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Does the cigarette lighter outlet drain the battery when the car is turned off?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Jakov Glavina, Jul 24, 2020.

  1. Jakov Glavina

    Jakov Glavina Junior Member

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    this is basically a simple question, but I haven't been able to find a concrete answer to this question. I have two gen 2 Priuses (2007 and 2009) and I have one of those FM Radio Bluetooth-enabled transmitters that plug in one of the two available cigarette lighter power outlets. My question is: if I leave the FM radio transmitter plugged in when I finish driving, does the fact that its plugged in drain the car's battery when the car is fully turned off? Do the cigarette lighter outlets even have power when the car is turned off? Ideally I would like to leave the transmitter plugged in at all times just for convenience sake, but if there are any downsides to this, I need to know cause I wouldnt want to have my battery empty when trying to start the car or anything of that sort :D

    Thanks in advance
     
    #1 Jakov Glavina, Jul 24, 2020
  2. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Power outlets are off when Prius is off. So no. You can just leave them plugged in. Unless somebody has modified the outlets to be on all the time.
     
    #2 valde3, Jul 25, 2020
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  3. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    ... which you can verify quite easily with a voltmeter.
     
    #3 dolj, Jul 26, 2020
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  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    or any 12V device with the right plug

    That said, I have an LED volt meter plugged into one of my 12V sockets all the time. It's blank when the car is off.
     
    #4 jerrymildred, Jul 26, 2020
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