# how tokeep things charging in car



## bjballar41 (May 15, 2012)

Is there a way to keep things charging when u turn the car off through 12v or USB?


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## TechCruzer (Mar 15, 2012)

bjballar41 said:


> Is there a way to keep things charging when u turn the car off through 12v or USB?


None of the Cruze have this capability... anything you want charged while your car is off would have to be some sort of aftermarket device you would install. I don't know of anything, but I'm sure there is something available.


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

Any of those extra posts on the battery stay on after the 10 minute shut down period?


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

Hooking up directly to the battery will bypass the outlets that power off with the car. However, you risk shortening the life of the battery and a car that won't start.


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

Correct, but if there's not connected to suck power, will it still kill it?


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## Snazzy (May 17, 2011)

A power outlet thats ON, with no device connected, uses just as much power as a power outlet thats OFF, with a device connected.

No, it doesnt drain the battery, if there's no device connected to it.


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Who's going to tackle this first?


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## Snazzy (May 17, 2011)

Just pull a wire from the battery with 10A fuse, to the power outlet, you could also use a switch you can hide somewhere if you prefer, that's the easy way of doing it.


Or just pick up some constant 12V from somewhere else.


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## TechCruzer (Mar 15, 2012)

I still don't see the point of any of the suggestions... the OP WANTED to charge device(s) while the car is off. What is max time one could keep charging device(s) in the car until the car batt dies? How do the premium cars that have car off charging capabilities do it without killing the car batt?


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## ECOmaniac (Mar 14, 2012)

TechCruzer said:


> What is max time one could keep charging device(s) in the car until the car batt dies? ?


Strictly depends on the load and the size of the battery, generally speaking anything plugged into a car port and charging is drawing a miniscule amount of current at batt voltage or lower so the total power usage is small. 



> How do the premium cars that have car off charging capabilities do it without killing the car batt?


Fuse sizing can limit current, some cars have a timed delay before switching off power. Killing a car battery with the typical device that would be charging in a car (phone, ipod, etc.) would be quite the feat, for multiple reasons: lower power usage relative to batt. size, charge controllers in the device (if the device is off and charging is complete current flow will be minimal).

Bottom line is you wouldn't have enough time on your hands to kill your battery with your iphone or similar device plugged in, even simultaneously. 

If you are running an inverter for some reason then that would be a different story but I dont think that is the case. 


Hope this answers your question.


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## TechCruzer (Mar 15, 2012)

ECOmaniac said:


> Strictly depends on the load and the size of the battery, generally speaking anything plugged into a car port and charging is drawing a miniscule amount of current at batt voltage or lower so the total power usage is small.
> 
> Fuse sizing can limit current, some cars have a timed delay before switching off power. Killing a car battery with the typical device that would be charging in a car (phone, ipod, etc.) would be quite the feat, for multiple reasons: lower power usage relative to batt. size, charge controllers in the device (if the device is off and charging is complete current flow will be minimal).
> 
> ...


Thanks for taking the time & for the answers.

So just to be sure... check that you have a quality charger(s) & not some real cheap one that has no logic to stop the charge cycle after the device(s) battery is full. Turn off your device if you're charging with the car off & in any event monitor the length of time you're charging devices with the car off or you might risk draining the car battery.


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## ECOmaniac (Mar 14, 2012)

TechCruzer said:


> Thanks for taking the time & for the answers.
> 
> So just to be sure... check that you have a quality charger(s) & not some real cheap one that has no logic to stop the charge cycle after the device(s) battery is full. Turn off your device if you're charging with the car off & in any event monitor the length of time you're charging devices with the car off or you might risk draining the car battery.


Not the conclusions I was trying to draw...you don't need a high quality charger to prevent your car battery from draining or to stop the charging cycle - most won't, in closed loop form, control charging. However the laws of physics are usually on your side... if there is no difference in potential voltage then there will be no current flow, so inherintely once the device battery voltage approaches supply voltage current should "trickle" at such a slow rate that there is no value to speak of a car battery draining as a result. Ironically this is a moot point because all modern devices have battery control logic built into the software/hardware that monitor and control charging based on a number of factors. 

At the end of the day we are likely talking about devices that have maximum battery capacities in milliamp hours. For example, the iPod 4S has a capactity of about ~1400 mAh. I wouldn't get hung up on turning your device off for the sole reason it may drain your car battery, I would turn it off so the device charges faster...

The math on how long it would take to drain a battery is pretty straightforward, find an example on the internet but use your car battery and device power specs...I think you'd be astonished at how long it would really take to drain your car battery.


