Power ports on, engine off?

[Skip Hood]

The other day I was at an event where I needed to use one of my 2020 XLT’s power ports to charge a device, but didn’t want to leave the engine running. I found (no thanks to the owner’s manual) that pressing the start button without your foot on the brake does what seems to be the equivalent of what key start vehicles do with the key in accessory position. The instrument displays says “Full Accessory Power Active”. But that turns on all the displays, etc. and all that power draw quickly shuts itself down to preserve the battery. Does anyone here know a way to activate just the power ports without the engine running?

 

[cpainter3]

That sounds normal. It seems to me the Explorer is set up to be ultraconservative when it comes to power draws. Don’t know any workaround.

The Explorer is certainly not alone and it seems to be a trend. My 2014 Fusion hybrid keeps the power ports active for just a few minutes after shutting off. My 2010 Flex kept them active longer but the engine had to be running for the 110V outlet to be on.

 

[peterk9]

............ I found (no thanks to the owner’s manual) that pressing the start button without your foot on the brake does what seems to be the equivalent of what key start vehicles do with the key in accessory position...................

From the Owner's Manual;

Ignition Modes

The keyless starting system has three
modes:
Off: Turns the ignition off.
• Without applying the brake pedal,
press and release the button once
when the ignition is in the on mode, or
when your vehicle is running but is not
moving.
On: All electrical circuits are operational
and the warning lamps and indicators
illuminate.
• Without applying the brake pedal,
press and release the button once.
Start: Starts your vehicle. The engine may
not start when your vehicle starts.
• Press the brake pedal, and then press
the button for any length of time. An
indicator light on the button illuminates
when the ignition is on and when your
vehicle starts.

The section described by ON puts it into accessory mode. Accessory mode will shut down after 45 minutes or after a certain amount of battery drain, as you found out.
I don't know if any 12V power points remain active for any length of time after the vehicle is turned OFF. Have you tried them all to see if perhaps one of them stays ON?


Peter

 

[Skip Hood]

Thank you Peter. Guess I stand corrected on my little dig at the owner’s manual. Didn’t read the whole thing. Just tried finding something that looked relevant in the index.

To answer your question, I did try all the power ports including the 12v one in the cargo area. None stay on without having all systems powered up in the On (accessory) mode. Perhaps that’s just as well. Certainly Ford’s designers have no way to know that I only needed a bit of juice to charge a small device - transponder for kart race timing and scoring- and not trying to run a coffee pot on an inverter.

 

[peterk9]

Thank you Peter. Guess I stand corrected on my little dig at the owner’s manual. Didn’t read the whole thing. Just tried finding something that looked relevant in the index.

That is why I have the Manual downloaded to my computer. I find it much easier to locate things using the "find" command to check out the PDF document.

Peter