Question on 12V outlets

Just curious: Why are you so worried about having to jump start your Prius? You live in northern Canada?

 

The power outlets in the 04 Prius are actually separate circuits. The one up front is powered continuously but kept from being active by a relay whose coil is controlled by power going to the second outlet in the console. The console outlet is powered by the accessory 12V which is only active when the car is powered up. In this way, the accessory position(mode) will provide power to the console outlet which in turn energizes a relay controlling the power outlet up front and allowing it to be active. The power outlets are fused separately and the fuses are electrically before the relay which does make it more convenient for modification. If you want to make the the front power outlet remain on continuously, all you have to do is clip a jumper wire across the contacts on it's relay. The physical location of the relay is way up in the dash and requires a bit of work to get to but you really don't have to take it all apart to accomplish what you want to do. The power outlet 12V constant source wire going to the relay is located on a plug just behind the fuse box under the edge of the dash on the driver side. It is even on the bottom plug so you don't have to take any panels off to get to it. You will have to pop the panel out where the power outlet is located to clip the other end of your jumper wire but that is quite simple. If you would like, I can put together a few pictures which show where to connect to. Don't power the console outlet continuously because, as I mentioned earlier, powering it up will turn on a relay which turns on the front outlet, not to mention turning on everything else in the car which is attached to the accessory mode power. On the other hand, jumping the contacts on the front power outlet relay will not cause an extra power drain on the car because the front outlet is isolated from the console outlet by the relay and is not connected to the accessory power wiring as is the console outlet. Of course, if you install the jumper don't leave anything plugged in to the outlet which could cause a significant power drain when the car is off.

 

Hey Coastal Dave,

If you could post a few pictures, that would be great!

I'm not trying to jump start my car, but would like to charge my cell phone overnight. Hopefully that doesn't fit into the category of "anything plugged in to the outlet which could cause a significant power drain when the car is off" !

Thanks,
Jay

 

Coastal Dave,

Thanks for the useful information. I'm sure that it will save some people a lot of headaches and frustration.

Bob

 

I'll get some pictures for you tomorrow of the jumper location. I had the computer with all of the pictures and notes loose a hard drive yesterday so I'm still in restore mode : ) Luckily the bad sectors didn't affect most of the data but it's a real pain to gather up all of the software and backups and odd CD's to get a new unit up to speed.

 

Thanks Dave!

 

Here are a couple of views from behind the fuse panel in the '04 Prius. If you lay down on the driver side floorboard and look up, there it is. Adding a jumper from the light green wire shown to the WHITE wire on the front outlet will allow a direct connection to the 12 volt battery for continuous power and the ability to jump start the car through the outlet if necessary. You could even charge through the outlet with the proper regulated unit if needed to maintain the battery for extended periods of time. Care should be taken not to connect the green wire to the white with black stripe wire on the power outlet. This is the ground so double check that you are jumping to the solid white wire and that it has no black stripe on it. The fuses for the front and console outlets will still be operational and protecting their individual outlets even with the jumper in place. I'm going to go ahead and make a jumper kit available on the website if you don't have the parts already. To get to the power outlet remove the ribbed pin located below the power outet and forward on the corner. Then pull the lower section of the dash free from it's clips. The back of the power outlet is now visible. A piece of tape is folded over the two wires leading to the outlet. Separate it and install a tap on the white wire. Plug in your jumper and attach the other end to the light green wire described in the photos using a wire tap. Then you can always remove the jumper if you want to and you haven't cut any wires. I mentioned it in an earlier post but just as a reminder, don't hook a constant source jumper to the outlet in the console. It is wired differently and hooking a jumper up there would power several other circuits causing a power drain.

 

Thanks again Dave,

You said

Is this kit the same as the 2000-2003 Prius Power Outlet Mod kit,
or am I missing the jumper kit for 2004?

Thanks,
Jay