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## pedaltheglobe (Apr 5, 2012)

Snazzy said:


> A power outlet thats ON, with no device connected, uses just as much power as a power outlet thats OFF, with a device connected.
> 
> No, it doesnt drain the battery, if there's no device connected to it.


This is incorrect. If there is no current flowing through the device then it won't drain the battery. There is no such thing as a power outlet that is on with nothing connected. Are you referring to if he left something like a car charger connected to the cigarette lighter? Some of those will pull a slight amount of current for the LED light with nothing connected, but not enough to drain a battery unless the car sat for weeks. The cigarette lighter itself cannot drain the battery even if it is hooked up to constant 12v as there is nothing connected the power and ground wires for current to flow.

OP-You can solve this problem by finding a constant 12v source or running a wire directly from the battery to the cigarette lighter. Remove the colored accessory wire from the cigarette lighter, tie it off, and connect the constant 12v wire.


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

pedaltheglobe said:


> OP-You can solve this problem by finding a constant 12v source or running a wire directly from the battery to the cigarette lighter. Remove the colored accessory wire from the cigarette lighter, tie it off, and connect the constant 12v wire.


I think I figured out a more elegant solution which invloves moving 2 wires in the interior fuse block. If I can devise a release tool at lunch, I'll report back. It looks pretty easy though. Haven't had enough time to jack with it this morning. If it works, it will be fused in the fuse block and will not involve cutting any wires.


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

Well, my ft outlet is now hot all the time. It wasn't as easy as I thought but it's done. No, I didn't have a camera but if anybody has any questions, I'll be happy to answer. First I removed the fuse box cover from the left side of the dash, to the left of the steering wheel. If you look inside, you can see the fuse box. At this point, you can remove the negative battery terminal for safety, or plod on as I did with it connected. Reach up to the top of the fuse box assembly and you'll feel 2 tabs. Push down on the tabs and the top of the box will swing down. The bottom pivot sets in a "j" type hook. Lift the assembly up and the whole box will come out. There's plenty of wire slack to pull the box out of the dash where you can work on it. The ft and rear outlet fuses are the 2 yellow 20 amp fuses in the center, fuses 6 and 7. If you turn the box over you'll see the 4 wires going to the 2 fuses. I only modified the ft outlet but the procedure is the same for both. The blue wire with the white stripe is hot with the key on. Don't mess with it. The purple wire goes to the outlet. You can cut it and tie it to a wire that's hot all the time or move the terminal to a slot that's hot all the time. That's what I did but it took almost an hour to get the wire out. To remove the terminal (if you go this route) remove the fuse. You'll see 2 holes, one on either side of the terminal. You need to put a paper clip in each one of these holes to release the terminal to move it. If I had to do it again, I'd probably just cut the wire as removing the terminal was a bi***. There's a row of fuses on the outer side of the box. I just moved my terminal there and used the original fuse. Reassemble and your done. 
Let me know if yo have any questions.


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## cecaa850 (Apr 9, 2012)

Just heard my phone beep in my pocket that the battery's almost dead. It's nice to run out to the car, plug it up and have it charge without jacking with the key or worrying about it timing out and shutting off.


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## ALBERTA (Mar 29, 2014)

TechCruzer said:


> None of the Cruze have this capability... anything you want charged while your car is off would have to be some sort of aftermarket device you would install. I don't know of anything, but I'm sure there is something available.



That's GM engineering for you... How stupid is that? So I need to leave my keys in the ignition while having dinner so my phone can charge? Dodge offers you the ability to choose if your 12v outlets turn off with the engine or stay constantly powered. 

Probably the genius who thought this was a good idea was the same one that decided to locate the oil filter at a 90 degree angle over the exhaust pipe on the 2.2L Cavalier. Every oil change I had the pleasure of the smell of burning oil for the next 3 days.


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## dfwtxpatrick (Apr 22, 2012)

Not trying to be an ass, but if you'd search the forums, you'd have found there's been a fix for this for awhile now.

It's simple. Will take 10-15 minutes and you're done!

DIY How to make 12 power outlets hot all the time

Read the whole posting, by my post starts at post # 42 for my steps.


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## Rorence (May 6, 2017)

If you want to charge things in car, maybe you can try to get a power inverter. I have bought 400w power inverter from bestek in last year. Now I'm used to charge phone, laptop, shaver and camera battery in car. You can handle this charger in the way that connecting it with car cigarette lighter charger outlet. The advantage of this charger is soft and convenient to take away. Maybe you can catch more information on bestekmall. Hope this point is useful to you.


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