Extending the ACC run time

[Garfy]

If I turn ACC on to listen to my radio, the system always turns off after 10 minutes. Is there a way to extend this time period in some way perhaps in some hidden engineering/dealer mode or something? It's kind of annoying to have to cycle the Start button to turn it back on every 10 minutes (it's not like the battery is so low in capacity that it can't run for 30 minutes or something).

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[ORRadtech]

Don't have an answer to the time question.
But it's not necessary to hit the start button, just use the radio power button. That gives you another 10 minutes without powering on the whole car.

 

[opengl]

Yes, forscan can do it.

 

[ORRadtech]

Yes, forscan can do it.

One thing to keep in mind is that the battery in these cars are, IMO, extremely undersized. It really doesn't take a lot of time using the battery without the car running to discharge it. Do that too much and you'll be replacing it sooner than the crappy 2 years or so you're likely to get anyway.

 

[Garfy]

One thing to keep in mind is that the battery in these cars are, IMO, extremely undersized. It really doesn't take a lot of time using the battery without the car running to discharge it. Do that too much and you'll be replacing it sooner than the crappy 2 years or so you're likely to get anyway.

I think when I checked it a couple months ago, it was rated over 700CCA so it's not so small. If the radio in my Honda Fit can run an hour without discharging the battery so it won't crank I don't think extending to 30 minutes would hurt (the Fit is like 340CCA, like a lawn tractor battery).

 

[ORRadtech]

My '18 is a Group 96R battery rated at 590CCA. I'd venture to guess the Mustang makes bigger demands of the battery than a Fit. And the factory battery has a reputation for failure anyway.
Your results may vary.
Good luck.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I thought the “accessory on” could be extended by a setting in either the SYNC menu or main dash cluster?

I could have swore this was a setting the user can change and I think max interval was 10 or 20 mins that SYNC would run after the car was initially turned off? I recall changing it in my prior 2016 and am pretty sure I changed it in my 2018 too (been a while since I messed with any settings in my 2018).

I looked up the 2020 Mustang Owners manual online and damned I haven’t seen any such option listed…. ???

 

[Garfy]

My '18 is a Group 96R battery rated at 590CCA. I'd venture to guess the Mustang makes bigger demands of the battery than a Fit. And the factory battery has a reputation for failure anyway.
Your results may vary.
Good luck.

Yeah, I need to look at it again. My Fit only has 12 onboard systems where my Stang has 22 so I suppose that factors in, though most onboard modules are "supposed" to go to sleep after a short while so that shouldn't matter too much from that standpoint. Granted the cranking current demand is much greater on a 5.0L than a 1.5L .

Yep, just looked at it and it is 590CCA. I guess I was thinking about another car I looked at (this battery isn't that large; could've sworn it was longer).

 

[17gt07]

I try to make a habit of it to just run the car instead of the battery. What’s the point? It’s not like you’re wasting a lot of gas. I guess if your car is loud that would factor in.

I second the stock battery being crap. I got a few years out of mine then one day it apparently started leaking and destroyed the positive battery harness.

 

[Matthewstorm]

I do believe I saw that option in Settings on my '21.

 

[Garfy]

As mentioned by someone else the radio does go on without turning the ignition to ACC position. I don't know if there's a timer on that method of turning on the radio as I didn't run it long enough to see. I guess that's a better way because I noticed that with ACC position, you can activate the power windows, etc. which normally "old school" cars would only run the power windows in the "on" position, not acc. Later I'll see how long it'll run with the radio power switch only.

 

[ORRadtech]

As mentioned by someone else the radio does go on without turning the ignition to ACC position. I don't know if there's a timer on that method of turning on the radio as I didn't run it long enough to see. I guess that's a better way because I noticed that with ACC position, you can activate the power windows, etc. which normally "old school" cars would only run the power windows in the "on" position, not acc. Later I'll see how long it'll run with the radio power switch only.

10 minutes, same as the ACC.
The difference is only the radio plays. It doesn't activate the lights, windows, etc.

 

[Excelerater]

how to kill your battery even faster

 

[StangTime]

The stereo will play for up to 20 minutes. But you have to turn the car off and I think, manually cycle the power on the stereo to get the 20 minute time-out. This can be extended up to a max of 60 minutes. Battery be damned.
I have done this numerous times and even turned the stereo back on again for another 20 minute listening session. I do connect my battery tender after such lengthy listening sessions.

Forscan code for extending the stereo play timer:

APIM 7D0-01-01 xx2x xxxx xxxx

A = Off
2 = 20 min (default asbuilt data)
3 = 30 min
4 = 40 min
5 = 50 min
6 = 60 min

 

[Garfy]

The stereo will play for up to 20 minutes. But you have to turn the car off and I think, manually cycle the power on the stereo to get the 20 minute time-out. This can be extended up to a max of 60 minutes. Battery be damned.
I have done this numerous times and even turned the stereo back on again for another 20 minute listening session. I do connect my battery tender after such lengthy listening sessions.

Forscan code for extending the stereo play timer:

APIM 7D0-01-01 xx2x xxxx xxxx

A = Off
2 = 20 min (default asbuilt data)
3 = 30 min
4 = 40 min
5 = 50 min
6 = 60 min

Actually, since the radio can be powered w/o turning it to ACC, only the radio will be drawing power. I can assure you that the current draw from the radio is so low that you could probably run it for hours w/o starting issues. I used to have an old '71 Mustang that had a Group 24F battery and when I used to clean and wax the car I had the factory stereo running for the 6 hours that I took to clean, detail and wax the car. Considering that during that time I was running the 8-track stereo, that would be quite a drain as the radio and the tape drive motor certainly drew more current that a mere stereo would. Granted the 24F has more capacity than our stock battery but clearly running the radio for an hour or 2 won't take so much from the battery as to not be able to crank it over.

Of course, I realize that most "factory batteries" are worthless; my brother who is a parts manager for Honda laughs at the 100 month warranty on those. When I told him my daughter's battery failed after only 3 years, he replied "Oh, it lasted THAT long?" The replacement Interstate battery (MT-151R) is now 5 years 2 months of age and still working fine (only has a 5 year warranty). Of course, I check the battery capacity every 2 weeks and once it goes below the rated 340CCA, I'm replacing it. Most batteries in good condition easily surpass the rated CCA (the new 340CCA battery passed with a 450CCA rating).

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