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Prius 4 120V outlet

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by Victorio Mo, Sep 24, 2021.

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  1. Victorio Mo

    Victorio Mo Member

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    I just found out that there is 120V outlet in my Prius, is there any lighter to US plug adapter for this model, tried to find and could not, anybody has experience using it?

    I'm trying ot use my 120V laptop power brick with it.

    Thanks
    M
     
  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Could you have misread a label that says 120W, not 120V?

    The "lighter" outlet is 12V, 10A, which equals 120 Watts, not Volts.
     
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  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Are you talking about your 2008 PRIUS - the Gen 4 (which is where this post is) hasn't got one - at least here.
     
  4. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    What you need is an inverter that plugs into your 12V DC and gives you 120V AC.
     
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  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I think you mean this: (from a Gen 2 manual. If you actually have a Gen 4, the location is different.)
    Screen Shot 2021-09-24 at 7.49.14 AM.png

    There is no 120V outlet in any Prius, although I've read that in Japan, at least some models of the Prime have a 100V outlet.

    As @fuzzy1 and the owners manual both indicate, those outlets are 12V, not 120V and are limited to 10A. Just get an inverter as mentioned by @FuelMiser and you'll be good to go as long as you stay within the power limits described in the manual.

    PS. There's an error in the manual. Notice that is says the car must be in ACC or IG-On to use the outlets. They also work in READY mode as one would expect and, in fact, that's the only way to use them if you want to be sure to not drain your 12V battery.
     
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  6. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Contact a computer store or three and see if you can get a compatible 12 V "brick" to use when in the car.
    Or contact your computer maker directly.......if that is even possible.

    As was explained above, if your laptop requires more that 120 watts to run, you might be out of luck.
     
  7. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    I've used a 100W inverter in my cars to power a laptop via it's 120VAC power brick so it can be done. As others have said, a somewhat better option is to use a 12VDC computer power supply if you can get one. A third, and even better option if your laptop can be powered via a USBc cable (many newer ones can use USBc power), would be to buy a high power USBc power supply Like this one at Amazon:

    120W USB C Car Fast Charger - Dual Ports PPS PD 100W Type C Super Fast Charging + QC3.0 20W Cigarette Lighter USB Adapter for Laptop Tablet MacBook iPad iPhone Android Switch Pixel
    Price: $35.99 & FREE Returns

    that plugs into the 12VDC auxiliary power plug (AKA "Cigarette Lighter") and use a USBc cable to power your laptop.

    JeffD
     
    #7 jdenenberg, Sep 24, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2021
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you could put an outlet on this:
    ref=sr_1_17_sspa
     
  9. Victorio Mo

    Victorio Mo Member

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    Thanks all guys,
    it's not about 12V /inverters, in my 2016 Touing Prius I have 1 outlet (cigarrete lighter Female type) marked 120V AC (Volt) and it's factory made.

    So look like you just need that type of male, I will snap a photo to show exactly how it looks like. I will try to do Y split on my power brick. .

    Tx
     
    #9 Victorio Mo, Sep 24, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2021
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  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Yes, please snap a photo.

    That sounds like it would violate more or less every electrical safety code imaginable .... :cautious:
     
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  11. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Never heard of a cigarette lighter 120V AC (Volt) outlet in any cars. Our Pathfinder has 120v outlets but it is a regular NEMA 5-15R receptacle. If you have a multimeter it would be easy to test if it is really supplying 120V AC or not.

    The photo below is from our Pathfinder. The right two panels are regular cigarette lighter plug 12V open and closed. The left panes show the special 120v AC outlet on the center console with NEMA 5-15R.
    upload_2021-9-24_13-46-58.png
     
  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Well don't poke your finger in there. It may kill you. And for sure don't let a kid do that. I'm 99.999999999999999999999+% sure that you misread it and it is 12V. No car ever came with 120V "cigarette lighter" style outlet. What a humongous safety hazard. NHSTA would never allow it.
     
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  13. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Nope. Not possible.
    Unless a previous owner screwed with it.
    That type of outlet NEVER is used to supply 120VAC.
    NEVER.

    You have a misunderstanding somewhere.
    Maybe there is an actual 120V outlet above or below that label.......which is fed by a built-in 12 V inverter.
     
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Yes, please show us some photos. Built-in 120VAC is an option that very many of us have long wanted, since well before 2016, but just haven't seen on any North American Prius. So far, we are aware of only 100VAC on some Japan Domestic Market units.
     
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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds more like a cigar lighter
     
  16. Victorio Mo

    Victorio Mo Member

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    Thansk Salamader and sorry to all, I made a mistake, it's 120W not volts, so it's 12V line, it was too dark when I looked at it.
    Case closed.)
     
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  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Thanks for the follow-up. (y)
     
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  18. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Yes, thanks very much for the followup. Too many things like this end in silence as the OP disappears, so that we don't know if we produced a correct answer, or if there were certain other cases that none of us knew or remembered.