9v disconnected and after an overnight regen cycle on the CTek showed 12.9v and 12 hours later is at 12.6v. I guess it may have some useful life if I need a spare 12v lead battery for astro gear or something but not sure I'd risk it back in the car, esp during the colder months. It is circa late 2018/early 2019 so pretty much end of useful life I expect.

Hopefully the Optima yellow top (deep discharge capable) will last well. From reviews they perhaps aren't as good as they used to be but when you can't get the OEM rated battery it should suffice even if 7AH less capacity.

 

[DaveL59]

OK so having replaced the OEM battery with an Optima 38AH one, I've noted that after not using the car for around 10 days that the 12v reads only 11.9v on that panel display. Not sure how much the daily top-up gives it from the drive battery but seems that it isn't enough to maintain the battery at all as it'll end up at a low state of charge regardless.

The car is WiFi equipped and has a device paired so at least it should be doing the daily 14:00 top-up cycle. Could explain why cars left parked for 2 weeks or so struggle, esp with an older battery.

Main battery was only 2/3 full so I plugged it in to charge and that's got the 12v aux back to 12.7v once charging completed. Perhaps a good thing if these Optima's are indeed deep discharge capable, tho less good on the chance of sulfating over time.

 

[RemVB]

Since my car has a non-standard entertainment system installed, only one USB outlet (in the front) seems hooked up and doesn't seem to deliver much current. I noted that my phone could start to lsoe charge on a longer trip when using android auto and satnav. Temporarily I tested out a USB Y cable that was data+power and power to a single USB and that made a fair bit of difference, tho I didn't really want to have a USB ciggy adaptor, esp as it'd eventually rattle out enough to lose contact. So I bought a switch-plate type USB outlet with a volts display to fit into the centre switch bank:
View attachment 957

I had to round out the corners to get it to fit but it looks reasonably OK I think

Upside too is I get a volts reading which should give an easy check on the aux battery. It reads 14.5v when the car is Ready and fully powered, more worrying tho is the initial read was 11.8v on aux/standby, not good. After letting the car sit in Ready mode that's picked up a little, to 12.4v dropping quickly to 12.1 and below. I guess the aux battery (4 years old) will be a candidate for replacement in the near-ish future.

I did cross-check that reading with my Fluke meter which matched, of course reading on the same live feed wire. Hopefully a useful add-in using the spare switch position, UK doesn't get the high voltage outlet hence the blank (with the factory wiring behind it).

That looks so cool. Which exact "switch-plate type USB outlet with a volts display" did you use and was it easy to install?

 

[DaveL59]

The one I ordered was:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C4K9YDMB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Tho I did have to file the corners to round them off to fit into the recess. There are others that have the corners rounded already, just a case of measuring you the hole and finding one to suit.

In terms of fitting, I popped off the fascia trim around the infotainment unit to give access and then poked a wire thru the switch hole and was then able to reach down and grab it so I could then attach and feed back the power cables for the new USB unit, if that makes sense.

Getting the blank out needs a non-marking tool and takes a bit of effort, add also that there's likely a connector attached to it for whatever accessory option would have been installed in a higher/other-market build. in my case that may have been the 1500W inverter which isn't an option in the UK. Ideally tape that connector over before dropping that back into the hole out of the way