Accessories stay on when car is off...
 

Hey everyone. New to my '05 X5 and had a question regarding accessory power. I'm kind of annoyed that my accessories (cig lighter for radar, and DICE interface - hooked through the CD changer power) stay on when the car is shut off. This can't be good for the battery, not to mention it's totally uneccesary! Is there anything that can be done to fix this? A programming option I could have the dealer tweak (amongst other things like the doors auto locking... arg!).

Thanks!
Stephen

Yeah, i noticed this, but couldn't solve it :(
In my case, i power my Nuvi from the footwell 12V, and i am really concerned that the little red LED on the power supply might overheat or something and cause the wires to melt and short circuit, sending my X to hell in few minutes :(

Any ideas guys?

I have never had an issue with the DICE nor my phone charger that I have left plugged in overnight.

Easiest fix - unplug it!!

Yea - I really don't need all the lights on my radar detector broadcasting to the world... plus, I noticed it kept the power and the screen on in my iPod. So, this is something that I really want to fix if I can.

Continually un/plugging the detector every time I stop is going to destroy the cig-lighter in a month.

:iagree:

Doesn't your radar detector have a power on/off switch? Better yet, just hardwire it to the homelink like everyone on here...that way, no need to power it on/off as it will switch on/off with the car.

:iagree:

for something a bit more permanent, tap the power from the homelink- it's switched only when the car is on, not even in accessory power.

i used standard phone wire, and used wire-taps. look here or other bmw sites to get wiring color info, etc....

:iagree:

The footwell 12v power and rear console power are hot all the time.... I think the center front 12v power is switched (the one in front of the gear shift) so you can try using that one if you have to leave it plugged all the time.

The accessory power only lasts for 15 minutes. Unless all your trips are short less than 10 minute trips you battery can more than handle that.

Go back to your car in 15 minutes and you will see everything is off.


As for the little red LED light, you must be joking right? That doesn't produce any measurable heat and it uses a fraction of a watt of electricity.

All the outlets in the car are hot.