When camping in 2021, your vehicle is needed for more than just getting you to a nice site with a great view, flat space for your tent, a secret hot spring tub nobody else knows about, a lake full of hungry trout, and perfectly oriented shade: it also has to be used as a source for juicing up rechargeable devices such as lanterns, cell phones, or fans. My 2006 LR3 has three auxiliary outlets (and a cigar lighter if needed in a pinch) but all of the outlets are only energized when the key is not in the full off position. That can be a problem when, for example, you want to recharge a lantern you used the previous night while you go for a hike, because you really don't want to leave the LR3 unlocked and the keys in the ignition switch. I've searched the Interwebs for answers and have seen suggestions for running a new fat wire from the battery to the rear 12v outlet (connecting only after disconnecting the outlet from the switched circuit). That would be fine but I'm a lazy man.

The easiest hack I've seen involves pulling the R1 relay that's used for powering on the three aux outlets when the key is moved from off and then replacing it with a short jumper between the two hot-in and hot-out connectors in the junction box. Doing so would make the three outlets always on (the cigar lighter is on a different relay and would not be affected by bypassing the relay), The three outlets would continue to be on separately fused circuits, so I can't see any danger there. You'd have to remind passengers to pull their chargers out of the outlets when finished, but that's a small price to pay for the ability to charge devices all day or all night without worrying about someone stealing your ride home from the Great Outdoors. This is a hack that I've seen described by forum members morrisdl and bbyer, and I think it's brilliant.

What worries me is whether there are other devices or circuits controlled by the R1 relay. For the life of me I can't find a wiring diagram for a 2006 LR3 in my 140 section electronic workshop manual so I don't have documented confirmation that R1 powers the three outlets only and nada mas. One concern is that I'd be drawing juice even if nothing is plugged into an outlet and wind up with a dead battery if I don't drive the LR3 often enough. The other and far more important concern involves whether unswitched power to a non-outlet device that doesn't expect it all the time will play havoc with some other aspect of the electrical or computer system, and then I'll be seeing all sorts of error codes and warning lights when the LR3's brain begins to think that something is seriously amiss.

So, has anyone tried this trick for a couple months or more? Can you advise me whether it was a benign way to have 12V power with the LR3 shut off or if installing that jumper was the worst mistake of your life?

Thanks for any help here,

Nick in Palm Springs

 

I have to look at diagrams myself, but you could install a high amp switch instead with an external relay. So a really would be plugged in with pigtails and function as normal but a bypass switch would allow you to override it as needed.

But if you are camping a lot, a auxiliary battery setup would be the best way to go with chargers pulling from it instead. Its how I run mine, starting battery is for truck functions only. Aux does all the accessories, charging, fridge, etc. I have pulled my aux battery low enough camping that I know if it was the starter battery I would be going nowhere.

 

Where is the relay you speak of?

Can you take a picture of the fuse box to show me where that relay is?

 

I put in the jumper last night and buttoned it all up, so I'm being a bit lazy and have attached a photo I found on the web rather than taking a new one. Just access the passenger side fuse box by disengaging the guides on both sides of the lower glove box door. The fuse array looks sort of like the one in the attached photo. The R1 aux outlets relay is tucked to the right if you are looking at the panel with your head on the passenger seat. I think R1 is directly below fuses F54 & F55. You'll be able to see three relays in that area. R1 is the largest, and the two smaller ones right below R1 are R3 for the cigar lighter and I think R5 below that has something to do with the audio system. R1 is a bit difficult to pull if your fingers are sweaty like mine were. I used one of those rubber sheets that are normally employed for getting a grip on food bottle lids so I could really hold on, then wiggled it as I was pulling it. I next took a 3 inch length of lamp cord wire and added a male spade on each end, but I made sure the spades were perpendicular to each other because the female receptacles in the fuse panel are perpendicular to each other. There are four female receptacles for this relay, but the two you want are the ones at the top and the bottom, not the left or right sides. Piece of cake and from that point on I had permanent power to the dash outlet, the back passenger row outlet, and the outlet way in the back by the tailgate. Because R3 is not affected by this bypass, if you simply can't remember to pull your USB charger plug out of the aux socket each and every time when you are done, use the cigar lighter socket as it remains switched on only when the ignition key is on.

The R1 aux outlets relay is the topmost and biggest of the three in the lower right corner

If only every other hack for an LR3 was this easy and this useful!

Nick in Palm Springs