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Electric Plug on the back of my car.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by prius04, Sep 5, 2004.

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  1. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    Below is a picture of a plug that I put on the back of my car. It was twilight so the picture is not great. Maybe I'll edit this note tomorrow and upload a better picture.

    Needless to say, it's not a real plug. I took apart an old regular plug so it would be very thin. Then I glued it together and then glued it to a flexible magnet that I had on my fridge. It was one that I got from some Real Estate agent over a year ago.

    The glue dried and it turned into a cool little device to put on my car.

    But then guess what, the entire back of the car is plastic! The only place it would stick under it's own power was the side body and doors and roof. It stuck on the gas tank cover fine. But I knew I couldn't leave it there because it is a very weak magnet so I figured any wind resistance would blow it off.

    So to get the picture, I simply taped it to the car.

    Tomorrow I'll get tape that is meant for this purpose and put it back on the car. I would have been great to use the magnet part of it alone, that way I could take it off when I wanted to.
     
    #1 prius04, Sep 5, 2004
  2. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    You have created a monster!!! Or this is a way cool idea an I wish I had have thought of it. I am conflicted.
     
    #2 hdrygas, Sep 5, 2004
  3. Canuck

    Canuck Member

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    Don't know exactly where you could try this but using a stronger magnet you could place it on the inside of the vehicle surface and if your "plug" had enough metal on it's backing both would stay put
     
    #3 Canuck, Sep 5, 2004
  4. InTheWASide

    InTheWASide New Member

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    Pretty cool stuff...

    I would suggest one thing though...

    Go to the dealer, spend $8, get a touch up paint pen and paint the cover plate the same as your car. It'll look a little more like it belongs there. It'll look more "factory"

    Then you'll REALLY get people wondering!
     
    #4 InTheWASide, Sep 5, 2004
  5. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    I can see it now, along with people telling me that hybrid cars only get 25 mpg, they are going to tell me they have to be plugged in. "Honest. I saw an electrical connection on the back!" :roll:
     
    #5 bruceha_2000, Sep 5, 2004
  6. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    To Bruceha
    Please note that this is a plug OUTLET, not an inlet. It tells people they can plug something into my car to get power, not an inlet that requires charging.


    To bradca21
    The idea of factory paint is a great one. I've already got paint on order for some scratches. The first thing I'll do is paint the plug and coverplate.


    To Canuck
    The idea of a stronger magnet placed on the inside is a good idea. Tomorrow I'll check how easy it is to open up the inner wall to get to the outer wall.
    Where would I go to get a stgonger magnet? There is no "magnets -r -us" around here.


    Thanks all.
     
    #6 prius04, Sep 5, 2004
  7. InTheWASide

    InTheWASide New Member

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    Oh come now, you've never been to your local magnets-r-us? What kind of backwater town you from anyway?

    I THINK home places like Lowes or Home Depot have them... Otherwise, maybe a hobby shop of some kind?
     
    #7 InTheWASide, Sep 5, 2004
  8. Canuck

    Canuck Member

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    Suggest trying looking up "Western Marine " in the yellow pages but their magnets are usually the 4"x3"x3" with a 200 lb lift capacity. Perhaps one of the British Columbia mainlander Prius posters here who have access to "Lee Valley Tools" on Marine Drive in Vancouver could help. They have a pretty good selection of magnets.
     
    #8 Canuck, Sep 5, 2004
  9. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    Yeah I know, but we are talking about uninformed people. If they see something related to electricity, they'll think they have to plug the car in and get ALL confused trying to find a cord with male fittings on both ends! ;-) I suppose you could put a inverter in your Prius and make the outlet live at 110V AC. Might want to change it to a weatherproof outlet though :)
     
    #9 bruceha_2000, Sep 5, 2004
  10. Marg

    Marg New Member

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    Lee Valley Tools is the first name that pops into my mind when I think of magnets. http://www.leevalley.com. Surely there must be an American equivalent, but I can't think of one at the moment.
     
    #10 Marg, Sep 5, 2004
  11. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    I'm gonna go to some hardware stores tomorrow and if I don't find what I want, I'll go to leevalley.com. They have American pricing and shipping. I can probably get the magnets for less than $5.
     
    #11 prius04, Sep 5, 2004
  12. babesp

    babesp New Member

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    Just had to respond....I love your wit!! Be anxious to hear what comments you get - it would get my attention if I were behind ya in traffic!! :mrgreen: If you want to make some money - come up with a commercial version and sell it to the rest of us!
     
