Variation of EV switch install

Thanks for the great amendment to the other instructions. Great idea about using other Toyota parts. I like the fact that this method is reversible, that could help greatly for service appointments. I've got a place local that has tons of junked Toyotas sitting around, looking forward to getting this mod done.

Dave.

 

I'm currently in the middle of the Factory EV button install myself, hampered by the lack of pins/wire terminals for the EV switch housing. I managed to finagle two from one Toyota dealership and calling around others, no one has any in stock. I haven't tried a junkyard yet since there don't seem to be any close to me.

For those who don't want to go through the trouble of finding the part number for the pins like I did, the Toyota Part # is 82998-12360. This actually is a pre-crimped pin with a short piece of wire used as a repair splice. I was told by several part departments they do not sell the pin/wire terminal separately. Using the wire directly isn't really an issue for illumination +/- and ground, but the wire is a pretty thick gauge, so using it for the ECU pin is not very satisfactory (if you want to crimp it and whatnot... 24 guage is best for that to match the other ECU wiring, and I had a bit of a challenge stuffing 22 guage into the ECU pin). I'm surprised I couldn't find this part number mentioned before or why this isn't included with the EV switch/housing by those sellers out there. Oh, last thing is this part is unfortunately pretty expensive. They were $5 a piece and that was after a discount (tho' www.toyotapart.com lists them for $3.75).

As a variation on galaxee's variation, I bought t-taps instead of the scotch locks. These t-taps have the dual advantage of having a quick disconnect connector so that the EV wiring harness can be quickly removed temporarily, and the t-tap itself can be removed permanently leaving only only a small slit in the wire insulation which can be covered up with electrical tape. This is slightly more invasive than Tom Stangl's wiring harness, but a lot easier to do and requires no soldering (I find soldering to tiny pins is always hard to do in a clean way and crimping comes out nicer/more factory like). Here's what scotch locks vs t-taps look like.

For those with experience with the OEM installed EV button in Japan and Europe, can you comment on the EV button illumination behavior? It seems odd to me that there is no visual status indicator of EV mode like light or something. The only thing is an audio cue of 1 beep or three beeps. Is that how the OEM installed EV button behaves? I have been wondering if the actual behavior of the OEM installed EV button is that illuminates in EV mode, and is off otherwise. This sort of makes more sense to me since it would provide a visual cue and also match the light dimmer (which is not illuminated and sits right beside it). The various Factory EV button install guides have the EV button always illuminated, which like it might not be OEM behavior, IMO.

Oh, one more thing for Evan. The removal of the bottom plastic piece of steering wheel column can be done in a slightly better way, I think. I was afraid using a screwdriver to pry the two pieces apart would leave marks (and they did make some minor ones, unfortunately). I think the reason the two are stuck together is because of plastic latches that is part of the design. I think you can unlatch them by pressing on the bottom steering column piece behind the turn signal and windshield wiper levers and then tugging on the bottom steering column piece to pull it apart.

 

Go back and read Rick's factory EV button install procedure as it explicitly discusses how to wire the EV button in order to activate its illumination feature. Give it a read and see if that doesn't help. It's an excellent read and I plan to follow both Rick's and Evan's procedures to install the EV button (that I already have) just as soon as I take ownership of my vehicle.

Peace!

 

Peace ... I understand. It goes and stays on along with all the other console lights, right? Bear with me as I'm looking forward to installing the button and I don't even have the car yet!

It would seem logical that an indicator in the dash would activate when EV mode is invoked and I agree that feedback from an OCONUS owner would answer the question.

Sorry for speaking out of turn!

Peace!

 

Thanks for the info. A dash indicator would be nice. I did a quick check to see if it exists but is merely inactive on my Prius and apparently the US(NA?) Prius doesn't even have the indicator. [sigh] I'd like the factory indicator, but importing a dash indicator panel is a bit more trouble and money than I'm willing to put forth.

BTW, the pins from www.toyotapart.com may be relatively inexpensive, but base shipping starts somewhere over $20! I asked a local dealer to order a couple more for me... finishing my EVb mod will have to wait.

 

Well, I did my install today and all went well. I took my time (about 2 hrs) in the warm Vancouver sun and took everything apart and followed instructions by Evan and Rick.

A few thoughts:

It was pretty easy to detach the vent on the passenger side after taking the glovebox out, but the driver's side was pretty difficult - I didn't want to mess up the plastic by prying around the seams. I finally reached around underneath by the parking-brake pedal and pushed the bottommost yellow clip off with a finger from behind. Popped right out after that (have a look for the yellow clip on the passenger one when you have it off - the clips are on the edge towards the center of the dash.

