I just bought a used cx-5 2013 , and the 12 volts cargo outlet appears to be "on " all the time as well as the one in the front console ...anybody would know if it's standard ...or has it been modified on my car ? Also does the system would shut off the battery if all of a sudden an accessory *let's say a mini car fridge* for instance was to be pluged in for a long period.

 

Yes those two are supposed to be on all the time; the one under the radio is the only switched outlet. As for the rest of your question, I don't understand what you mean.

 

Thanks for your reply Paris1 ...well what I ment is that since I use this fridge and let it pluged in even when the car is not running my fear is that it would drained the battery

 

I suspect it would, unless the fridge has circuitry that stops drawing power when it reaches operating temp. I wouldn't trust that though. I've seen those things inadvertently left plugged in (on a F-150 Ford) overnight and kill the battery.

 

That's what I thought ...so I guess I'll either have to install some stuff on the battery shutting it off before such a thing would happen ...or on a fridge itself ...though this type of set up is great if you want to recharge let say a cell phone ...I didn't have this option on my last Japanese car ..everything would shut off with the switch ...By the way do you like your CX-5 ?

 

I'm not much of an SUV fan (bought this one as I was coming off many years of driving pickups and felt I needed the utility of a crossover), but the CX-5 was the best of the lot and haven't been disappointed. Also, having previously owned two Miatas, the fact that it is a Mazda was a definite plus. I've only got 20k miles on mine, but in 2.5 years it's never darkened the door of the dealer service department and the gas mileage rarely drops below 30 mpg. The 2.0 ltr engine got a bad wrap from the press for not having enough power, but I have never felt any deficit in that regard. That said, I would have gotten the 2.5 had it been an option on the 2013 as the mileage penalty is insignificant and it's always better to have more power, IMO.

 

Mario- I have a similar question: I plan to use my CX-5 for car camping, perhaps with a small fridge and using the dome lights (I'm replacing them with LEDs) in the evening with the engine off. I was working in the car recently with the lights on on a warm day and after a few hours the car wouldn't start (dead battery I guess, hard to tell with all the indicator lights on.) Does anyone know of a battery monitoring system (either Mazda or aftermarket) that will monitor the battery charge and sound an alarm (or shut off the aux 12v outlets) when the charge drops to a certain point?

 

I am amazed at how little extra power there is in the stock battery. I to have had the car unable to start after a short time (less then two hrs) in the accessory position.

If I wanted to use the car to run a frig or other camping equipment when it isn't running I would definitely change to a better battery or add a second battery and a split charge relay

BTW The split charge relay alone will give your frig 12 volts when the engine is running and disconnect it when the engine is off.

 

My advice, to remove all risk, is to Install a 2nd battery in a battery box in the boot & connect it to the main battery thru a voltage sensitive relay. The relay will only supply power from the main battery to the 2nd battery when the engine is running & charging over 12.5v.

 

I agree.

There are 3 ways to isolate a 2ed battery.
A voltage sensitive relay, often called a split charge relay, is a good easy way to do the job and only requires connection to the 12 volt jack

There are also relays made to use a 12 volt source from the ACC circuit of the car to control the relay. They do the same thing, cost less, but require finding a source of 12 volts that is only present when the ignition is on. Also thy will be fooled if you put the car in ACC mode with the engine off. the voltage sensing relay won't be fooled. These are also called split charge relays,

There are battery isolators that have big cooling fins on them. These use a couple of diodes to allow charging both batteries but isolating there discharge They look neat with the big fins, they make heat, and work the alternator harder (all diodes have a voltage drop and this just translates to extra load on the alternator) I wouldn't even carry one of these in the car in it's original packaging.