Location of accessory service connector sockets?

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shrikestorm

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
6
I have searched these forums, general web, the service manuals and the car itself and I still cannot find any place to plug in the accessory service connectors. I understand there should be two, one each near the kickplates. But I have removed the entire front trim including the glove box and still see absolutely nothing resembling a socket that would work.

My rear view mirror is a non-powered model, no autodim or homelink. And there are no mirror connections in the overhead console. I do not have the navigation system. I want to power a dash cam and autodim/homelink mirror. I tried splicing into the cigarette lighter socket for ACC / ground, and then for the always hot I spliced in to the radio wiring to one I thought was always hot. But I think that hot wire ends up turning off at some point because my dash cam is not recording parking videos for longer than a couple hours (I think that's when the dash cam battery dies because the hot wire is not supplying power).

So, please forgive me if there is some place on this forum that already covers it - I just can't find it.
 
The service manual doesn't seem to differentiate between the sub-models except for a few areas including the navigation system, etc. I read the sections that would seem relevant to interior wiring. I searched for the term in the PDFs and just don't find anything. Apart from using an "add-a-fuse" connector on the fuse panel, where else is there a confirmed battery connection point (apart from actually running a wire to the 12V battery)?
 
If you want an always on connection, you'll probably have to use an add-a-fuse connector in the engine compartment. Almost everything available in the passenger compartment turns off with the power switch, and what's left shuts off after about fifteen minutes. Tapping the cigarette lighter should work for the Homelink. It will just have power only when the car is on, which is more secure.
 
Although I have not found the location of the accessory service connector sockets, I have discovered a source for a constant 12V that does not turn off after 15 minutes (or ever - stays hot all the time). On the 2015 S model that does not come with navigation or Bose, the lower connector on the audio unit has a constant 12V that can be spliced into without the need to use an "add-a-fuse". Look for connector M83, terminal 19, the thicker brown wire. The opposite end also has a ground wire (terminal 20, black). And for switched 12V (ACC) you can splice on to terminal 7, a thinner brown wire. I spliced into all three, set up a series of small distribution blocks on the bar underneath the audio unit inside the dash to make it easier to wire in additional accessories later (there's a lot of space in there!)

Look on page AV-37 of the service manual for a visual of the connector. This should also help for audio upgrades if you don't have a custom wiring harness included with your new stereo.

And a side note for what started this whole troubleshooting process: my Garmin 65W dash cam kept switching off during parked video recording. I thought it was because it wasn't getting power from the constant 12V, that the car was shutting off after 15 minutes. But it turns out there's a setting on the camera that controls the timeout that has a default of 2 hours. You can set it longer, or turn off the timeout entirely so it will record for as long as you are parked. These settings only appear after you have installed the optional parking mode cable.
 
I don't know that you could get a true always on connection in the Leaf, it shuts off power to everything to protect the 12V battery's charge and given all that it does, it makes sense.
 
The stereo has to have a "logic power" source to retain settings, and as long as the rest of the unit shuts completely off (as is usually the case with knob-controlled units), the parasitic drain for its memory is very small.
 
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