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Aftermarket Inverter Draining 12V Battery While Off?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by alexymik, Jul 23, 2024 at 3:55 PM.

  1. alexymik

    alexymik New Member

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    Hello,

    I installed a 1000W Renogy AC inverter into my 2015 Prius Plug-In. It's connected directly to the 12V AGM battery in the trunk. I use it to power some electronics while parked in READY mode.

    I noticed that sometimes, despite the inverter being in the remote mode with the remote off, or fully "off", it seems to be intermittently draining my 12V battery. This happens while the car is parked while off and I step out for a few minutes or hours. It is no longer able to put the car into READY mode. I keep a jump pack in the car and have had to use it several times to start it fully. Sometimes it won't happen at all and everything is fine.

    Does anyone have any thoughts on if there's something wrong with the inverter or my install? I've been on a long road trip and haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I hope to install a low voltage disconnect switch but it seems very unusual for what should be a top-spec inverter.
     
    #1 alexymik, Jul 23, 2024 at 3:55 PM
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it sounds like you need to test the draw on the 12v withe the inverter connected vs disconnected.
    could be defective
     
    #2 bisco, Jul 23, 2024 at 9:34 PM
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I had an inverter once that could be turned ON or OFF, and it was designed so when ON it would display volts and amps on its LED display, and when OFF it would chase the LED segments around in a circle. :mad: I had to put a relay in front of it.

    The inverter I have now, I researched much more carefully to make sure the ding-binged thing is OFF when it's off.
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Jul 23, 2024 at 11:33 PM
  4. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    You have it connected right to the battery. So it's always on, drawing power.
    You should connect it to so it only gets power when the car is in the "ready" mode.


     
    #4 ASRDogman, Jul 24, 2024 at 6:44 AM
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2024 at 1:08 PM
  5. alexymik

    alexymik New Member

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    The inverter has a switch for 3 modes: On, Remote and Off. My issue is that it seems to be draining the 12V battery with the Remote in "Off" and in the "Off" mode.
     
    #5 alexymik, Jul 24, 2024 at 1:04 PM
  6. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    See post #4...

     
    #6 ASRDogman, Jul 24, 2024 at 1:08 PM
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Or use an inverter that has its own on/off control and truly turns off when it's off. Comparison shopping plays a role: there are some inverters that really turn off when they're off, and there are some that do dumb things using power when they're "off".

    The inverter I'm using now has an RJ-11 (modular-telephone style) jack on its front panel, meant for a remote status LED and on/off button, which can be made to depend on whether the car is READY. I took advantage of that feature. That way, the inverter's main thick power cables can just be left directly connected all the time; trying to interrupt those with a bulky high-current relay would be more hassle and expense.

    [​IMG]
     
    #7 ChapmanF, Jul 24, 2024 at 1:10 PM
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