I made a dumb move the other day and discovered something about the prius that I figured you all may appreciate knowing about. I usually leave my headlights on at all times and rely on the car to turn them off when I shut the car off and open the door. The other day when I pulled into the parking lot at work I crawled over to the passenger side to remove a sticker from the windshield. So I ended up getting out of the passenger side door instead of the driver's side. It turns out that if the driver door isn't opened the headlights never end up turning off. So when I got back at the end of the day my battery was dead and I had to call the tow company for a jump. Anyway, I hope I can save some of you from making a similar stupid move.
It would have been better if Toyota simply had the lights turn off after a certain amount of time elapsed from when the car is turned off, say 1 - 5 minutes, with some sort of override. Hmm, might make a good coastal mod. When battery voltage falls below 10 volts, disable the taillight relay.
This morning I opened my door, turned on the lights, shut the door and locked it, but yet the lights remained on. Is there something I am doing wrong? Does anyone else leave their lights on?
thats why in my slightly paranoid way i bought the husky brand portable charger/jump starter for $39 at my good ole home depot.i have it strapped vertically by the hatch where it stays out of the way and i can check it or use it as needed. like a couple of other prii owners i fill up the charge on it once a month and "fagettabout it"the reason im so paranoid is because of the SMALL aux battery the car has compared to most vehicles. i just figure for only a few bucks i feel ready for any battery emergency. oh, and im kinda fraid to mention this but in my hatch under the floor i have one of those tire inflaters that runs off the cigarette (000ps! imean of course the aux power supply) out put. i used to use it for my harleys but now just in case keep it in "smiley" well you never know. im starting to scare my self. and of course always a clean set of underwear just in case i have to go to the hospital due to an accident or something. well, and then theres.....oooops i see its time to take may medication :wink: :wink:
Is it the dome lights that are lit, or the map lights? The map lights don't turn off automatically. I have on occasion forgotten and left them on, so far with no ill effects.
maybe headlights only turn off automatically if they were on when the car is running. if you dont have the car running then turn on the headlights, they stay on till you turn them off. hence the shutoff overide
None of these look like your Home Depot charger http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...dglo.0&MID=9876
Proper sequence: power down, open door, then lights are out. If you turn the lights off then on, they stay on until you power down and close the door again. Of course if you are already powered down, you will need to power up to power down. I am not sure yet if you have to have the door closed while powering down, or if it will accept power downf from any power up mode will allow auto off (ACC, Ig-On, READY), or just some of them.
Okay, final question. If the lights are turned on during the daytime, will the Prius automatically turn them off and back on during the night?
Fred: I got my portable boost box at Canadian Tire last fall when they had a sale on. It's rated at 700 A, has a built-in light, and supposedly checks for proper polarity before applying power. I take it out once a month to charge it, otherwise it stays out of sight and out of mind until I need it. It sure sounds safer to the car than taking a chance getting a boost. I've used it twice so far, both times to assist another motorist. I don't think it would help the Prius cause any if somebody asked for a boost and we started off about damaging the tiny auxiliary battery blah blah blah. I do know the portable booster will boost a minivan and an old K car just fine.
Only if you purchased your car in Canada. Then, the lights will go DRL during the day, and full low beam at night. The US model is auto-off only, as I described in my post. Power off, open door, lights turn off. Open door, power on, lights turn on. Turn off and on lights in any condition (door closed or open, power off or on) except maybe a run down aux battery, lights come on.
im with you on that jman. its what i call cheap insurance. sounds like your unit is somewhat similar to mine although mine does not automatically do the right polarity.i think its a good investment and heck its only 39bucks.
