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Fix for Accessory Outlets Stay On


Merlin309
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I posted this in another thread - but only 2 were following (including myself)
So I thought I'd make it available as a new thread.  ford flames removed.  Hope you find this helpful.
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OK - - The Ford Fusion is a pretty neat car - - BUT !!
The Accessory outlets do NOT shut off when you power down the car.
With everything else an option, you'd have thought Ford would have permitted powering those down as a Sync option
But Nooooo - - Gotta save a few pennies. Another short sighted failure
No clue if it was Management putting the kibosh on it, or an engineering oversight
But a significant flaw however you look at it.
So - - with a little knowledge in my back pocket, I thought I'd take a shot at fixing this aberration.
I bought a Solid State Relay (SSR - $6, no shipping, E-Bay or Amazon, from China - took 6 weeks to get here)
A hobby box (from China - took 4 weeks to get here) (Wish they had it in black sad.png   )
The switch, LED, resistor, wires, etc, I had in my 'junk drawers'
And the accessory outlet connector (round wire, stage right) also from China - took 10 weeks to get here.
The Lenmar Power Port 4 I've had for years, highly recommended
And the Escort Max 360 Radar Detector (test load) I've had x 17 months - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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SO - - the reason I'm writing this is BECAUSE - - there are NO WIRING INSTRUCTIONS with the SSR !!
I had originally thought it would be a Pass-Through - - but it turned out that was NOT the Case !
This thing is a RELAY - - there is NO connection between the Input / Control side, and the Output !
And while the Control side is labeled, there is NO indication of how the OUTPUT side works !!
So - - the Control Side is labled DC+, DC-, and CH1.
DC + & - are obvious - but they are LOW CURRENT - essentially Coil Current. NO Load Current passes here!
And when CH1 goes POSITIVE, the output circuit is activated.
What THAT means is when activated, the 2 output terminals are CONNECTED - -
BUT !! They are polarized !!  You MUST connect the Positive Supply to the A1 position (Lower Left - GREEN wire)
And the Switched Load gets connected to the B1 position (upper left terminal - Black Wire w/ red to the indicator LED)
THIS only took me 90 minutes to figure out, that and the 12v power supply I built 40 years ago, my multimeter, some aligator clips, and a couple of beers.
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So - - in case you're wondering WHY the switch - - well - - I want the accessory loads (and I have 3) to SHUT OFF when I power the car down.  Unless I Don't (suppose I'm just going in for a pit-stop, and don't want the hassle of restarting everything).  So - - in switch position 1, the circuits stay powered REGARDLESS of whether the CAR is ON or OFF.  As long as the accessory outlet is powered, all of the attached devices stay ON.
With the switch in Position 2, the ORANGE wire runs to a 12v source that drops OUT when the car is turned OFF.  Thus CH1 drops to Zero and the SSR turns OFF !  The indicator LED on the top of the box is lighted whenever there is power to the accessory outlets - as a visual reminder of the switch position setting.
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Now WHY ford couldn't have thought of this boggles my brain !!
OBTW - - the hobby box holding this is simply velcro'ed to the console along side the drivers right knee.
Yeah - - I coulda screwed it in, but woulda hated to put holes in such a pretty car :P  :P
Plenty of room, handy spot, and it plugs into the accessory outlet between the drivers right knee, and the passengers left knee.
Oh - - the little yellow ring where the power goes in - that's a Tie-Wrap used for strain relief (on the inside of the box as well)
And the Wire Nuts - just for insulation only - all connections were soldered smile.png  smile.png
Standard 680 ohm resistor in series with the {color changing smile.png } LED (3v drop on the LED) => about 13ma through the LED
0.11 watt dissipated by the resistor - so a 1/4 watt resistor is fine.

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