I loaded a TV to go football tailgating this weekend and didn't realize that the rear AC Outlet (outfitted with the Off-Road package) would shut off after about 15 minutes in accessory mode. So I then proceeded to start the vehicle to also find out it still would shut down the engine and electronics after 30 minutes. These new cheap led tv's do not really draw much power, so I thought at a minimum I would start the vehicle every hour or so to make sure the battery stayed charged. Needless to say I'm a bit dissapointed there's no evident override to this behavior. Let me know if anyone has any ideas? GAP Tool option, etc?

 

Try as I might, I have not solved this problem. The vehicle likes to have so much stuff powered up it drains the battery very quickly. There is no "Camping Mode." It would be super nice if there was, but in the absence of that mythical, much desired mode, the outlets are decorative. I have a typical battery generator thing, a smaller one in an ammo can I made and a good old fashioned generator. Just depends on how long I intend to stay in the wild and how much power I will need. The Bluetti battery thing can be charged by solar, but ends up as a maze of "lets trip over all the cords" setup and assumes your stopped for a while and you will be in full sun most of the day. Some of the clever folks here have installed a second battery, which can power these outlets, but require you re-wire them to it vice the regular power source. So it kind of makes you wonder why you paid for it in the first place.

All this tech, while super cool, is much like having 15 laptops running the car. They are all either on or off, no way to select only a couple of them to power up. Like 15 laptops, they run the rather diminutive vehicle battery down quite quickly. This is not unique to the Defender, pretty much all the latest dirt capable cars suffer from too much tech for really wild operations. So it is either you want the somewhat uncomfortable, simple old Defenders for the dirt or one you don't mind driving around town on a regular basis.

 

Modified mine with higher output and hard wired with manual switch.
Not that expensive at all.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...socket-116827/

 

Lucky8 did a video on modifying the rear power outlet.

 

Thank you all for this additional information!

 

Could you maybe buy something like this, strap it down real good, plug it into the defender so it charges when you drive, and drain it while you tailgate with your TV?

EF ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER 2, 256Wh LiFePO4 Battery/ 1 Hour Fast Charging, 2 Up to 600W AC Outlets, Solar Generator (Solar Panel Optional) for Outdoor Camping/RVs/Home Use https://a.co/d/irnvmS2

 

Here’s mine. It’ll run a TV for a whole weekend if need be. No solar panels required and no threat to the battery.

 

what shelf is that…?😳

 

It’s a rhino cargo bridge. I got this one from Lucky 8.

 

I have a similar LiPo battery generator. I just use one I made more often for a variety of reasons. It is much smaller, stupidly cheap to make and doubles as a surprisingly great sound system, both bluetooth and wired. It consists of an ammo can, a gel cell battery, two decent speakers, a bluetooth amp and a couple of USB surface mounts. I actually added one more that does much higher USB-C output than my original, which also display voltage. to use AC, just plug any old inverter to the 12V socket it has, which doubles as a charging port for the system via a double headed plug. It actually lasts quite a long time and is compact and...as tough as an ammo can can be. I even used it as a sound system for Rick and Morty Theatre at Renegade Burn. We had a projector system that displayed a 15' projection on the playa and this box did the sound for, what turned out as, quite a crowd. Lasted all week.