Sleeping in MG4 [merged thread]

[Tunemasterfunk]

I do agree though, it's nuts that the lights can't be turned off. In another thread someone talked about sitting in the car in a drive-through cinema to watch a film. A car with its lights on is not popular. Another talked about wanting to be able to sit and wait for a child coming out of school without the lights on. I occasionally aurora-watch, and any artificial light is an absolute passion-killer if you're trying to see the Northern Lights as far south as Edinburgh.

Maybe it's best to concentrate on how to cover them though, given that MG aren't likely to produce a hack for this just because we want it.

I like the idea of the app for the ZS and the MG5.

I hope its additional functionality they may add in the future.

I have not sat in the car longer than about half hour so not sure about keeping the HVAC on for long periods.

 

[Rolfe]

However, @brem93 appears to have done it, and didn't mention any particular difficulty. Also Bjorn Nyland slept in a Trophy at the actual arctic circle with snow visible on the nearby hills, and didn't say anything about freezing his bits off because the car turned itself off.

So what's the trick that's so obvious neither of these guys even thought it was worth mentioning?

Also, what is this magnetic blackout material? (OK I just did some googling on that and there's a ton of stuff available. Not quite sure how you fix it to cover the lights is all.)

 

[Rolfe]

I'm re-posting the video where Bjorn camps in the car, set to begin at the point where he does that.



He says the HVAC stayed on all night, and that it was in effect in camp mode. Maybe because he was actually inside the car and had locked it from the inside? I just left the key in the car and walked away without locking it, and it turned off.

He doesn't mention the lights, but since he was under the midnight sun I suppose he didn't care - they wouldn't have been particularly obvious at 3 am during the Norwegian white nights. He started at 96% and the car was on 90% in the morning, nearly six hours later. He started with the HVAC set to 27ºC but turned it down to 24º because it was getting too hot in the middle of the night. (Mind you that car he was in would have had a heat pump.) Also, despite the nearby snow it was actually fairly warm out. I know he used 20% of his Tesla's battery camping in extreme cold, with the window insulation fitted.

There's a lot more in that video than I realised, last time I watched it. Practically a how-to manual. The way he tells it, it seems to be the locking from the inside that keeps everything on. He actually said "this car is more or less made for camping" (although he may not have noticed the lights staying on, given the ambient). I suppose I need to try it for real and actually sit in the back of the car with the doors locked from the inside, rather than trying to fake it.

 

[DERGRABEN]

Apart from the stealth issue, the lights draw some current during a whole night. Has anybody tried to get the front lights fuses off and see if the rest of the car remains usable?
(We could need some heating with low temperatures at night.)

 

[Coulomb]

Does the eZS app work to turn off MG4 daylight running lights?

 

[Rolfe]

I don't think the amount the lights draw can be very significant. Bjorn only used 6% of that battery all night, including having the heating on, and the lights would for sure have been on even if he didn't notice that they were.

 

[John Joice]

Hi!

I have yet to find any Information is it possible to put car in utility or camping mode?

I am thinking of buying MG4 long range and want to use car for sleeping in it also so, is there a mode like this in this car?

Not heard of a sleeping mode, but it is possible to power everything off providing P position has been selected

 

[Rolfe]

The point is that you don't want to power everything off, you want the HVAC to stay on. Which it appears it will do if you lock the doors from inside, although I haven't actually tried that yet.

 

[Rolfe]

I have an update on the car blackout blinds/curtains I bought.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZATOOTO-Blackout-Magnetic-Curtains-Upgraded/dp/B09QKVGBK5

I haven't tried them as privacy curtains yet, but I did use them during the aurora watch last night. They clip perfectly over the DRLs and absolutely eliminated the light pollution from them staying on. You can still see some light through them, but not much. I suppose it depends on how stealth you want to be. Clipping a second one on top to give a double layer almost eliminated stray light. The neodymium magnets are small and hold the thing on to the bodywork very well without giving me any fears for the paintwork. (I didn't take a photo. You wouldn't have seen much, anyway!)

I also used the other two inside the car to smother the screens, which were also causing light pollution and disturbing the dark adaptation of my eyes. Double thickness (folded) they completely eliminated light from the screens, so I could stay in the car in the dark with the heating on and the stereo playing. Worked very well.

I should order at least another two, so as to cover all four windows and the lights. I don't know how important it would be to smother the infotainment screen for sleep, and I'm still not sure what to do about the front and rear windscreens. Also whether it would be worth smothering the lights in double thickness.

 

[tsedge]

Did the overhead tiny light bother you at all? I am still considering removing mine / obscuring it.

 

[Rolfe]

Not significantly. There are unobtrusive lights all around the cabin, but only the parking-brake light was enough to be annoying and I arranged the blackout curtain that was over the infotainment screen to cover that too. None of it really interfered with my night vision.

