04 Suburban Outlets on 24 X 7

fyarbrou · May 28, 2005

We have just purchased a 2004 Suburban and have begun to move all of our electronic equipment over to it (radar detector, DVD Player, etc.). Ours has two outlets up front which evidently stay on 24 X 7. Is there some programming/option that can be selected to make them work off of the ignition switch or will I have to rewire them? I had to rewire my 99 Silverado several years ago and have never had a problem due to it. Why in the crap does Chevrolet make these outlets hot 24 X 7? Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Fred Yarbrough

az'03Silverado · May 29, 2005

We have just purchased a 2004 Suburban and have begun to move all of our electronic equipment over to it (radar detector, DVD Player, etc.). Ours has two outlets up front which evidently stay on 24 X 7. Is there some programming/option that can be selected to make them work off of the ignition switch or will I have to rewire them? I had to rewire my 99 Silverado several years ago and have never had a problem due to it. Why in the crap does Chevrolet make these outlets hot 24 X 7? Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Fred Yarbrough

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Are you serious? Why wouldn't they? The outlets are simply a 12V power source to be available all the time. No sense hacking up the electrical system when you could just unplug the power cord. They work all of the time so you can do things like charge your cell phone while you're in the store or operate a tire pump while pulled over or to operate a rotating beacon while parked. They have to work when the engine is off for several reasons.

Bgdsub72 · May 29, 2005

personally I agree with 03azsilverado, I like having them on 24/7 now for the simple solution. Wire the radar detector to a possitive with ignition like I did and when ever you start your truck or have the key in the ON position you will get power to your radar detector.

fyarbrou · May 30, 2005

personally I agree with 03azsilverado, I like having them on 24/7 now for the simple solution. Wire the radar detector to a possitive with ignition like I did and when ever you start your truck or have the key in the ON position you will get power to your radar detector.

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Am I serious???? I take it that neither of you guys are married. The battery would last about 3 days if I had to depend on my wife to shut off all of the electronic junk in her vehicle. Dora the Explorer would be playing 24 X 7 in the ole Suburban. I guess that everyone has their opinion but I think that the "always on" outlets are a bad idea. I could understand that you might want to make one of them an "always on" for special devices. To make all of them work that way is a poor design and asking for trouble. Thanks for your input.

tryn2lrn · May 30, 2005

I thought that there was some kind of current monitoring circuit for this purpose, to prevent dead batteries. If the battery voltage gets too low it disconnected the power to the device outlet or was this a function of some of my devices? d**n memory ain't what it used to be.

BishopZ71 · May 31, 2005

I forgot to turn off my radar detector when I went on a business trip. When I came back my battery was dead. Kinda sucked. I just remember to shut it off now. I would like one of them to turn on with the ignition and the other 2 be on 24/7.

MrQuadrasteer · May 31, 2005

I hate the kind that are ignition-only !!!!! My jeep is like that, my old hunda was.... can't charge crap w/o the keys .

On the other hand, I see fyarbrou's point. Dora the Explorer

Man.... you're killin' me !!!!!! My kid loves that show. Drives me batty

My suggestion- find the lead, swap it to an ignition-only circuit..... Or add one wired that way. In the two vehicles I listed above, I did the opposite- added an outlet wired hot all the time.

And then, wouldn't it figure.... it doesn't accept my cell charger

99-2door · May 31, 2005

I forgot to turn off my radar detector when I went on a business trip. When I came back my battery was dead. Kinda sucked. I just remember to shut it off now. I would like one of them to turn on with the ignition and the other 2 be on 24/7.

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You could add a relay to one of the outlets so that it only comes on with the ignition switch.

az'03Silverado · May 31, 2005

personally I agree with 03azsilverado, I like having them on 24/7 now for the simple solution. Wire the radar detector to a possitive with ignition like I did and when ever you start your truck or have the key in the ON position you will get power to your radar detector.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I serious???? I take it that neither of you guys are married. The battery would last about 3 days if I had to depend on my wife to shut off all of the electronic junk in her vehicle. Dora the Explorer would be playing 24 X 7 in the ole Suburban. I guess that everyone has their opinion but I think that the "always on" outlets are a bad idea. I could understand that you might want to make one of them an "always on" for special devices. To make all of them work that way is a poor design and asking for trouble. Thanks for your input.

