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Battery (12V) advice please


rf4c
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Hi all and best wishes.

I own a late 2009 Prius T-Spirit 1.8L.  Great car, but not a great owner!!

I have serious health issues, that often cause me to be housebound for several weeks, and in some cases months!

As a result, flat batteries are common for me. I have a jump starter which works well, but as my health issue involves bad breathing, I'm often unable to go through the process of opening the bonnet, making the connections, back to the cabin to start it and back under the bonnet to clear up. By the time I do all that I'm too knackered to go anywhere!!! (Once it even landed me in hospital!)

I'd like to be able to get into the car and fire it up from there.

I can think of two solutions, but don't know if either, any or both would work and hoping someone here with some tech specialty would advise.

Solution 1 : Get a jump starter that would start the car through the accessory plug (Used to be a cig lighter socket) in the bin between the seats

Solution 2: Get a Toyota Electrical guy to wire a connection from the red positive post in the fuse box and an earth to the inside of the car, maybe in the glovebox

so that I can jump start from the inside of the car.

Anything you can advise would be very welcome.

Many thanks in advance, and kind wishes!

Jim

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Hi,

That's an interesting dilemma you have.

Your 'Solution 1' has some hurdles.  The cig./accessory socket is only 'live' in your Prius (some other brands of car are different) when the ignition has turned on, which is just what you can't get to happen in the first place.  Also, the initial current flow when you attach the booster would probably overwhelm the wiring to the socket, which is probably rated at 10 Amps/120 Watts - the wires feeding the accessory socket are surprisingly thin!

'Solution 2' looks entirely workable, and the 12V attachment could come directly from the 12V battery in the boot if that proved to be easier.  The cable run would be longer, but the access to install the cable and cable route itself would be more straightforward, I would think.  The most critical part would be making the connection points to your Battery booster foolproof (no disrespect meant here!), and safe. So installing with the correct thickness of cable, fuse and connection point is important!

As an alternative installer, perhaps a company that fits towbars would be interested in taking this on at reasonable rates?  The skills needed would be similar, and their hourly costs may be cheaper.  Also they are well versed in designing 'one off'' electrical installations.  It might help them grasp the problem if they understood that the 12V Battery only powers the computer and contactor in a Prius -  they probably haven't worked specifically on one of these, as they never have towbars fitted.  There would be no need to involve or go near the 'hybrid-unique' electrical bits.

I'm sure someone else has ideas on this...... 

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....enlarging on this a bit more, tow bar fitters, a caravan electrics specialist, or even a boat electrics specialist might be of help here.  

I'm sure you've already thought ahead as to where the ideal position is for you to have the connection, and if/where you are happy having holes drilled in the trim to achieve this.

If you were looking for the installation to be neat then more work is required, but do you care about that?  If you are not concerned and you don't often carry passengers, then making up a loose connection and pair of cables that simply lays in the passenger footwell  should be quite easy - perhaps velcroed to the side of transmission tunnel when not in use?

If your Battery booster is only ever used to start the Prius, then the booster's own leads could be permanently incorporated into the end of the new wiring that has been fitted to the car (I'm saying this without knowing what your booster looks like, of course).  This would give you some 'mis-polarity' and accidental short-circuit protection.  A high-current switch (a routinely used item in caravan Battery wiring?) could be incorporated near the end of the cable for extra safety and ease of disconnection once the car has started.

The cost and speed of installation of the above is proportional do your desire to make it neat and largely invisible.  In its simplest form, this could be about running a single, decent, cable from the Battery in the boot, and another short one attached to the interior metalwork in the front passenger area (as you suggest).  Then making it all safe!  No specialist Toyota hybrid skills or knowledge needed for this.  And no need to dive into, or through, the mass of dashboard wiring.

There is probably a more elegant solution, anyone?

HTH

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Just a thought - and I'm not 100% sure this would work, but a few years ago I was planning to install a Dashcam and wanted a 12V socket that was permanently live.

My dealer fitted one in the dash for about £80.  I wonder if that would have worked with a jump starter that works through the lighter socket?

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Hi friends,

Many many thanks to you both. This is pure gold for me!

The biggest relief is that there are options outside of the hybrid specialties!

Every time I've needed anything more involved than a tyre fitted, the "HYBRID CARD" is played and the bill goes through the roof!

I think I can see a clear route to my solution now.

Do I take it that I must insist that this new wiring is routed through the fusebox, and they will know to do this?

Many many thanks again for giving me your time and knowledge. I'm deeply grateful!

very kind wishes

 

Jim

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Hi,

As metioned by @Gerg using  an accessory socket /cig lighter for a jump starter is a real No No !

Just look at the thickness of the cables on a jump starter, they have to cope with hunderes of amps, so if you did have a socket fitted it would have to be very big to cope with the power though it.

You would need a special socket fitted to say somewhere  as near as possible to the Battery, eg near the front grill  ?

Do you have a garage or driveway where you can connect mains electricty to the car ?

If so , then  a Battery charger could be hard wired to the battery  might be an alternative method. That would give the Battery a safe maintenance charge automatically, so be ready to drive away, just needing to unplug the chargers mains plug.

A lot of folk recoommend the CTek type of chargers, but it very much depends on the electrics of your car, so probably best to let Toyota supply and fit a suitable one, if its a modification they approve of ?


 

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1 hour ago, oldcodger said:

Hi,

Do you have a garage or driveway where you can connect mains electricty to the car ?

If so , then  a battery charger could be hard wired to the battery  might be an alternative method. That would give the battery a safe maintenance charge automatically, so be ready to drive away, just needing to unplug the chargers mains plug.

A lot of folk recoommend the CTek type of chargers, but it very much depends on the electrics of your car, so probably best to let Toyota supply and fit a suitable one, if its a modification they approve of ?
 

I very much support oldcodger's suggestion, but depends on you having a driveway, and being able to plug a charger in without tripping up passers by.

I use CTEK chargers (5 amp version).  They come with crocodile clips plus an eyelets connection option, enabling you to make a more permanent connection into the power supply/battery.

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Hi again!

That's another interesting option.

I do have a driveway and park just a few metres from the house, so it's something I'll think about alongside the other options.

I'd probably have the cable buried, as I've a postman who uses that area as a shortcut and never watches where he's going!!!

Thanks again friends, these ideas have the solution among them and will change my life for the better.

You've all done  more than you know by your suggestions!

Very sincere kindest wishes

 

Jim

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  • 4 weeks later...

There are solar panel chargers available from Halfords which can be connected direct to your Battery. I am assured by my Toyota dealer that it will work and Toyota sell them but they are £63 as against £25 or less from Halfords both plus fitting if required. They are fairly small and easily fit on the dash board.

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