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Does the 12v port turn off?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by MrMischief, Dec 21, 2016.

  1. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    My wife wants a 12v heated blanket for the Prius, something about -20F (-28C) and the heater not working well enough/fast enough. I told her to get a better coat and some gloves but.... that didn't go over well. Does anyone have something like this? how well does it work? How many amps does the 12v socket put out? Is there another option besides my wife's idea of selling the Prius and buying a Lincoln with heated seats (she's thinking we need a Continental to replace the Prius already).
     
  2. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Yes, it is only active when it is POWERed ON. Typical TOYOTA - my Dad's old CAMRY did the same, and if I was in it with my GPS with a dead battery, it would turn it OFF if we stopped briefly - the PRIUS was the same.

    I've seen 12V blankets for camping.
     
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What's your situation: is the car in a garage? Would you be able to use the block heater? Maybe a 120 volt cabin heater could be wired too, on a timer. There's a thread here discussing that, a member from Finland was using a cabin heater?
     
  4. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    The manual says it outputs 10 Amps so 120 watts would be absolute maximum. 100 watts would be safer.
     
    #4 Prodigyplace, Dec 21, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2016
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  5. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    Just nagging: The Prius 12 volt battery is so small, you only want to use an electric blanket in Ready.

    (I think the Prime has heated seats in the upper trim levels. Several of the aftermarket leather seat covers can do heated seats)
     
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  6. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    yep, it's living in a heated garage. Granted I have the heat set at about 45 when I'm not in there, but I really fail to see her issue. Does a block heater help any? I thought the heater on these was electric only?
     
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  7. MrMischief

    MrMischief Active Member

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    Yep but the wife will leave it plugged in I'm sure. Wanting to be sure the car will kill power to the 12 volt socket when I turn the car off. Hard to believe but I don't actually have any other 12v devices (like a phone charger) that I could plug in to test it.
     
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  8. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I do not have a Gen 4, but Gen 2 and 3 both turn off the 12 volt socket.
     
    #8 JimboPalmer, Dec 21, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2016
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  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    The Gen 4 turns off the socket on the top of the console. I am not sure about the socket on the back of the console for rear passengers.
    I bought one of these.
     
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Well a block heater will get the cabin up to comfortable temperature "sooner", ie: 4~5 blocks vs a mile or two. It'll raise coolant temp by about 25C (maybe 40F?). It doesn't deliver a warmed up car, but speeds up the warm-up process.

    The other item, an electrical cabin heater, is a little heater fan, something you might mount and wire in on the center console. I took a look, there's some recent discussion on it here, but couldn't find it so far. Maybe google "priuschat cabin heater" or similar.

    Both could be run on a timer, say a couple of hours before start up.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Dec 21, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2016
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  11. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    Yes. All circuits go dark when the car is turned off.
     
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  12. Ranko Kohime

    Ranko Kohime Member

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    The sockets are indeed switched with the ignition, so no worry about the battery dying.

    They are however, exceptionally low-rated (no "cigarette lighter" socket has been wired robustly from ANY manufacturer for 3 decades or more, but the Prius uses 20ga wire IIRC, which makes even the 120w rating dubious), so if you go down the route of a heated blanket/12v space heater, run a dedicated line from the battery, and switch it with a relay run from the center console wiring. The wiring for the center console can easily be accessed by removing the small piece in front under the lid, then pulling up the entire cup holder assembly.

    As for me? I run a regular 120v 1500w space heater, set in the driver footwell, with the cord run out through the door jam. On the lower, 600w setting, at 45F ambient (as I see your heated garage is at), setting a timer for an hour before departure should leave the cabin (and more specifically, the driver seat) toasty.
     
  13. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Except, I believe it works in ACCESSORY Mode too.
     
  14. Ranko Kohime

    Ranko Kohime Member

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    I guess I wasn't exactly clear on that. When I said ignition, I meant either of the modes, either Ready or Accessory.

    And of course, Accessory mode will run down the battery by itself. :D
     
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  15. Fester

    Fester Active Member

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    May not, my late 2017 Prius 2 will turn off the accessory mode after about 20 minutes...
     
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