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Point well taken. My bad. I'm not married so I guess I don't know what you're talking about. I'm the only one who drives my truck. I wonder if the DVD can be wired into the fuse panel to a switched power source like has been suggested. I'd hate to have Dora kill my truck. Doesn't the 'battery rundown protection' turn stuff off after a while? I know the interior lights shut off if the door is left open too long. As for the radar detector, just watch your speed and you won't need it.

Bgdsub72 · May 31, 2005

personally I agree with 03azsilverado, I like having them on 24/7 now for the simple solution. Wire the radar detector to a possitive with ignition like I did and when ever you start your truck or have the key in the ON position you will get power to your radar detector.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I serious???? I take it that neither of you guys are married. The battery would last about 3 days if I had to depend on my wife to shut off all of the electronic junk in her vehicle. Dora the Explorer would be playing 24 X 7 in the ole Suburban. I guess that everyone has their opinion but I think that the "always on" outlets are a bad idea. I could understand that you might want to make one of them an "always on" for special devices. To make all of them work that way is a poor design and asking for trouble. Thanks for your input.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I see your point too and no I am not married, but as said before these trucks have a battery run down protection. When the current is drawing below a certain level or time it will automaticaly cut power to the accessories or lights. Have you ever left your headlights on? It will shut them off for you in a few minutes, same for the interior lights and the accessory plugs.

MillerClemsonHD · May 31, 2005

Im almost married but still the only one to drive my truck.

I hardwired the radar detector into my fuse panel into another fuse that is only on when the ignition is on. My radar detector comes with a wire to wire it in and not have to plug into the outlet. Conceals it much better as well just wish there wasnt the black crap behind the miror so I could put it there. I like have the hot plugs all the time so I can charge my phone and run stuff when tailgating.

fyarbrou · June 1, 2005

Thanks for the input guys. I can rewire the outlets to work off an ignition switch feed, but I cringe on the thought of having to remove the cheap plastic panels. I tend to get Pi$$ed easily and always go postal and end up breaking stuff by being too rough. On my used 99 Silverado I did not really care so much but this Suburban is brand new (350 miles on it) and I hate to be using liquid nails to hold stuff together that I normally tear up.

PLAN A

Use my ole Silverado as the test monkey on removing the plastic panels since they are almost identical to the ones on the Suburban. Once I figure out how they come apart, I should be able to be more careful on the Suburban's panels. I have a Hanes Automotive book but it is basically useless on the panel removal.

PLAN B

Today, I confirmed that the fuse panel under the hood is where the (cigarette lighter and the accessory outlet) run back to. It looks like I should be able to jumper something in here to work. Or in a worst case, I should be able to identify these wires in the harness coming out of the box under the hood and then cut them and tie them into an ignition switched line. I could add an inline fuse for safety. It sure would be easier to work on it under the hood since the harness is in easy reach.

Thanks,

Fred

Supurban · June 1, 2005

I think the 24/7 sockets are a pain. My kids like to try to stick things in the rear cargo socket - which really scares me since it is always on.

Up front, I would prefer to have one socket always on and one that it tied to the ignition (tack on an LED to remind you which is which ). When I put in my rear view camerarear view camera, I actually hooked up a switch to the cigarette lighter wires (disabling the socket completely) and routed them to a smaller inverter for the camera and screen.

The DVD player is tied to the Retained Accessory Power and will eventually time out. Mine runs Dora the Explorer until the key comes out.

fyarbrou · June 1, 2005

Supurban,

Which one is the RAP outlet? I have two up front. The one on the right is a cigarette lighter outlet and the one on the left is an accessory outlet. Both of mine stay on all of the time unless I am doing something wrong when I exit the vehicle. It really sucks to have to start reverse engineering the wiring on a brand new vehicle.

Thanks,

Fred

Supurban · June 2, 2005

None of the sockets are tied to RAP. They are hot all the time. My cigarette lighter tap has the on/off switch I added - and yes, it sucks rigging wiring on a new factory setup.