Rear console 12V power without fuse??

[000brunswick]

Hello all,

For starters I'm driving a 2021 Warlock with the 3.6. I posted about this in a thread that outlined a mod for the rear 12v power outlet in the center console. That thread is here for reference:

FIX > 2013-18/classic 4th Gen USB Hub ... Battery to Keyed Power (For AA/CP wireless adapter)

So I recently upgraded mom's 14ram1500 BigHorn which had a previous 2018 UAQ radio upgrade (Android Auto/Apple Carplay) with a Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto adapter plugged into the USB Hub port. (or AAwireless adapter or CarLink for Apple Carplay) What bit me in butt, was I overlooked the...

www.ramforum.com

It's an old thread and I haven't received any replies so I'm just looking for a bit of help here. The real head scratcher is that despite moving fuse 90/91 over from battery to acc I still had constant power. On top of that, when I completely remove that fuse, I still have power. I have also attempted removing the fuse for the "cigar lighter" as well as several others as mentioned at the end of the above thread. I'm no electrician, but I would assume that if there is no fuse I should not have power.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[000brunswick]

Additionally, as I wait for the post to be approved, in looking at pics of the back of the uconnect unit I see where the USB media ports connect via the USB mini there. What about simply inserting a splitter into the back of the head unit and then reconnecting the original line in, but also then connecting a second USB Host Cable mini B male to USB A female OTG? Do you think you could at that point simply plug an android Auto dongle into it? And would that port be powered constantly there? I feel that it would not, but I'm not certain about that.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Additionally, as I wait for the post to be approved, in looking at pics of the back of the uconnect unit I see where the USB media ports connect via the USB mini there. What about simply inserting a splitter into the back of the head unit and then reconnecting the original line in, but also then connecting a second USB Host Cable mini B male to USB A female OTG? Do you think you could at that point simply plug an android Auto dongle into it? And would that port be powered constantly there? I feel that it would not, but I'm not certain about that.

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So, I know that you can flash firmware by connecting directly to that port so it will also likely read USB media files too BUT I believe the radio needs the drivers of the correct factory/OEM hub to initiate Android Auto and CarPlay on the head unit. I don't believe a splitter will suffice but it's cheap enough to try.

As far as the Fuse move, I looked into this sometime ago and I "think" it only changes the rear seat USB from ACC to 12v constant.

 

[000brunswick]

So, I know that you can flash firmware by connecting directly to that port so it will also likely read USB media files too BUT I believe the radio needs the drivers of the correct factory/OEM hub to initiate Android Auto and CarPlay on the head unit. I don't believe a splitter will suffice but it's cheap enough to try.

As far as the Fuse move, I looked into this sometime ago and I "think" it only changes the rear seat USB from ACC to 12v constant.

So I think that's why it needs to be an OTG cable, and not just a simple splitter. There is an extra pin in the OTG cable ends.

And you are correct. The rear 12v is the only one that can be switched from battery to acc. The thread I linked shows a mod whereby you change the power supply for the USB media ports by removing a pin from it's terminal and splicing it into the power supply for that 12v outlet. This allows you to make your media ports switched with the 12v power supply. The issue is that Android Auto dongles (do we still call them that?) will continue to draw power with the stock configuration because the media USB is always on. It's an issue because when you're near your vehicle, ie in your house, the connection to your vehicle persists. Soo your phone calls get routed there, and your phone is always trying to reconnect to your vehicle.

Still can't understand why I would still have power after pulling the fuse for that 12v power supply though??

 

[SitKneelBend]

So I think that's why it needs to be an OTG cable, and not just a simple splitter. There is an extra pin in the OTG cable ends.

And you are correct. The rear 12v is the only one that can be switched from battery to acc. The thread I linked shows a mod whereby you change the power supply for the USB media ports by removing a pin from it's terminal and splicing it into the power supply for that 12v outlet. This allows you to make your media ports switched with the 12v power supply. The issue is that Android Auto dongles (do we still call them that?) will continue to draw power with the stock configuration because the media USB is always on. It's an issue because when you're near your vehicle, ie in your house, the connection to your vehicle persists. Soo your phone calls get routed there, and your phone is always trying to reconnect to your vehicle.

Still can't understand why I would still have power after pulling the fuse for that 12v power supply though??

Got it, I'd be interested in that mod. If you use the AAwireless dongle it has a feature that places it in a low power standby state until the radio's bluetooth is turned on so your phone won't ever connect if key is out. It has worked well for me so far.

Amazon.com

 

[000brunswick]

I wondered if there was a wireless solution that actually put itself into low power. To be perfectly honest I've looked at a lot of the after market Android head units. They lower end ones get mixed reviews, and apparently lack of updates can be an issue. But the stock unit from Mopar leaves a lot to be desired. Especially considering what they want for them.

I'm going to double check my connections here shortly and go from there. Next step will be the cable splitter. If that doesn't work I'll consider a different wireless AA unit. If none of that works I'm heading over to the audio customization forum!

 

[SitKneelBend]

I wondered if there was a wireless solution that actually put itself into low power. To be perfectly honest I've looked at a lot of the after market Android head units. They lower end ones get mixed reviews, and apparently lack of updates can be an issue. But the stock unit from Mopar leaves a lot to be desired. Especially considering what they want for them.

I'm going to double check my connections here shortly and go from there. Next step will be the cable splitter. If that doesn't work I'll consider a different wireless AA unit. If none of that works I'm heading over to the audio customization forum!

