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12 volt outlet in center console box is dead.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by [email protected], Jun 4, 2018.

  1. BurkPhoto@aol.com

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    2010 Prius IV... 12-volt outlet in the box between the seats is dead, but the USB port beside it supplies power to my phone. The other 12-volt outlet, under the shifter next to the seat heater switches, works fine. How to trace?


    iPhone ?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you look to see if there is a separate fuse?
     
  3. BurkPhoto@aol.com

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    I will, but have read the manual and got the distinct impression there is just one.


    iPhone ?
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would expect the console wires to run under the tray below the flying bridge, but don't know for sure.
     
  5. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

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    You will want to look at the Left Side Instrument Panel Fuse box -- #3 is the power outlets

    Just to be sure, also check #1 which is the cigarette / power outlets.

    I assume that whatever you are plugging into the outlet is a known good? Have you tried plugging in something different? Sometimes cigarette plugs can be finicky. Obviously, the best thing would be to use a volt meter.
     
  6. BurkPhoto@aol.com

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    I tested with a new USB power adapter that works in the outlet near the seat heater switches, but not in the console box. The adapter works in both outlets of my wife’s car and both in my son’s car, too.

    I’ll check those fuses again...


    iPhone ?
     
  7. BurkPhoto@aol.com

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    Okay, after pulling both fuses 1 and 3, checking them with my continuity tester, and finding them both to be good, I got a hunch something might be amiss with the socket itself. As you may know, in the 2010, the second power outlet is in the back BOTTOM of the center console, and covered with a spring-loaded cap. It is very hard to see in there, especially for those of us who've had cataract surgery and have fixed-focus lenses.

    Anyway, armed with a very bright flashlight, reading glasses, a swiss army knife, an antique porcelain foot (okay, NOT), and a vacuum cleaner, I found the problem! The bottom of the power outlet contained a Tylenol tablet, underneath a penny! Vacuuming out the socket to remove the pill and penny cured the problem.

    How the heck a pill and a penny got in there, with that tight-fitting spring-loaded cap, I'll never know! (I bought this car used a couple of weeks ago.)

    Slightly off-topic rant:

    Why Toyota thought that area was a good place to put the 12-Volt and USB and Aux Audio ports is the REAL mystery. Brainless... especially so because of the flip-up tray that covers the back of the compartment (and doesn't hold ANYTHING without letting it fall into the lower compartment when the tray is raised). I've driven Toyotas since 1977, and this is the most egregious interior design idiocy I've seen. The Aux Audio and USB jack belong on the dash in the area under the shifter, and the second power outlet needs to be accessible from the back seat.

    After ten years of driving two 2009s, driving this very gently-used 2010 seems functionally awkward. There's half the front cabin storage of the 2009. There's no logical reason for the continuous center console, as proven by later designs such as the 2015 Prius v my wife drives.
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Huh, I'm thinking similarly, considering the transition from 3rd to 4th gen. Maybe interior design is moving backwards?
     
  9. Johnny Cakes

    Johnny Cakes Senior Member

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    That makes perfect sense. Since copper conducts, without the Tylenol tablet there'd be a short.

    Probably the idea was to have a concealed place for the your external media to connect so that you can come and go without it being exposed to thieves. Likewise, you can have stuff get a 12v charge while you drive and don't need to worry about hiding it when you get out. Not saying that your suggestion doesn't make more sense, but there may have been some logic behind the design.

    As for the tray, I couldn't agree more and tossed it on Day One with the car.
     
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    The tray is for the cell phone? Some fit, the latest iPhones woudn't, for sure.
     
  11. BurkPhoto@aol.com

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    Yeah, my 7 Plus is a couple inches too long. In 2010, the 4s would have fit. Why they hinged the tray is beyond me.


    — Bill Burkholder
     
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  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i put a trader joe's plastic licorice box where the tray is. fits perfectly on the rails and 4" deep. much handier.
     
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