I took the lower plastic panel off of the steering column to get better access while removing the pin from the flasher assembly and while feeding the EV wire - needed to unscrew the two phillips screws holding the tilt-adjust handle on, then removed the handle. It is very easy to detach the lower half of the steering column cover by reaching up from underneath (where the tilt handle is) and pulling downwards.

I was skeptical, but using a flat kitchen knife is really the best way to remove the button cover and the dimmer assembly

I also used the t-taps and tapped onto the grey for the power, and the white-black for a ground for both the EV and the light on the button.

Feeding the EV wire with a coathanger was MUCH easier than I thought it would be. With lots of sunlight, it only took a minute or two to thread the coathanger through and pull the wire back.

Getting the plug out of the ECU module wasn't too hard - the terminal locking strip only raises up a few millimeters, so don't try and get it any higher than that. The pin IS difficult to install (likely because it's the wrong size pin). I used some needlenose pliers to grip it from the sides and slide it down, rather than pushing from the back. Seemed to work well - then a final push with a small screwdriver to seat it in position.

Worked out OK - I've had EV mode going, but also getting the 3-beep "exit" indicator when trying to enter EV mode too. I've been reading up a bit and perhaps it's because it's really bloody hot today and the engine (or battery?) is too warm to engage the mode (may also be because I was using the A/C). It powers on in EV fine in the parking garage where it's a bit cooler after being off for 10 min or so.

More experimenting tonight/tomorrow

Dave

 

Removing various pop-out pieces of plastic is a lot easier with plastic spreaders. They are softer than the interior plastic pieces so they will protect them and allow you to wedge into cracks and pry with a bit of leverage. Just apply nice slow controlled pressure and you'll have no worries about marring the plastic interior. To see what I'm talking about... Thanks to Tom for clueing me into them.

Just the picture of the the kitchen knife prying out the button cover made me queasy... I found I could just reach around and push it out from behind (after pulling the bottom dash piece out).

Did you go from driver side to passenger side with the coat hanger? Maybe that's where I went wrong. I went from passenger to driver's side and had a bit of a problem finding the end of it. I ended up taking apart a bit of the dash around the steering wheel to see more of what's going on.

I envy those with a factory EVb... right now my installation involves a very ghetto wire sticking out of the button cover hole... Hopefully, I'll get my hands on some pins tomorrow and join the ranks of the factory EVb Prius owners.

 

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I tried pushing that button cover out, but since I didn't take the bottom of the console off, it wasn't going to happen. The knife (as long as it's thin) actually works quite well by compressing the little catch enough for it to pop out easily.

I went from the passenger side through to the driver side. I fed the coathanger (end folded into a loop, covered with tape to prevent snagging) just above the large bolt. I went across just over the big black screw shown in Evan's Picture and the wire came out near the back of the steering column (easy to see with the bottom panel of the steering column removed).

Dave

 

I installed a factory EV swith this past weekend. I used both the acticles posted on this site. What a great resource! Thanks to all who have contributed. I bought my switch from Japanparts.com. I deviated slightly from the recommeded install in that I soldered directly to the pins on the EV switch. I put heat shrink over each soldered connection. I took power from the dimmer swtih as recommended. The RadioShack telephone taps worked great! My install is not easily reversable, but I don't plan on taking it out.
Nate

 

Hmm... Is it only possible to switch to EV mode on startup? I have no problems getting the car into EV when I start it up, but when I'm driving it doesn't seem to switch.

Press the EV button once, silence, press it again, 3-beeps, press again silence, press again 3-beeps and so on.

Is that normal?

Dave

 

I know this is an old thread, it didn't seem like many people were installing the OEM switch. I just installed the EV Switch in my 2008 without too much difficulty. Acquired the part from Sigma Auto. All I needed to do was trim 1 connector for pin 27 and add wire to run from passenger side to driver side and get wire taps. Everything else was supplied.
The only stupid thing I did was have the car on in accessory mode (listening to the radio) While I unplugged the connector from the block fitted the pin and reinserted. A couple of drives and it appears to be fine.
EV mode works and I like the OEM look of the switch. Hopefully it will light up when dark outside. It seems most people are using the Coastal option (I actually put one my brother in law's 2006). I used this option since my 2008 was a base with no CC. Thanks to all the posts on PC about these switches. It makes it much easier to attempt.
Chris