Rear 110v Plug -- How the Heck Does it Really Work??

[Scott Pfeiffer]

I am so confused about the plug in the back. I have a plug-in cooler that I've alway taken camping with me and it has been on three cross-country trips with me (in a different vehicle) and been a champ.

Now, in my 2023 PHEV, I'm lost.

I am confused by my car's outlet. I used to just plug in, but there's this mess with the dash button that has me scratching my head.

My questions:

1. Does it provide power consistently when plugged in ... just on its own?

2. Do you have to have the car running to have the plug powered?

3. Does the 1500v dash button only work when the car is powered on? (Mine works only when the car is on.)

4. If 3 is Yes, then how do you get something like this to provide power when the car is off, and then what actual use is this outlet when camping??

Thank you for any clear advice you can you. I'm not super "techy", so this PHEV thing is very new to me.

 

[roussir]

1) Question is unclear, but approximately, yes.
2) Yes, the car has to be on (in "Ready" mode) for the large battery to be connected.
3) Yes, see above.
4) You don't. Plenty of use; I ran the espresso machine for the group camp.
The wrinkle is that the 110V power shuts down in 30 minutes if a door is not open or the car is not in neutral. In my case, had it in neutral.

 

[kpetrov]

Yes, it should be ON - Ready.

It's a 10 seconds experiment... OFF not providing power, ON = Power is available.

 

[kernelpanic]

Other threads have discussed this.
The census of opinion is that Mitsubishi designed it like this for the following reason.
It's an inverter giving 110 or 220 depending on the the region you're in, in all cases this inverter will supply up to 1500W.
This inverter is powered from the 300v Battery. In order to draw up to 1500W from the Main drive battery the vehicule must be in a position to activate the cooling fans (or battery heating element if fitted) to manage battery temperature so the car must be ON. We may see this as an inconvenience but they designed it for a reason. (protecting the main drive battery, which may still be under garantee)
On another thread on this forum someone retrofitted the inverter to a model that did not have one. They intentionally set their retrofit so that the inverter could be used without powering on the car. I'm too lazy to search for the link on that thread, maybe someone else remembers.

 

[SeattleExPat]

For camping, you could use the outlet to charge a power station (e.g. Jackery) much faster than with the 12V cigarette lighter plug and then run your fridge (or whatever) from it while you are not driving. Yes, you'll need to purchase a power station, but you at least won't need solar panels.

I have a Pecron E600LFP that runs my 60W cooler for 8-9 hours overnight. During the day, I turn on the car to charge the power station, to cook (induction cooktop) or to make coffee. I just came back from a road trip across the country - works great!