One thing I noticed on my new car is that the 12v charger outlet in front seems to always be on, in my Golf mk6 the power outlet turned off when the key was taken out of the ignition but in my 2014 Superb it seems to be on all the time. Is it supposed to be like that, don't it drain the car battery leaving the telephone charger in the car over night? 

Yes - it is supposed to be like that, though whether or not this is a good thing is another matter.

 

See the following from the manual:

 

The cigarette lighter also operates when the ignition is switched off or the ignition

key withdrawn » .



WARNING

 

■ When leaving the vehicle, never leave people who are not completely independent,

such as children, unattended in the vehicle. They could operate

the lighter and burn themselves.

Note: The cigarette lighter socket can also be used as a 12 Volt socket for electrical

appliances 

Edited 31 July, 20169 yr by TheRobinK

Yeah and it's great I have dual camera - separate dvr unit locared at the back and connected permanently - with extra switch - diy - under the steering wheel to turn power off - so I can leave camera on when shopping but turn it off when parked at home - without the need to open the boot

If you have the MMI input in the pocket under the arm rest that seems to be switched off the ignition, so perhaps you could connect your phone there? You'd need the right cable/or phone.

I added a caravan split charge module to the socket in the boot that switches off when the battery voltage drops below 12 ish (I think). It runs for a few seconds after the engine is switched off. Very handy for leaving a cool box plugged in and not draining the battery. 

I added a caravan split charge module to the socket in the boot that switches off when the battery voltage drops below 12 ish (I think). It runs for a few seconds after the engine is switched off. Very handy for leaving a cool box plugged in and not draining the battery.

Can I ask what module you used? I have been thinking about this but the vsr's I have seen are pretty heavy duty.

I got it off a friend of mine who I think got it from a caravan and camper shop - it looked quite like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maypole-2883-Automatic-Charge-Replay/dp/B003H5A2VW/ref=pd_sim_263_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51GOkp%2B1FaL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR111%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=WE7ME9K7DD6ZRF4E2HSE 

 

The 12 V sockets in the car are fused at 15 A (So nothing over 180 W should be plugged in there), so anything that can switch a current over 15 A should do the job. Use wires with at least as much copper cross section as the ones already joining the 12 V socket to the car and you won't go wrong. There's plenty of room to hide it behind the boot lining too, so the socket powering off is the only sign anything has been changed in my car.

 

I only wired into the switched connection, but while you're thinking about pulling the boot lining out, there's room for other options too. If you want you could do something like adding a switched 12 V socket while keeping the permanently powered one or add a switched Invertor to give you 240 V AC power (Again up to 180 W total) while the engine is on...

Edited 3 August, 20169 yr by psycholist

I've used a Volton split charge relay zr1220 to wire a 12v socket in my boot to run a coolbox. Seems to turn off 30 secs after engine turns off and back on 30 secs after engine has started

Edited 5 August, 20169 yr by bigjohn