rear lighter socket (1 Viewer)

[brett0004]

Hi everyone, here goes my first post, I have a 2001 turbo diesel cruiser and the lighter plug in the cargo area works only on acc, is there a way to get it powered up all the time or is it easier to run a new circuit from the batterys, cheers from Australia, Brett

 

[100 TD]

Well you could pull the Acc relay and put a bridge in it's place, which I believe is on the back of the fuse panel located behind the left front kick panel, but of course this would make all accessories work all the time which you may not want, alternatively you could run a wire to the same relay and switch it on "when you want it" and turn it off later. The other way is to split the existing 2 batteries at the right hand battery and install a REDARC solenoid or similar between the existing wiring coming from the left hand battery and the alternator, and the positive terminal of the RH battery. This makes it a seperate auxillary battery. Then wire your 2 way radio, power outlets, fridge, GPS, shower pump, etc etc and whatever else off this battery and the main starting battery is protected from discharging. If you replace this RH battery with an optima yellow top D31A, you could also run your winch off it as well as all the other accessories and not worry your starting battery. You could also replace your starting battery (LH) with another optima exactly the same and swap them over (left to right) every 6 to 12 months to give them each a good work out. (They are suitable for starting as well) My 2 cents worth.

 

[siglo]

I'm sure there is a way to have the stock socket always on.. but I went with hard wiring an extra lighter plug to the second battery.. I've placed it inside the third row cup holder.. that way I can easily access it from the second row if I needed to charge my mobile phone, gps, etc.. I can snap a few pictures for you if you are interested..

 

[Landpimp]

best way is to run a seperate circut from the battery. Which I will do someday

But, I wasnt ready yet(and not really in the mood) when I added an ARB fridge to the rear of my 100, so I tapped into the rear dome light, ran a wire from it to the rear socket for constant power. the dome light is a 10amp circut, the fridge will draw less than 1/2 of that.

so far so good.

I looked for other constat power in the rear, only thing I could find was the dome light. I didn't have to pull the headlinner, just the rear and the dome light, snaked the wire

I figured the trailer wiriing harness would have constant power someplace, but I couldn't find it

 

[DMX84]

Four wire flat trailer wiring won’t have a hot wire.
I ran a heavy gauge wire from the battery to my amp (mounted in the old sub woofer location), & installed a distribution block next to the amp. I put a heavy fuse close to the battery to protect the D-block (IIRC, it was just under sized for the wire because the amp is currently the biggest draw).
I then ran a smaller branch wire off the block using a self-resetting circuit breaker to my trailer plug (7way) for constant power.
I’m thinking of eventually tapping another line form the D-block with another self-resetting CB and going to the 12v outlet in the back.
I like the self-resetting CB’s because they can be mounted in a location that is inaccessible (like my distribution block, virtually inaccessible without removing the rear inner quarter panel).
Just remember, you need a fuse or SRCB close to the power source, otherwise you can burn down you car if the wire gets nicked/cut.
Hope this helps.
DMX

 

[e9999]

interestingly, I did the opposite: I took advantage of the fact that the rear plug is off with key off to control a relay that disconnect the battery charging lead on my 7 pin trailer plug system, which is seriously flawed from factory (see FAQ)...

 

[DMX84]

I like your idea!
Is your 7 pin factory?
My understanding is that the 4 wire flat converter is mounted in a bad location (mine was corroded & non-functioning).
Am I missing something else?
DMX

 

[e9999]

yes, the 03 comes with a 7pin harness factory, but seriously f@cked up...

 

[brett0004]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I think Ill go the seperate hd cable to the battery and split the two batterys with a Pirana regulator or similar, cheers Brett

 

[mthomp6]

Brett -

Nice truck! It would be nice to have the choice of a turbo diesel in N. America.

I added a plug with constant 12v running from a 2nd battery. The plug is from a marine supply house and is easy to install and looks clean. It has a cover to protect it when not in use.

My fridge lives in my truck, so this has been a very useful mod.

Here are a couple of pics -

 

[greynolds]

Brett -

Nice truck! It would be nice to have the choice of a turbo diesel in N. America.

I added a plug with constant 12v running from a 2nd battery. The plug is from a marine supply house and is easy to install and looks clean. It has a cover to protect it when not in use.

My fridge lives in my truck, so this has been a very useful mod.

Here are a couple of pics -

I had installed one of those same plugs in my Land Rover. They are pretty nice and pretty easy to install. What's the recommended wiring path from the battery to the rear of the vehicle? Along the chassis and then up through a grommit somewhere in the back? Is 8 gauge wire sufficient for that long a run? How much work is it to get access to the back of the panel and to get the wiring in there?

I'm either going to be jumping the relay that controls the accessory outlets or installing another power outlet in the rear that's wired directly to the battery. Jumping the relay would be nice and easy, but it's kind of nice to have some of the outlets switched with the ignition key. It would be nice to have the following:

1) Front cigarette lighter plug - always on.
2) Front accessory power plug - switched by the ignition.
3) Center console accessory plug - not sure which way I'd prefer this one, probably switched.
4) Rear accessory power plug - always on.

This would allow for a mix of things that always need power and things that should only be powered when the vehicle is running. The ideal would be the ability to pick and choose which outlets are switched and which are always on, but that would be a lot of re-wiring.