    #12 babesp, Sep 6, 2004
  13. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    Thanks babesp.

    I don't have the resources to make these but I'm sure there are ways to do it.

    I finished making my plug. I went a got a strong magnet and glued it to the plug. Then since the back fo the Prius is all plastic, I took the back panel off and glued two small metal plates to the inside wall on the back. It was kind of hard due to the tiny holes for me to put my hands through.

    These two peices of metal weigh a tiny amount.

    So now it works as a magnet.

    I ordered paint to match my car so when it comes in I'll pain the plug to match my car.

    So I can put it on or take it off at will. I glued felt on the back of it so won't scratch my car.

    If anyone wants to make them be my guest, but I think the best way to make them would be to use suction cups for temporary use or stick on for permanent.

    I'll update any cool comments that I get.
     
    #13 prius04, Sep 6, 2004
  14. BobA

    BobA New Member

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    Prius04, I love it.... but...

    Bob Allan has posted a picture on page 4 of PriusChat.com Forum Index » Album » Appearance Modifications... with Bob's permission...I went to PEP Boys and bought a fake cel antenna (sale $6) just used the sticky tape base... mounted it on the fat side of the license palate holder...have had it for about a month and 700 miles it seems to be staying and works like a charm... Like Bob I call it my 'static electric receiver' and put my priuschat license plate holder, 'NO I DON'T PLUG IT IN' below...
     
    #14 BobA, Sep 6, 2004
  15. nwprius

    nwprius Member

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    The back door is not plastic, it and the hood are aluminum. Bob
     
    #15 nwprius, Sep 7, 2004
  16. finman

    finman Senior Member

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    What about putting the magnet/outlet on the gas door? Would it be strong enough to hold at speed? I would think that would be the ideal place...'energy goes in here' (said in Homer Simpson voice!)...
     
    #16 finman, Sep 7, 2004
  17. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    prius04:

    That is totally cool! I love it. If I was not so averse to any appearance mods on my car, I'd do that myself.

    I think suction cups would be a bad idea. More likely to come off. I think your solution was the right one.

    And I agree that outlets say "I can plug power equipment into my car," and not "The car has to be plugged in." Around here, people have plugs on the front of their cars for plugging in the engine block heater. And woe is the owner of a carburated car who does not have a parking place near an outlet.
     
    #17 daniel, Sep 7, 2004
  18. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    Nwprius
    Aluminum!! That makes more sense and it explains why the back and front seem to have a metallic sound when you tap on them. But since it’s non ferrous, it won’t magnetize just the same as plastic. Thanks.

    nwprius
    Yes it will stick on the gas door cover but the original magnet was very weak so I felt it would blow off at higher speeds. I now have a stronger magnet so it would never blow off. But I wouldn’t want to put it on the gas plug because what I don’t want to do is suggest to people that you have to plug The Prius in to recharge it. I felt putting the plug on the back as an outlet might make people think they can not only drive it, but plug in their power tools too. And for all those “in the knowâ€, they would get a chuckle. (Actually, the “chuckle†was my main motivation.)

    daniel
    From what I understand there are some pretty strong suction cups. But I suspect these cups might affect the paint eventually. My magnet has felt on the back so it can’t hurt my finish. But getting the metal pieces into the back of the car was a chore. The openings are tiny. I ended up putting the fake plug right near the license plate and not farther to the side like in the original picture above. I just could reach further up to glue those small pieces of metal. I might be able to with some tiny long needle nose pliers, but I really didn’t want to make this an expensive and too time consuming project. I do have a life after all.
     
    #18 prius04, Sep 7, 2004
  19. aarons12

    aarons12 New Member

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    a while back i had gotten some magnets on EBAY that were reclaimed from computer hard drives. they are so strong you can't get them apart from each other without pliers.

    search ebay using 'rare earth magnet' or neodymium
     
    #19 aarons12, Sep 7, 2004
  20. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    The rear hatch is aluminum, as is the hood. I like the idea of the outlet, but actually the concept is "backwards", i.e., the outlet suggests the car as a source of electricity rather than consumer of electricity, unless that's what you wanted to suggest.
    It reminds me of the large windup key people sometimes glued to the back of their VW Beetles in the early 60's when the Beetle was very new, very "in" and a cult car.
    You could you electrical double sided tape to affix your electric outlet. It definitely belongs on the rear hatch where you have it, and not on the fuel tank door.
     
    #20 Bob Allen, Sep 7, 2004
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