MK3 cig lighter always on?

[Daniel056]

I recently installed a dashcam and it has power going to it even if the car is switched off and locked even hours afterwards, this normal? i suppose i could just keep unplugging and plugging it back in every time i stop and go but seems it would get annoying after a while and my previous cars lighter never stayed on once car is off so i'm guessing this is a Ford thing?

 

Edit : i was looking at the wrong thing, my dashcam will stay on a hour or two from its own battery but my question still remains of how long will the dashcam remain powered by the cig lighter once the car is off and locked? i read one post saying 20-30 mins? i just dont want my battery drained so i want to make sure it will turn off.

[unofix]

There no exact standard of what happens to the power of the cigar lighter socket when the ignition is switched off. Diffrent manufactures do diffrent things and with Ford it varries model by model. On some the socket is only 'on' with the ignition, others the socket is 'on' all the time, and there is the third version which is the socket stays on for about 20 minutes after the ignition is turned off.

You should really properly install your dashcam by using a 'piggy back' fuse connector and wiring it to a fuse such as the radio or other similar equipment that is only on with the ignition.

 

[Daniel056]

1 hour ago, unofix said:

There no exact standard of what happens to the power of the cigar lighter socket when the ignition is switched off. Diffrent manufactures do diffrent things and with Ford it varries model by model. On some the socket is only 'on' with the ignition, others the socket is 'on' all the time, and there is the third version which is the socket stays on for about 20 minutes after the ignition is turned off.

You should really properly install your dashcam by using a 'piggy back' fuse connector and wiring it to a fuse such as the radio or other similar equipment that is only on with the ignition.

 

Yeah i decided to just check and turn car off and leave the dashcam to do whatever and went shopping etc and came back and its still on and charging so i'm just going to unplug it every time i turn car off until i sort out the piggy back way and have it turn off with car.

 

thanks

[StephenFord]

2 hours ago, Daniel056 said:

Yeah i decided to just check and turn car off and leave the dashcam to do whatever and went shopping etc and came back and its still on and charging so i'm just going to unplug it every time i turn car off until i sort out the piggy back way and have it turn off with car.

 

thanks

My Mk2 originally had a solitary socket that was permanently live, useless for plugging any accessory in. I went another route and installed a separate socket that was only live when ignition on!

[unofix]

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

installed a separate socket that was only live when ignition on!

Stephen you tease !!! - thats just a picture of a power socket cover lying in the trinket tray 🤣

[Luke4efc]

Just hardwire it in. It looks like a complete temporary bodge job with a wire trailing all over the dash plugging into the cigarette lighter socket.

[StephenFord]

9 hours ago, Luke4efc said:

Just hardwire it in. It looks like a complete temporary bodge job with a wire trailing all over the dash plugging into the cigarette lighter socket.

It doesn't need to look like a temporary bodge. My power wire is tucked away in the headlining, and down the A pillar before being neatly plugged into an accessory socket - I'm not an animal! LOL

[FatHead1979]

On 9/9/2021 at 8:05 AM, StephenFord said:

It doesn't need to look like a temporary bodge. My power wire is tucked away in the headlining, and down the A pillar before being neatly plugged into an accessory socket - I'm not an animal! LOL

Well...you kind of are mate, but there's nothing wrong with being a bit of animal is there? 🤣

[AndyUK32]

Hi

I have just joined this thread and would like to add my bit. 

There is no actual standard but the normal default is 1hour 15minutes, but this can be changed from anything from on/off with the car or maximum 8hours. It is in the program of the BCM and you will need FORScan and an OBD adapter to change it to whatever you want. Don’t tell Ford (or Mazda) I told you this.

[AndyUK32]

Just for UNOFIX, here is the data sheet with the codes on. 

As I said, it can be changed to whatever you want as you can see the code changes in year 2013.

[unofix]

15 minutes ago, AndyUK32 said:

it can be changed to whatever you want

That's interesting. I see the data above is for the North American Fusion (Mondeo). Have you tried this on your Focus to see if the codes are the same ?

I know that 'DanMac85' is a bit of a software hacker and has published a number of mods, but they are usually vehicle specific and don't work across the whole of the Ford platform.

[StephenFord]

2 hours ago, AndyUK32 said:

Just for UNOFIX, here is the data sheet with the codes on. 

As I said, it can be changed to whatever you want as you can see the code changes in year 2013.

 

I'm guessing this won't work on my 2005 Focus LX 😒

[unofix]

4 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I'm guessing this won't work on my 2005 Focus LX

My guess is that those setting won't work for the majority of UK Fords but I'd like to be proved wrong. It would be very useful if it was a simple software change. 🤔

Andy says that the normal default time is 1hour 15 minutes (possibly true for North America), but from personal experience and information regarding European/UK Fords the normal is either permanently live, or the shut off time is 20 minutes.

[AndyUK32]

HI I have checked this on my 2016 Focus 3.5 DSG (UK) and yes it is set for 20minutes. It turns on when you open the drivers door and stays on for 20 seconds after you lock the door.

As you can see from the spreadsheet, there are options which are programmed for each country.

Incidentally I have also programmed my SYNC 2 to accept a 3rd party reversing camera and enabled the automatic door lock if door not opened in 45seconds using this spreadsheet. 

[AndyUK32]

Sorry I have to add a bit extra. There are two power outlets, on at the front and one under the arm rest. On my Focus the one under the arm rest turns on when you open the drivers door and stays on for 20 minutes after you close it. The front one turns on with the ignition (sorry I haven’t checked when it turns off)