How can I unplug/disable the phone charging mat?

[BalsaDust]

The title says it all. I don't have and probably never will have the need for wireless charging. (yes i'm that old and rarely use my phone anyway)
I do on occasion put my wallet down on the console of my current car and am worried that the wireless charging mat may wreak havoc on the credit and ID card I carry.
As an aside, is it safe for placing credit cards on it even if its not charging a phone?

If someone out there in Mach-E land has access to a shop manual with the location of the plug that would help also.

Thanks
Tony

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[JamieGeek]

I don't think the coil is energized unless a phone is present.

There is some communications between the phone and the charger that has to happen before the coil is turned on.

 

[SnBGC]

I don't think the coil is energized unless a phone is present.

There is some communications between the phone and the charger that has to happen before the coil is turned on.

Agree.

To the OP... if you prefer....just pull out the fuse.

 

[Logal727]

It’s induction charging, so it won’t do anything unless a receiver is present. Just like you won’t burn your hand if you touch an induction stovetop.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

Yeah, the Qi charging standard doesn’t activate the charger unless the appropriate handshake is made between the phone and the charger. As long as you don’t have your credit cards on the BACK of your phone (on the front side is fine), you’re good putting anything on that mat.

 

[BalsaDust]

Thanks for all the reply's, not knowing the science behind it was was unaware of how it worked.

Tony

 

[ChuckA]

The title says it all. I don't have and probably never will have the need for wireless charging. (yes i'm that old and rarely use my phone anyway)
I do on occasion put my wallet down on the console of my current car and am worried that the wireless charging mat may wreak havoc on the credit and ID card I carry.
As an aside, is it safe for placing credit cards on it even if its not charging a phone?

If someone out there in Mach-E land has access to a shop manual with the location of the plug that would help also.

Thanks
Tony

You’ll see unexplained CHARGES on your cards.

In all seriousness, put your phone on the charger and the wallet on the phone, or, put the wallet on the right side of the tray which won’t charge.

 

[Aramis76]

Hi all, I wanted to bring this back instead of creating a new thread.
I want to disable the wireless charger.
I looked in the manual, it's not on a fuse by itself so pulling the fuse is not an option.

Does anyone know how to safely remove the plastics?

I want to be able to toss my phone in that tray but need the wireless charger to be disabled since it only drains my phone instead of charging it. (disabling wireless charging on my phone is not an option because it works very well elsewhere).

So, I need to access the power plug of the charger mat, any ideas?

 

[Miav8r]

How about placing something under the rubber mat to block the signal. Not sure what material to suggest but as some cases interfere with wireless charging, I’m sure there’s something that will accomplish this.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Besides disconnecting the charging pad or putting something underneath it, a TSB for wireless charging may help if you're using an iPhone. TSB 22-2265. Thread Link.

Also if heat buildup with your phone on the pad isn't an issue (and it can easily be), you can use a USB cable to connect to the car, charge, and use Carplay/Android Auto.

 

[Miav8r]

Just did a quick search. Another option is to place the phone on the charger mat screen-down.

“Wireless charging will not work if you put the phone facing down on the wireless charger or charging pad.”

 

[Aramis76]

Sadly i'm using an Android phone. Not only does it drop in charge level, it also gets horribly hot.
I use a wireless charger at home for this phone and it works flawlessly. The one in the car is not very good.

 

[Aramis76]

Just did a quick search. Another option is to place the phone on the charger mat screen-down.

“Wireless charging will not work if you put the phone facing down on the wireless charger or charging pad.”

That may be an option! I tried looking for a way to get to the connector, it seems almost too hard to be worth it.
I though about placing a sheet of aluminium foil under the rubber mat. This may work, but i'm worried it could cause problems since it would still be "live"

 

[geftsnowball]

Hi all, I wanted to bring this back instead of creating a new thread.
I want to disable the wireless charger.
I looked in the manual, it's not on a fuse by itself so pulling the fuse is not an option.

Does anyone know how to safely remove the plastics?

I want to be able to toss my phone in that tray but need the wireless charger to be disabled since it only drains my phone instead of charging it. (disabling wireless charging on my phone is not an option because it works very well elsewhere).

So, I need to access the power plug of the charger mat, any ideas?

How about placing something under the rubber mat to block the signal. Not sure what material to suggest but as some cases interfere with wireless charging, I’m sure there’s something that will accomplish this.

Don't have my car yet but, out of curiosity, I sacrificed a small bit of aluminum foil to test @Miav8r's suggestions to see if it would be sufficient to block the wireless charging pad from connecting. People make homemade Faraday bags with aluminum foil so it seemed a reasonable approach.

I tested it in a "Samsung Electronics Samsung Qi Wireless Charger and UV Sanitizer" by tossing the phone in and saw it immediately start charging. Placed the foil (pulled out about 6 inches and folded it over to the width of my phone, so about 3.5 layers) down first and it didn't start charging.

I don't see why you couldn't just grab a piece of foil, fold it to the dimensions of the charging pad and slip it under the center console cover to block charging from happening.

Simple solution that requires no modification of your car and you probably have everything you need in your kitchen or can grab some from the store for a buck (and a quarter at the "dollar" store?) or two.

 

[geftsnowball]

That may be an option! I tried looking for a way to get to the connector, it seems almost too hard to be worth it.
I though about placing a sheet of aluminium foil under the rubber mat. This may work, but i'm worried it could cause problems since it would still be "live"

It wouldn't be "live" because the foil blocks the charging / signal so nothing is happening. The charger is in the same state as when there is no phone present.

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