Question on wire colors verification

I think I'm the person who said the reverse, so this doesn't count as verification, but, anyway, about that ....

I eagerly encourage anybody looking to verify such information (which is a very good idea) to check the wiring diagram at techinfo.toyota.com directly. That takes it completely out of being my opinion vs. anybody else's opinion on PriusChat, and relieves you of the trouble of trying to decide which of two or more loudmouth PriusChat members, who are strangers to you, you find more convincing.

In the case of the two cig lighter wires, of course, you also have a very easy option of verifying with a voltmeter.

Cheers,
-Chap

 

Try a voltmeter. Or pull off some of the dash trim and observe what color wires are attached to the grounding screws. OR look in the wiring diagram. You've got options.

Anybody with a current techinfo subscription could post a screengrab here, to make sure this thread doesn't mislead future readers. If mine were paid up at the moment I'd do it, but I like to save up questions so I've got several to answer when I spend the next $15.

-Chap

 

Your car is negative ground. The one connected to the outside shell is negative. The wire connected to the center post is positive.
This is assuming somebody has not reversed them. You need a voltmeter to tell for sure. Connecting the positive to the shell would boiw the fuse.

 

White/Black to ground. See attached.

 

Yeah if you're working on wiring a multimeter is a must. Plus some electrical basics.

 

Glad to help. Still, next time you have a project, don't assume everything follows one simple rule like that. There are a lot of wire colors in these cars. Toyota often uses white-with-black-stripe for ground, but in some circuits (typically involving sensors) they use brown. And they can also use both those colors for other things, and in rare cases some other color is a ground return.

Always best to take a peek at the wiring diagram before diving into a project.

-Chap