Hey guys, this is my first question here. I just bought a 2012 Prius 3 and sold my wife's BMW 3. I still have my X5 though and one of the convenience I'm missing in the Prius is having the cigarette lighter adapter always supplying power even though the ignition is in 0 position and key out of the socket as in my X5. I asked the Stealer before I signed the papers but he didn't seem very knowledgeable (and he was a Fleet Manager, whatever the hell that means So, my question is is this doable and if yes, how hard is it to do? Anyone done it?
This topic caught my eye. So here you go. I added the 12v always on in the hatch. It's more for outside stuff that I use like an air pump for the kids toys and maybe a spot light if I don't have the keys handy. FYI - Here is what I did on my prius 2011. The install takes a 1" spade drill bit and the socket is pressed in. That's why it's so cheap. It's rated at 12ow and fused. You can see the red wire attached to the battery. The eyelets fit the 10mm battery + & - bolt perfectly, so no soldering or additional wire required.
Pull it out and look at the back, use a voltmeter to test polarity, the ground can remain ground, the hot wire just needs to be cut then spliced into a constant 12 volt source, or just run a fused wire to the battery. Probably could do it yourself in less than an hour easily.
