Has anyone hard-wired a 12V accessory to their FFE?

I was thinking of hard-wiring some accessory radios to my FFE. Has anyone found the DC accessory leads/terminals?

Have you looked in the modifier guide?
https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/emergency-response-guides/2014_Focus_EV_Modifier_Guide.pdf

I did, thanks. But I didn't find any useful information on where to find the 12V auxiliary terminals. There's actually a heading, titled "Auxiliary Power Point -- 12V," at the bottom of page 2-5, but there's no information corresponding to that heading, except two warnings meant for HV pack, then the section ends.

I found a thread on the focusfanatics forum where the guy accessed 12VDC via the fuse box positioned near the OBDII port on his older, gas Focus. I'm assuming I can power directly from the accessory terminals without using a relay. Maybe I can pull enough power out of the USB ports in the console? My goal here is for a neat, permanent installation, so I want to avoid using the 12VDC cigarette lighter outlets on the FFE's dash.

USB ports are only good for 5V @ 500ma.

Oh, duh. Thanks!

Take the console apart and daisy chain off the power going to the 12v plug. Either that or splice in at the fuse box for the 12v plug circuit. If you're looking for a spare plug of some sort hidden somewhere, I highly doubt you will find any. I haven't gotten mine yet so maybe someone else can chime in here, but I believe the 12v plug circuit turns off after the car is turns off. You may want to verify this so you don't kill your battery by inadvertently leaving stuff on.

In the thread regarding using the headlight LEDs as Daytime Running Lights, http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1589&start=10 there is a photo showing the fuse box which clearly has several unused ports. You should be able to use one of the open fuse postions to install a separate circuit (ensure you use a fuse) to run a hard-wired accessory. Doing this properly can be somewhat tedious but it is well worth the effort for safety, making your accessory(ies) look "factory installed" and maintianing the orignal "factory" appearance of the wiring harness. Unless you are thinking of using very low power accessories I would be very retiscent to "daisy chain" its power supply from any other power circuit.

YMMV

Thanks and Cheers

Carl

Yep basically what Carl said. However the OP said they were going to use radio equipment which usually is less than 5A. Most 12V plugs are fused at 20-30A so it would be unlikely to exceed that so no problem daisychaining from that circuit. I thought I'd chime in again to mention "the12volt.com" If you are unfamiliar with 12v circuits/electronics there is a treasure trove of information you can learn from there.

Hey, thanks for tips, guys!

triangles said:

I believe the 12v plug circuit turns off after the car is turns off.

Click to expand...

the 12v accessory plugs turn off about 15min or so after putting the car in OFF mode I've found.
I have a mini 12V meter accessory plugged into the console 12V outlet and it stays lighted up for almost 15min after turning off the car and closing all doors, then it turns off until I open a door or push the start button.

Nevermind! I'll probably just use a Ram mount with an 'AA' battery-powered scanner. Also, certain newer Uniden scanners can also power from USB. Problem solved!