Any way to have the usb powered with the car off?

[poseido]

Hello, is there any coding or another way to keep the usb (any usb) with power while the car is shut off?

 

i know, I can run out of battery if I leave something chugging power for too long, but sometimes is very handy....

[newbie69]

I don't have an answer but I'm curious as to what are those times   

[poseido]

3 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

I don't have an answer but I'm curious as to what are those times   

 

example that made me ask: 

this afternoon my daughter fell and broke an arm. N the hospital due covid there is a one person in not with the patient, so I had to Wait outside  the hospital while my wife was with her. To kill some time I was browsing internet prom the car and realized that I could run out of battery  my on my phone so I when to the car park (very close to the entrance, it’s incredible how empty are ER this days) and jump on my superb. I plugged the phone in and.... realized that I hat to have the car switched on 1 for the charger to work...

 

so either I run out of battery on the car (position 1 consumes much more watts than just the usb as the interior light ,nav etc) or phone’s....

[newbie69]

5 minutes ago, poseido said:

 

example that made me ask: 

this afternoon my daughter fell and broke an arm. N the hospital due covid there is a one person in not with the patient, so I had to Wait outside  the hospital while my wife was with her. To kill some time I was browsing internet prom the car and realized that I could run out of battery  my on my phone so I when to the car park (very close to the entrance, it’s incredible how empty are ER this days) and jump on my superb. I plugged the phone in and.... realized that I hat to have the car switched on 1 for the charger to work...

 

so either I run out of battery on the car (position 1 consumes much more watts than just the usb as the interior light ,nav etc) or phone’s....

Poor thing! I hope she has a quick and strong recovery!

For such exceptional cases I'd rather turn on the engine and drive around a bit, the phone takes quite a long time to charge anyway so I wouldn't trust it even if it draws very little current (don't know how much, not my field really). But surely a flat battery is far worse than a few liters of fuel in my book.

[poseido]

4 minutes ago, newbie69 said:

Poor thing! I hope she has a quick and strong recovery!

For such exceptional cases I'd rather turn on the engine and drive around a bit, the phone takes quite a long time to charge anyway so I wouldn't trust it even if it draws very little current (don't know how much, not my field really). But surely a flat battery is far worse than a few liters of fuel in my book.

 Thanks for the best wishes.

 

i know it’s not the end of the world and there are many Solutions to my “problem” but... it would have become handy to be charging it with the car completely off.

I understand they don’t allow it to avoid battery drain issues, but... let me decide if I want to charge something or not!

I don’t like brands babysitting me as I were stupid (which sometimes I am, but it’s my decision!) 😆 

[kriva]

I can’t help you with whether or not an option can be ticked in VCDS to allow the USB ports to charge your phone with the car off. However, the 12V cigarette lighter outlet is always hot, even if the car is switched off. So you could buy a cheap 12V to USB charger and at least have a workaround.

An other option, one I personally use a lot, is a Powerbank/external battery to charge my phone/tablet/laptop/...

[ColinD]

Not sure if it's an option, I'm guessing it is somewhere along the way.... in my central console, in front of the gear lever, there is a cubby hole. Within that I have a permanent 12v supply. I know it's permanent now as I left a dashcam in 😞

 

I'm guessing you'd of found that, so I'm only mentioning it because you might be able to acquire the parts/trim and a good electrician somehow figure out the magic of modern car electrics to fit it.

 

Only other thought, the diagnostic port has a 12v permanent supply.. I don;t know which pin combo it is.  I just got a 12v solar charger panel, it uses the diagnostic port. I got this as my car is more idle than active and I'm bound to leave that dam cam plugged in again.

[poseido]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I’ll end up with a 12v to 5V adapter on the lighter plug

[GeorgeB]

Poseido,

 

you can get plugs that fit into the "cigarette lighter" socket, with eithe 1 o 2 usb ports, go to Halfrauds & they have different types.

 

check out this link https://www.halfords.com/technology/mobile-phone-accessories/universal-charging/halfords-triple-usb-car-charger.-215282.html

 

Sorry, didn't read your location...DOH! but I'm sure you can get something simular in the Spaish equivalent of Halfords

Edited 6 June, 2020 by GeorgeB
Added more info

[poseido]

Thanks a lot. I own a couple of those, but I was looking for a “cleaner” (aesthetically) solution 

Edited 6 June, 2020 by poseido