Power ports don't work without engine running

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04-29-2009, 05:52 PM

#11

need_TQM

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin A6 3.2

While this is a good idea for your case, Audi probably turns them off to prevent battery drainage, since they and the car have no knowledge about your intentions (i.e. only using the charger for 30 minutes). I am sure a lot of people would complain to Audi if they drained the battery by leaving their nav system or phone charger plugged in over night or over a weekend.

You can't please all the people all of the time ... in this case I think Audi made the best choice for the majority of users ...

I understand the reason it was done, reading the manual it sounds like Audi is borderline paranoid about battery drain. And, complaints about not being able to run xxx device with the igntion off are easier for Audi to ignore than the costs of having to send a tow truck or roadside assistance van to someones house to jump a car because the battery is dead.

30 min of power for nearly any device won't kill a battery -- and it would be nice to have one port configurable so that it stays on for at least 30 min after the ignition is turned off so you could at least put a minimal charge on a mobile device.

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04-30-2009, 02:36 AM

#12

Scotty (UK)

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The manual certainly says a lot about the power draw side of things. It seems they've put a lot of time into power management.....which makes it even more strange they turn the power off.

Since it now seems so intelligent with the ability to switch off power to different components to preserve the ability to start the car, then why can they not keep them active whilst there's sufficient spare. They could simply let it run until a threshold is hit.