"Fixed" my 12v outlet cover to fit full size phone on the wireless charging pad

[GooberDH]

I removed the cover and filed the bottom down, now my phone with an Otterbox Commuter fits nicely with even a bit of wiggle room on the wireless charger.

Finished piece:

It's just a pin that holds the cover in the hinge. I found the easiest way was removing the wireless charger for more workspace and sliding the pin out by pushing up from the bottom of the hinge.

Remove rubber mat, I used a plastic pry tool, this shows where about I popped the charger out, it has plastic clips on both sides so be gentle but you only need to get one side free to pull the whole assemby. In hindsight it's probably more correct to pry on the clips but I got it out without breaking anything. Very cool. The power harness for the charger is your standard locking clip, just push the lever with your finger and pull the harness off, nothing special to remove it.

Apparently it has active cooling to pull heat away from the charger, kinda neat but could use a bigger fan IMO. You can see the clips next to the power connector and fan.

The pin is hollow with a cut down the side probably for spring tension. I found a paperclip that had the correct diameter and used the pliers to grip the paperclip and give me leverage, the pin is really snug in there. Here's what I used and the pin in question:

Reinserting the pin is probably the hardest part. Easy to deform, wouldn't be a bad idea to see if your hardware store has some spares. I kinda crimped, probably bent too, mine at some point but was able to cram it back into its home. I positioned it into the hinge with the cover off to get it started, popped cover into hinge, pliers placed below the outlet to be a fulcrum for my pry tool to lever the pin back into its original position. I didn't look too close but it might taper vs being equally cylindrical. Either way it was easier to reinstall it from the bottom up like how I removed it. The cover functions as it did before, still smooth, same resistance opening and closing, good enough. All done. A few scrapes from the pry tools but those should buff out.

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[D/\rK•650]

Nicely done!

 

[Alan Applegate]

Clever idea, but I still wouldn't use the wireless charger. I can't say why Ford removed it on later models, but I have an idea. I have an iPhone SE and it gets VERY hot when charged wirelessly. Hot enough that the rubber pad under the phone is a bit tacky feeling.

 

[GooberDH]

Clever idea, but I still wouldn't use the wireless charger. I can't say why Ford removed it on later models, but I have an idea. I have an iPhone SE and it gets VERY hot when charged wirelessly. Hot enough that the rubber pad under the phone is a bit tacky feeling.

Wireless charging is inherently going to create more heat than wired charging and any phone will get warmer than using a cord. Another issue is if the charger isn't positioned perfectly it can generate even more heat. My old phone sometimes would get hot enough on this charger while using Android Auto for maps and music streaming that I'd get a message about 3D buildings on nav being disabled due to phone heat but other than that never had a problem. My new phone has a much more efficient and powerful processor with upgraded internal cooling. No more overheating alerts. My guess as to why Ford got rid of it was a mix of typical corporate cost cutting greed (Are Mustangs without wireless charging cheaper for us? No, more expensive now with less equipment) along with heat complaints from people who don't understand the nature of wireless charging, have older phones, have fast wireless charging enabled which would naturally produce even more heat, or any combination of the above.

 

[GTSteve]

I disconnected my wireless charger for two reasons:
1. Phone gets so hot sometimes in the summer that it would shut down.
2. Connectivity would intermittently drop, (not heat related, it's bc of phone case), which would cause play back interruptions

If I forget to have sufficient charge on my phone before leaving the house, I just simply connected via BT cable to charge... no more issues!

 

[COBill]

Here's why your phone gets so hot:

Wireless charging requires precise alignment of the charger coil and phone coil to work optimally. This is why Apple has always had MagSafe, and why it is part of the Qi2 standard: the magnets precisely align the coils.

The problem is the pads in cars just make a best guess as to where to put the charger coil and crank up the power to make it connect with "most phones."

This reduces efficiency to the point that while it works, it generates a lot of heat in both the charger (thus the fan) and the device.

It's not just Ford; the wireless charging pads in several other vehicles are just as bad.

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