Power Remains On After Ignition Turned Off?

[ChrisPembs]

Hello :)

As the title, when I turn the ignition off the accessory socket power stays on for what seems about 1 hour, this is stopping my dashcam from powering down and using unnecessary battery power, same with the mileage display, any ideas how to make it so it all powers down as soon as I switch off the ignition?

Thanks in advance :)

 

[Stoney871]

The cars system stays on for 20 - 25 minutes normally.
Your dashcam may be interfering with this though.
Is the cam plugged into a 12v socket or tapped to an ignition live fuse location?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[ChrisPembs]

Hi Stoney, It is just plugged into the accessory socket at the moment, was thinking about giving it it's own feed at some stage though.

 

[vibeone]

I use a battery saver set to 12.2v on a perm live.

BTW, apparently power remaining on (dash lit up etc) could be a sign of the HEC hybrid cluster failing (fixable, common fault apparently).  Hopefully not in your case!

[Stoney871]

Hi Stoney, It is just plugged into the accessory socket at the moment, was thinking about giving it it's own feed at some stage though.
 

Tap into an ignition live fuse or add a manual rocker switch if you want full control of the camera.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[ChrisPembs]

Thanks Stoney and Vibeone I think this is probably the best way to go, also will neaten up wires rather than having things trailing into accessory sockets.

[Micro]

Looking at the wiring diagram for the mk2.5 I'm not quite sure if the accessory socket will ever turn off - the lighting circuit is linked to the battery saver relay though. I left my car locked with a phone charger plugged in with an led - it was on the next morning.

I'm redoing my power distribution so will run a new 2mm cable to the center console socket that is ignition switched, meaning I have two ignition switched supplies (centre console and boot), and one permanent (armrest).

[CrazyInWeston]

Not looking to hijack this thread or anything (sorry ChrisPembs in advance) but since its a related topic regarding power using the 12v socket, and I thought better not to create a new one and being a little drunk/worse for wear, plus I'm sure this question has been asked many times before, but like ChrisPembs my dashcam also never shuts down when I turn off the ignition. Infact it'll stay on all night if left plugged in. The little display on the dash will cut out after 5 mins of locking the car though.

[Micro]

Not looking to hijack this thread or anything (sorry ChrisPembs in advance) but since its a related topic regarding power using the 12v socket, and I thought better not to create a new one and being a little drunk/worse for wear, plus I'm sure this question has been asked many times before, but like ChrisPembs my dashcam also never shuts down when I turn off the ignition. Infact it'll stay on all night if left plugged in. The little display on the dash will cut out after 5 mins of locking the car though.

It's because the accessory sockets on the focus are permanently live.

[CrazyInWeston]

7 hours ago, Micro said:

It's because the accessory sockets on the focus are permanently live.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Any way of changing it so it turns on with the ignition only?

[Micro]

On 09/09/2017 at 3:09 PM, CrazyInWeston said:

Thanks for your reply.

Any way of changing it so it turns on with the ignition only?

Either run another (suitable, so 2-2.5mm wire) from a fuse tap to the bottom of the cigarette socket, or run a smaller gauge (0.5-1mm) wire to a relay, and have that then wired to the socket.

I am doing the latter for my rearmost power socket so I will take some pictures when I can.

[Furio101]

My 2016 Focus Estate provides power to the 12v sockets for 10min after ignition off or car is locked. I leave my Blackvue plugged in all the time and the car powers of the 12v sockets 10min after i lock the doors. I did however also worry it would drain my battery so hooked up my baby monitor in the car and tested it out as i was a little paranoid it wouldn't power off but it did !! Not sure if this is the same on earlier cars.

[FatHead1979]

44 minutes ago, Furio101 said:

My 2016 Focus Estate provides power to the 12v sockets for 10min after ignition off or car is locked. I leave my Blackvue plugged in all the time and the car powers of the 12v sockets 10min after i lock the doors. I did however also worry it would drain my battery so hooked up my baby monitor in the car and tested it out as i was a little paranoid it wouldn't power off but it did !! Not sure if this is the same on earlier cars.

On the MK2/2.5 Focus the 12v sockets are permanently live as standard.

[Micro]

On 09/09/2017 at 3:09 PM, CrazyInWeston said:

Thanks for your reply.

Any way of changing it so it turns on with the ignition only?

One way is using a relay and another ignition switched source, or by simply tapping an ignition live fuse at the fuse box. The advantage of a relay is moreso when you're tapping an ignition feed elsewhere (like in the boot) as you are only drawing 50-100mA from the switching supply, rather than a potential 10A.

In the boot there is a permanent feed on the drivers side, and a switching wire (which i used) on the left, which supplies the rear wiper motor. This wire is fused at 7.5A so I used wire capable of carrying 7.5A to connect this to the relay - if there is a fault in your wiring, you want the fuse to blow. I (inadvertently) tested this by being ham fisted and connecting the first relay the wrong way round initially - meaning a large current flowed through the flyback diode which blew it and popped the fuse with an audible pop even from the boot)..... lesson learnt, make sure you read the terminal numbers correctly! 

Simply connect your permanent feed to one of the switching contacts (30 (3) or 87 (5)), and connect a jumper from the other switching contact to your power socket.
Connect a switching feed to 86 (1) and a ground to 85 (2) - with a little jumper if required - and then the relay will switch on with the ignition - connecting permanent power to your power socket.

