12v outlets & power stations

[Mjasi3]

I have never used a power station in the 30 some years I have used my ARB refrigerator. I will admit I have needed a jump a few times when parked too long. Now, I carry a 100 watt solar panel for when I am going to be parked more than overnight. I also carry a NOCO power pack for emergencies.

With the concern over the 12V power port in the rear of our Broncos, I put my refrigerator in my Bronco today and plugged it into the power port. I initially ran it at the normal refrigerator temperature and monitored any heat build up in the port. It did not get any more than slightly warm. After an hour of that ran it at freezer temperature which requires it running a lot more. I checked the temperature inside and it was 12 F. Again the port never got more than slightly warm. The plug in the refrigerator was at a higher temperature but still was just warm.

I ran it all day long to see if it would drain the battery. At around 4PM I found the power port was no longer providing power. I started the engine to verify it did not drain the battery to a level that it would not start. It fired right up. I then when back to check the power port and it was again providing power to the refrigerator. This is what i was hoping would happen. My ARB refrigerator is so old it does not have the built in shut down to save the battery.

I also had the power port in my 2002 Ranger have a melt down when it was powering my refrigerator. I replaced it with a universal unit that looked to be better quality than the OEM unit. I had to replace the ARB power port plug too because it distorted from the heat. I never had any problems after the repair. I had enough confidence in it that I plugged a three way splitter into it and powered my refrigerator, CB and a lower power inverter that I could charge my phone and camera batteries.

Thanks for your write up.

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[Brian_B]

I ran it all day long to see if it would drain the battery. At around 4PM I found the power port was no longer providing power.

There are two settings that shut the power points down in the Bronco

First is a normal timer. It seems to have various factory settings. I think mine was at 10 minutes or something, but it is adjustable via Forscan.

The other is a low battery voltage shut off. If the battery gets too low it will put the Bronco into Deep Sleep mode, which turns off the power points, shuts off remote start, turns off the lighting when not running, and you get a message when you start up the Bronco (as well as a message in Ford Pass App).

 

[gbub]

I had previously set the power port to 'always on' with Forscan. Apparently, it did not go into Deep Sleep mode because I saw no message at startup and I checked the Ford Pass App and there was no message there. I should have checked the battery voltage before starting but I was more focused on if the engine was going to start.

 

[dh51334]

Absolutely no reason that shouldn't be covered under warranty. Now if it's just a fuse it means you overloaded the circuit and that's on you. But if it's not the fuse then that should be a warranty item.

As for your setup, what I would recommend is to get a power station and plug that into the rear cargo. Then plug everything into that.

The power station will take the load, and the Bronco will simply help keep the power station charged.

Fyi, as you're probably aware, the 12 volt outlets only keep power for so long once the Bronco has been shut off. I find this actually perfect with a setup I mentioned above.

My 25 Bronco Sport seems to have power to the dash 12 volt power source continuously I have to unplug my dash cam all the time. Pain in the butt. Can I change that?

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