You can find deals on the UAS/UAQ radios on this forum and from salvage yards. Some have failing screens that are rather easy to repair and folks have them sitting on their shelves collecting dust waiting to toss them in the trash. I paid $150 shipped for a UAQ that I repaired and I also found an undervalued UAS for $250 (if I remember right) that I'm keeping as a backup on my shelf since I plan to drive the truck until the wheels fall off.

 

[000brunswick]

Ok. So I pulled everything apart and actually took my time re-attaching all the connections outlined in the mod I linked to above. Put it all back together nice and next and I still have no power at all to my media ports. My rear 12v socket has constant power no matter where I place the 91/90 fuse position. Additionally, it has power when I pull that fuse. This has me quite puzzled. It must be getting it's power from another source?? Manual says it's 91/90.

On another topic, my 12v socket in the front, close to the dash also has constant power. The cover actually has 12v and then a key under it pictured right on the cover. In my mind this means it's activated only when the vehicle is on. But alas, it is always on. It will however turn off when I pull the fuse there. As it should. It is #93 I believe. I'm at a loss. Gonna pull the console apart now and see what I see.

 

[000brunswick]

Ok. I have figured this out and remedied the issue. When following the details outlined in this mod

FIX > 2013-18/classic 4th Gen USB Hub ... Battery to Keyed Power (For AA/CP wireless adapter)

So I recently upgraded mom's 14ram1500 BigHorn which had a previous 2018 UAQ radio upgrade (Android Auto/Apple Carplay) with a Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto adapter plugged into the USB Hub port. (or AAwireless adapter or CarLink for Apple Carplay) What bit me in butt, was I overlooked the...

www.ramforum.com

I was relying heavily on the attached photos. Maybe it's the fact that my truck is a 2021 and the original post was made by someone who had a 2018, I dunno. Regardless I found there to be 1 key difference for future reference.

The following shows the terminals located behind the rear panel that houses the 12v socket for the back seat. The picture starts off by separating the terminals from one another. The black one to the left is the power supply for the 12v socket. This is the one that can be moved in the fuse box to either be constant or switched (fuse 90/91).


This next pic outlines which pin to pull from the terminal. I've looked at this 100x and it shows pulling the red wire from the separated male half on the right. Not the female terminal that remains clipped to the plastic base.



This is where I hit the problem. At least in my truck that male side is where the power comes in. It is then transferred across the terminal to the female side and continues on to power the media ports in the center console. It has constant power.

So when I pulled that and then spliced in the power from my 12v socket all I did was create a loop of constant power to that socket, and eliminate power to the media ports altogether. Here is a pic of the splice.



What actually needed to be done was to pull the red wire from the female side, and splice the 12v power from the rear socket to that. This solved the issue and now all is right in the world. The media USB is now switched after moving the fuse from 90 to the 91 position and thus my AA wireless turns on and off with the truck.




Anyway if anyone falls into the same situation of making my mistakes then hopefully this helps.

Cheers

 

[SitKneelBend]

Great work man! I'm tagging @Mpgrimm2 in case he has any thoughts on this possible change from model years and ants to chime in (in case he's not already aware)...

Edit: also you may find this site helpful in the future for tracking down wires and their associated connectors, I should have lead with this!

Mopar Connection Repair Kit

connectorrepairkit.mopar.com

 

[000brunswick]

Great work man! I'm tagging @Mpgrimm2 in case he has any thoughts on this possible change from model years and ants to chime in (in case he's not already aware)...

Edit: also you may find this site helpful in the future for tracking down wires and their associated connectors, I should have lead with is!

Mopar Connection Repair Kit

connectorrepairkit.mopar.com

Thank you very much. I know there had to be a simple reason. I appreciate the link. Saved to bookmarks now.

 

[GTyankee]

LOL
just tinker around



part of what i added was a Squirrel Cage Fan

 

[Mpgrimm2]

What actually needed to be done was to pull the red wire from the female side, and splice the 12v power from the rear socket to that.

Was out on vacation/work trip. Glad you got it figured out ... That sounds like what I did but maybe I'm reading your post wrong.

** Option 2
...
>> Remove Inline-Console/Console Jumper pin 5 (Red Wire to the hub) and splice it into the rear 12v outlet (Light Blue/Pink Wire) at the inside back of the console panel. (Req's Move F91 to Position 2)

… This is what I will ended up doing. (I was be able to remove the original pin/feed wire (Tape it out of the way) and install a 2.8mm Female terminal/lead to splice into the rear 12v Outlet.
...

 

[000brunswick]

Was out on vacation/work trip. Glad you got it figured out ... That sounds like what I did but maybe I'm reading your post wrong.

Yes I followed your post. Excellent write up. The part that I messed up was pulling the red #5 jumper from the wrong side. If looking at your pic it looks like you pull it from the right side. Maybe mine is opposite, but pulling from that side on mine had me splicing two power feeds together. So even when I pulled the 90/91 fuse I still had power because I pulled from the feed side of that terminal. I am 100% not saying you did anything wrong. You've obviously got more experience with this stuff. I must have made a simple misinterpretation. Works like a charm now!

Getting ready to install 2 accessory fuse boxes. 1 constant and 1 switched. I've got some lighting in mind and I can't stand fuse taps and cobwebs of wire everywhere lol. Stay tuned for more questions lol