Electrical Outlets

[Jeff Robertson]

Hey guys, I signed up hoping you would help me out a bit here and I'm hoping I'll also be able to get pretty involved on this site. So without further delay:



I have a 2001 Sport Trac and I recently bought a device that plugs into the power outlet in the center of the cab there. I'd like to leave it plugged in there all the time, but when I turn the car off the power keeps going to the device. Obviously this will drain my battery, so I have to unplug the device every time I get out of the truck then plug it back in once I'm back inside. Is there any way that I can get the car to stop supplying power to the outlet when it's not running?



Thanks in advance, and I look forward to becoming an active part of this community!

 

[Todd Z]

Yes,



You have to re wire the outlet into a proper fused circuit, OR run a relay in the cig lighter circuit..



Todd Z

 

[Jeff Robertson]

That sounds pretty difficult though, I'd probably just be better off leaving it alone, wouldn't I?

 

[Les]

In-line switch...

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

You could always just put a switch in. Get behind the power adapter, unhook the hot wire, run it to one side of the switch and run a wire back to the Power Adapter. Not that hadr to do really. Other than that, it's either do what Todd said, or leave it the way it is.

 

[Jeff Robertson]

I would have never thought of using a switch, that might be the way to go. Thanks!

 

[Jacob Dryer]

A relay only adds 2 more wires over a switch. Its really not that difficult. 1 is a ground and the other is a power while on only wire.