USB - charging phone without key on?

MaliciousIntent · July 31, 2015

It drives me crazy that the USB ports can't be used to charge a phone unless the key is on. Is there any way around this?

hurricanoday · July 31, 2015

I thought someone was just posting about their phone being charged and killing their battery. Does your pc usb charge while the pc is off?

StinkyCheese · July 31, 2015

I thought someone was just posting about their phone being charged and killing their battery. Does your pc usb charge while the pc is off?

Depends on your motherboard. My main PC does.

POS VETT · July 31, 2015

The USB ports in my '15 are hot when the truck is off. The problem is the small amount of current produced which is not enough to cover the power requirement when bluetooth is turned on.

BIG THUNDER II · July 31, 2015

I thought someone was just posting about their phone being charged and killing their battery. Does your pc usb charge while the pc is off?

See Power Outlets, Chapter 5, pages 6 & 7 in your Owners Manual.

nadrojcote · July 31, 2015

I have a 12v to usb adapter that I use because the built in ports are pretty useless. I would assume they're only .5v. With this it charges faster and continues to charge when the truck is off.

SouthpawHD · July 31, 2015

Get a cigarette lighter USB adapter. Problem solved.

bosro · August 3, 2015

Don't have my owners manual handy and have only had truck for a week....

Which 12v outlets are always hot?

The one in arm rest/console didn't seem to be.

Cigarette lighter was(which is always plugged into radar detector)

The one in back seat I have no idea.

Girlfriend and I wondered wtf was going on trying to charge phones with USB ports.

Guess I'll have to pull out the 12v USB adapter again....

redwngr · August 3, 2015

cut and paste from 2015 manual:

The power outlets on the center

stack and in front of the cupholders

are powered at all times.

The power

outlets inside the storage area and

on the rear of the console are

powered when the ignition is in

ON/RUN or ACC/ACCESSORY,

or when RAP is active

Lawnmower2020 · August 3, 2015

Just FYI, standard USB 1 and 2 ports supply 5VDC +- 5% at 500mA. USB3 supplies 5VDC +0.25V -0.55V for "low current" applications, up to 900mA. There's also a spec for USB charging (i.e. non-data) ports that are specified to supply 5VDC +-5% at either 1.5A or 3.0A.

I would expect that the USB in the truck conforms to standard USB2 and can supply only 500mA which is sort of underwhelming for device charging purposes. Therefore you will be better off buying a specialized 5V USB charger that plugs into the 12VDC power socket in the truck. This would also explain the admonition against trying to use a mechanical HDD. It might work, but probably would not as 2.5W is below what most 2.5" drives would need to spin up. I have confirmed that it does work with a low power SSD connected through an Apricorn "SATAWire".

ember1205 · August 4, 2015

Way to quote me without quoting me. lol

The 12VDC accessory outlet in the dash is always hot from the factory. You can move a fuse and make it so that it's powered with the key. I do -not- recall if you can change the operation of the one in the console to make it constantly powered. Check the owner's manual as it will tell you in there.

Michael L 5013 · May 7, 2020

I replaced the center council USB, checked all the fuses and also go a new charging cord and still not able to charge my phone. I have a 2014 Silverado LT. It used to work just fine. Any ideas