The way the weather has suddenly transitioned from winter straight into summer has me seriously thinking about trying the car sleeping thing. Next week I won't need to as I have arranged to stay with friends both in Sussex and in Yorkshire, but after that I fancy a trip to Orkney, last chance to see the Ness of Brodgar.

 

[Rolfe]

I took a couple of pictures of the blackout curtains fitted over the headlights. Here's a picture of the whole of the front of the car.

And here's a close-up of one side.

Fitting them is incredibly simple. Just lay them in position and let the wee magnets do their thing. As @brem93 said earlier in the thread, a strong wind could blow them off, but on a relatively still day they didn't move.

In the dark it's still possible to see the DRLs shining through a little bit but the amount of light was cut dramatically. It would depend how stealthy you wanted to be, but a second pair clipped over the first to give double thickness almost eliminated the light.

This seemed to be the thing that bothered a number of people as regards camping in the car. Everything else seems to be capable of being worked round. I would note that I sat for a couple of hours aurora-watching with the heating and stereo on as well as these lights, and the % charge only decreased by a couple of %. Although Bjorn didn't mention the lights (he probably didn't notice as it was arctic summer and so daylight when he camped) they must have been on and he didn't use much battery either when he slept in the car.

 

[Archev]

I took a couple of pictures of the blackout curtains fitted over the headlights. Here's a picture of the whole of the front of the car.

View attachment 26505

And here's a close-up of one side.

View attachment 26504

Fitting them is incredibly simple. Just lay them in position and let the wee magnets do their thing. As @brem93 said earlier in the thread, a strong wind could blow them off, but on a relatively still day they didn't move.

In the dark it's still possible to see the DRLs shining through a little bit but the amount of light was cut dramatically. It would depend how stealthy you wanted to be, but a second pair clipped over the first to give double thickness almost eliminated the light.

This seemed to be the thing that bothered a number of people as regards camping in the car. Everything else seems to be capable of being worked round. I would note that I sat for a couple of hours aurora-watching with the heating and stereo on as well as these lights, and the % charge only decreased by a couple of %. Although Bjorn didn't mention the lights (he probably didn't notice as it was arctic summer and so daylight when he camped) they must have been on and he didn't use much battery either when he slept in the car.

Like it - dual purpose equipment, spot on.

 

[Rolfe]

Thank @brem93, really.

 

[Tunemasterfunk]

Evening Members,

Rolfe, excellent link to the blackout curtains and will be purchasing soon!

With regards to using the vehicle as a power source when camping, I have a couple of queries if anyone has tried...

The car can be ON but not in ready mode so if the physical key is in the tent in a faraday pouch, the car is technically unlocked, HV battery is active (so vehicle to load will work) but the car cannot be driven in this state. Is this a true statement?

If so, does anyone know how long the car will remain ON but not in ready mode to allow for long term use of the vehicle to load capability?

Thank you in advance for any answers.

 

[Rolfe]

There are threads specifically about VtL that might have the answer to that. There's one where a bunch of Aussies seem to be talking a completely foreign language...

 

[Ian Key]

The car can be ON but not in ready mode so if the physical key is in the tent in a faraday pouch, the car is technically unlocked, HV battery is active (so vehicle to load will work) but the car cannot be driven in this state. Is this a true statement?

If the key's in a Faraday pouch the car won't detect it and might go into anti-theft mode. Doors deadlocked so they can't be opened from the inside, horn sounding and lights flashing. Not conducive to a good nights sleep.

 

[Martinonline]

If the key's in a Faraday pouch the car won't detect it and might go into anti-theft mode. Doors deadlocked so they can't be opened from the inside, horn sounding and lights flashing. Not conducive to a good nights sleep.

I would test this if I were at home but I do not believe the car will alarm. I have often put my key in its Faraday pouch after removing shopping and forgetting to lock the car. However, the camping circumstance described above has caused me to think about the 'Ready' and 'Powered On' states.

If I sit in the seat without the key the car will not power up and a warning given. If I have the key and it powers on and then I remove the key I believe the car will not enter the Ready state when I press the brake. (Assumption based on manual info.) However, if the car does enter the Ready state then removing the key does not stop the car from being driven until the car is powered off and not just when the EPB is applied - need a test.

In answer about the auto power off I do not believe there is a limit. The only one I know is the 10mins for the info screen if the Safety Tab / Power Off button is used.

 

[Rolfe]

Up on the moor at one in the morning, getting sleepy and with aurora-watching snacks in the car, I felt that if I'd had the gear with me (airbed, sleeping bag and so on) I could have quite happily curled up in the back and slept. I think the car is very comfortable, and it's the ability to run the HVAC that makes all the difference.

 

[mg4mc]

I have an update on the car blackout blinds/curtains I bought.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZATOOTO-Blackout-Magnetic-Curtains-Upgraded/dp/B09QKVGBK5

They are a solution, but wouldn't be easier to just pop the bonnet and pull fuses 53 and 72?