V70 rear 12 V socket / starter battery draining protection

[HerbEppel]

Greetings,

My 2002 V70 has a 12 V power socket at the rear.

Questions:

1. Does said socket have some 'semi-smart' feature that prevents a device connected to it from draining the starter battery when the engine isn't running, e.g. on a camping holiday?

2. If the answer to Q1 is No, how could one go about implementing some kind of automatic voltage monitoring / device shutdown mechanism?

Thank you.

[RollingThunder]

I don't know about your specific vehicle, however the boot power outlets can either be permanently live or ignition switched (most front/cabin power outlets are ignition switched).

If the boot one is permanently live, then it is highly unlikely to have this kind of auto-disconnect feature I'm afraid (I'm not aware of any cars having this except possibly a Tesla) - you'll have to look at the aftermarket solutions for that. Look into camping fridge/freezer wiring - there are some kits that you can use that will disconnect the supply when the voltage drops below x volts. They tend to be quite compact and can be wired in behind the boot trim panel.

The other option will be to use a VSR - voltage sensing relay. These make/break the supply according to a set voltage. They tend to be bulkier, so may need to be mounted in the engine bay, with a fresh (fused) power feed run to the power socket in the boot.

HTH

[BilboBagginss]

You could rewire the rear one so that it takes its live from a switched live! There's a fuse box on the near side in the boot and one of those should be a switched live.

[HerbEppel]

Originally Posted by RollingThunder

I don't know about your specific vehicle, however the boot power outlets can either be permanently live or ignition switched (most front/cabin power outlets are ignition switched).

If the boot one is permanently live, then it is highly unlikely to have this kind of auto-disconnect feature I'm afraid (I'm not aware of any cars having this except possibly a Tesla) - you'll have to look at the aftermarket solutions for that. Look into camping fridge/freezer wiring - there are some kits that you can use that will disconnect the supply when the voltage drops below x volts. They tend to be quite compact and can be wired in behind the boot trim panel.

The other option will be to use a VSR - voltage sensing relay. These make/break the supply according to a set voltage. They tend to be bulkier, so may need to be mounted in the engine bay, with a fresh (fused) power feed run to the power socket in the boot.

HTH

Thanks for your helpful reply. The boot socket in my V70 is permanently live.

For the time being I think I'll try and apply 'common sense' before considering a more technical solution along the lines you suggested

[HerbEppel]

Originally Posted by BilboBagginss

You could rewire the rear one so that it takes its live from a switched live! There's a fuse box on the near side in the boot and one of those should be a switched live.

Thanks for your helpful reply. The thing is, I actually find it useful that the socket is permanently live.