Constant 12v power

[jpljpl]

Hi all-

After many weeks of looking, and dealing with some less than truthful dealers... We've picked up an 08 HSE Lux that we were looking for.

I picked it up Thurs, and we took it on vacation starting Sunday. So we are having fun on both fronts.

One thing I noticed is that the 12v rear power point is 'switched', ie the power cuts out once the vehicle is turned off. This is a real bummer, as I like to run my Arb fridge for extended periods... The Arb/Engel unit is so efficient that it can run for hours without drawing down the battery significantly.

Alas, I cant really take advantage of that anymore because the rear power point turns off once I remove the keys.

I cycled through the key positions I/II/III, and the rear only seems to have power when the truck is running.

I realize it's a long shot, but is there a simple trick to get constant power back there? Mind you, I'm on vacation... So the option of running a dual battery setup with a dedicated port is not really an option right now...

TIA.

 

[nwoods]

Sorry, most of the accessory power is key only. Except for the seats in your year of LR3. If you were handy with some splicing, maybe you could jury rig something with that, but it would be easier just to run a cable to the battery, and won't muck with your seats and memory or warranty on those items.

There should be several grounding posts in the rear quarter panel for the negative lead. The door sill tracks pop off if you pull up from the rear end of them. Just run an 18 gauge wire along inside that cableway, poke through the steering column grommet, and snake across the engine bay firewall to the battery and connect to the terminal post there. Include a 20amp fuse and you will be okay (per ARB instructions).

$7 in 18 gauge wire, $4 for 20 amp fuse and holder, $4 for connector at terminal post, $9 for cigarette lighter adapter, and $3 for some electrical tape and you have a good temp solution that will take you about an hour to do if you move forthrightly. Add a couple bucks for some little black zipties too

 

[umbertob]

I don't know if this trick works on the LR3 as the fuse boxes may be different, but a UK owner figured out how to feed unswitched power to trunk and center 12v outlets (the cigarette lighter on the front console is on a different circuit) of a Range Rover Sport by removing an easily accessible relay switch on the front passenger compartment fuse bank - found behind the glovebox on the RRS - and bridging the contacts. Works like a charm. Here are a couple of helpful pictures: http://rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic12783.html

 

[angasreid]

Inside the ignition. You could tap into a wire that runs directly to the ignition. I haven't done it on the LR3 but I've done it multiple times on my Disco II and other cars. It's how remote starts work.

Get a hold of a multimeter, get behind the ignition and just probe the wires. My guess is it's either Red or Brown.

 

[jpljpl]

Thanks guys!

Umberto, I'm going to look into your solution tomorrow am and see what I can do.

The other suggestions are worth looking into, but once I'm home and have access to my own tools.

I was looking for something quick/easy, and jumping a relay seems like it just may work.

-jpl

 

[umbertob]

Good luck! If the fusebox is the same as in the RRS (I quickly browsed the LR3 User Manual and it looks like it is), the relay will be immediately to the right of fuses 59 and 63. Pull hard and it will come off. You need a jumper between the upper and lower female connectors found behind the relay switch. I used a 1" piece of 16-gauge electric wire and crimped a male blade connector of matching size on each end, it helps if you crimp one blade in vertical and one in horizontal position since that is the orientation of upper and lower female connectors respectively, so you won't have to twist the bridge to fit it (once you remove the relay you'll see what I mean.) The hardest part of the job will be to get the males to slide into the females on the fusebox, if you have chunky bricklayer fingers like mine that is... There is very little room to maneuver and some wire harnesses get in the way. I actually had to use a pair of needlenose pliers to slide the bridge in place. But the whole job took about 5 minutes, including making the bridge.

 

[jpljpl]

Hi Umberto-

I didnt have a chance to rig this up over my vacation, as we were far from any auto parts stores... Or any stores for that matter.

But, I am going to give it a go this weekend.

I dont think I'll have any problems making or installing a bridge, thats a great idea.

My only small concern is that I may be possibily leaving something else turned on that I'm not aware of.

Have you done this trick yourself with no issue? I only drive on the weekends, and I would hate to accidentally leave something powered up for a week. I would only find out when I had a very dead battery the next weekend when I went to use the rig.

 

[umbertob]

I've had that bridge installed for several months and haven't had any issues with my battery, or noticed any other devices, lights or in-car instruments running with the key removed, other than the two 12v outlets (the cigarette lighter in front goes off too, as it is on its own separate relay as mentioned in the linked thread.) Everything goes off and stays off as it did before, including my radar detector hardwired to the overhead console. So, in my experience that relay only controls power to the two 12v outlets and should not affect your battery otherwise when you jump it.

PS: If anyone knows which relay cuts power to the passenger seat adjustments on a 2006 RRS, let me know. I'd love to bypass that stupid relay, too.

 

[kingfishgrapeja]

I've had that bridge installed for several months and haven't had any issues with my battery, or noticed any other devices, lights or in-car instruments running with the key removed, other than the two 12v outlets (the cigarette lighter in front goes off too, as it is on its own separate relay as mentioned in the linked thread.) Everything goes off and stays off as it did before, including my radar detector hardwired to the overhead console. So, in my experience that relay only controls power to the two 12v outlets and should not affect your battery otherwise when you jump it.

PS: If anyone knows which relay cuts power to the passenger seat adjustments on a 2006 RRS, let me know. I'd love to bypass that stupid relay, too.

Hey... You dont have a run down of hardwiring the Detector do you. Mainly how to get the overhead unit apart and what color the hot wire etc. Thanks, Ryan

 

[umbertob]

Hey... You dont have a run down of hardwiring the Detector do you. Mainly how to get the overhead unit apart and what color the hot wire etc. Thanks, Ryan

Check out this older thread: http://forums.landroverworld.org/showthread.php?t=14803