Integrated thermal cooler box operation

[barrysharp]

The following was posted in another thread and I thought it useful to give it its own place. Sorry for the duplication.

If anyone differs with my findings I would appreciated feedback.

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OK -- Here's my research findings related to Volvo's Intergrated Thermal cooler box (refered to below as "cooler box" -- the one that integrates and fits between the two outboard 2nd row seats when you have the 40-20-40 seats.

1) The rear cargo 12v outlet does provide a continuous electrical power.

2) If the cooler box is

a) connected to rear 12v outlet
and
b) the car engine isn't running with or without key inserted or if inserted it's at position I or II
and
c) the On/Off rocker switch is On and a green LED lights up

the cooler box WILL NOT start operating.

If rocker switch is Off then the LED is dark and obviously cooler box doesn't operate.

3) If the cooler box is connected to

a) rear 12v outlet
and
b) the car engine is running
and
c) the On/Off rocker switch is already positioned to On or is turned On a green LED lights up

then after about 5-10 secs the cooler box will begin to operate.
If subsequently the engine is turned off (with key removed or not)
the cooler box continues to operate for about 10 secs and then
turns off automatically even though the green LED stays on. If
the engine is now started the cooler box will again start to
operate after about 5-10 secs.

4) The cooler box will not cause the battery to drain ever because
it only operates continuously when the engine is running.

This appears to be different from the stand-alone cooler box (ie one that isn't integrated into the 2nd row seating). This stand-alone cooler box if connected to the rear cargo 12v outlet can possibly drain the battery if left on without engine running for extended period of time -- as evidenced from Stain's original posting. Kerti's Battery Protector device will solve this problem.

I speculate that Volvo's onboard computer system is either aware of the Integrated Thermal cooler box or the cooler box itself is sensitive to a voltage/current drop or engine being turned on or off such that it operates the way it does. No matter, the Volvo design for its Integrated Thernmal cooler box safeguards against battery drain but means you must be aware that it will not be operating unless engine is running.

I hope this clears things up for others -- it sure does for me. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[SpudRacer]

The following is also posted in another thread and I thought it useful to repost here as well...  http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Barry,

Just to clarify your &quot;book&quot; post, &nbsp;

1. If the car is sitting in the garage and not running, and you go out and turn your cooler on when it was originally off, it will come on and run continuously until the battery is dead.

2. &nbsp;If the same situation as #1 is encountered, but you then go back to the garage 1 hour after starting the cooler and start up the engine, let it run for a minute, then turn it back off and go back into the house, the cooler will cease operation after 10-15 seconds and save your battery even though the switch is still in the &quot;on&quot; position.

If yes to both, then those with the cooler would be best to either leave it on 100% of the time (which will wear the internal components down quicker), or use it only when the engine is running and when needed, in which case if you forget to turn it off when you shut the car down, it will turn itself off. &nbsp;Right Barry?&#33;[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Respectfully,

Tom

[barrysharp]

Tom:

Statement 1. is incorrect -- this will not happen. The cooler box will only operate when engine is running.

Statement 2. is correct.

Soooo, No to 1. and Yes to 2, and your ending statement, ignoring your &quot;yes to both&quot; is a good position to take.

My policy is to always have the Volvo Integrated Thermal cooler box connected to the rear cargo 12v outlet and only have it switched on when needed. If a mistake is made and it&#39;s left on it will not drain battery but will operate unnecessarily at times.

I think an improvement to the design would be for the green LED to on the front side of the box so driver and/or front passenger can see that the cooler box is On.

[SpudRacer]

Barry,

I re-read your initial post... my bad, I misread it.

So sorry. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Tom