 

Make sure either your cat, or a neighbours cat, is helping too!

[ChrisPembs]

Thanks for all the replies :) Relay hey, fancy :) Like the look of that :)

 

[mjt]

That looks a really tidy job, Ted. Nice to see a job done properly.

[Phil21185]

Nice write up! I used a similar setup on my mk1 where I had my homemade (but pretty oem looking) ambient lighting switch from a blue circuit in the daytime to orange at night.

I like your feline polishing mop too!

Going back to fuse tapped dash cams though, I am keen on doing this to keep things tidy, but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on having the camera record when you've parked up.

I think I'd want a motion sensor camera tapped into a perm live fuse but would still be worried about battery drain.

I suppose there's no ideal solution to that one.

To my mind, the most likely scenario in which one gets nobbled is when the offender thinks noone is watching when they quickly drive away from your stationary car they just dinged...

 

[Micro]

18 hours ago, Phil21185 said:

Nice write up! I used a similar setup on my mk1 where I had my homemade (but pretty oem looking) ambient lighting switch from a blue circuit in the daytime to orange at night.

I like your feline polishing mop too!

Going back to fuse tapped dash cams though, I am keen on doing this to keep things tidy, but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on having the camera record when you've parked up.

I think I'd want a motion sensor camera tapped into a perm live fuse but would still be worried about battery drain.

I suppose there's no ideal solution to that one.

To my mind, the most likely scenario in which one gets nobbled is when the offender thinks noone is watching when they quickly drive away from your stationary car they just dinged...

 

The process of re-doing my electrics means I'm going to be investigating the use of a voltage-sensitive relay board (eBay) and powering my dashcam constantly. It's kind of limited to my model as it has two usb sockets which will accept power - one will only charge the battery/keep the unit powered, and the other actually causes it to switch on with the ignition. The camera operates in motion detect mode when the ignition is off til it's internal battery is drained - unless externally powered.

Unfortunately the voltage sensitive relay board appears to be the wrong way around - it turns the relay ON (disconnecting the load) when the voltage drops. I want it to work the opposite way - turn relay ON when voltage above level. A simple wire bodge should sort that though (basically flip the inputs to the comparator).

What I hope to do is install a small 6 way fuse box under the pjb, and then wire all my accessories to this, along with a grounding bolt - at the present my pjb cannot be removed due to wiring trailing everywhere and it's tweaking my OCD a little  It will also mean that I can remove individual fuses for accessories at will to help with diagnosis/isolating things. It will also remove the relay from the bottom end of my cigarette socket which was only meant to be a stopgap but has been in place for over 3 years 

[CrazyInWeston]

On 9/14/2017 at 11:30 PM, Phil21185 said:

Going back to fuse tapped dash cams though, I am keen on doing this to keep things tidy, but I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on having the camera record when you've parked up.

I think I'd want a motion sensor camera tapped into a perm live fuse but would still be worried about battery drain.

I suppose there's no ideal solution to that one.

To my mind, the most likely scenario in which one gets nobbled is when the offender thinks noone is watching when they quickly drive away from your stationary car they just dinged...

I'm always worried over this, I have, admittedly hit 2 cars while reversing (I just cannot tell with the Focus how much room there is while reversing, it is so hard to tell, and I've not yet found a reference point (since all cars you're reversing into will have different shaped bonnet sizes etc) - But anyway on both occasions I was being honest, I got out of the car, and had a look on THEIR car for damage. On both occasions I could not see any damage (If there was I'd have left a note, thats how honest I am) But having seeing no damage, I drove off. But having owning a dashcam myself, I am weary these days incase someone has a cam in parked mode and then tries to threaten me for hitting their car, not all dashcams are "obvious" some are so tiny you cant see them.

Any help (i know off topic slightly but still) in helping me tight reverse in a focus, I often get my rear view up their windshield and think JEEZE I must be close but there is infact like a metre gap left! I really cant tell how close I am to the car behind so any tips would be fantastic! :)

I used to have a Kia Picanto, and I could tell exactly how close I was to the car in behind because its a narrow thin car with is rear wheels right at the back, all i had to do was see how close the wheels were, and every other car was wider so I could see that as well as judging the rear wheels. But I cant see to do this on the focus, the rear end is quite prominent, not to mention its a very wide car!

[Phil21185]

Judging a car's dimensions while you're in the driver's seat is, I think, something that can't really be taught but might be learned.

I tend to just be very aware (albeit unconsciously) of all 4 corners of my car while driving as if I have become the car. I bet others have too! Ever been pulling out from behind a row of parked cars when your trailing front corner has been pretty close and you've held in your stomach or breath without realising?!

But other than practice and just learning to judge by what you can see, parking sensors or a reversing camera are a great alternative. Both can be retrofit for reasonable sums and with excellent results. Guides can be found on these here forums.

[AndyUK32]

You will need FORScan and a USB/OBD adapter. It is in the BCM module there are options for your 12v power sockets.

Mine is a focus 3.5 DSG 1.6 2016 and I changed mine to turn off after 20 minutes. (It turns on when the drives door is opened) so, to check it you need to be able to see a LED inside before opening the door. 

There are so many hidden options that Ford dont tell you about, like it is simple to activate the reversing camera on sync2 or three.

I have done it with a 3rd party camera and it works fine.