In-cab 110 AC outlets

Pb · Jul 10, 2005

I finally got the time to add a 750 watt inverter and plugs to my double cab. I'm not sure why the car makers don't do this. I just took the inverter apart, and extended all the wires for the plugs and switch. I connected the inverter to constant power so that you can have 110 AC power whenever you want and not have to have the key in the ignition (like you do with the stock inverter in the bed). I installed the on/off switch to control the power to the inverter. I also installed the green LED which lights up when the power is on, and a red LED tells when the inverter is being overloaded or malfunctioning. Everything works perfect and looks better than I expected.

Under that bracket is the stock inverter if you have the 110 AC bed outlet option.

Circuit breaker and 8 guage power wire running back to the inverter. The thing to the right of the circuit breaker is the siren for my CompuStar alarm.

Inverter under the driver side seat. Also notice the little heating ducts to keep the rear passengers feet warm. I didn't know those were there until I took out the seat.

I put the plug on the left hand side because the trucks' airbag controller is on the right hand side, behind a panel.

I also added a 12volt "cigarette lighter outlet" which is on constant power, so you can charge up your cell phone even when the ignition is off, unlike the stock outlets.

cam2Xrunner · Jul 10, 2005

Nice!!!

SilverStreak05 · Jul 10, 2005

Nice work! How hard was it to get the center console out?

AfterShock · Jul 10, 2005

awesome job dude, looks great!

SD90 · Jul 10, 2005

Nice work, I think they should be standard too! It wouldn't be that hard to do from the factory.

montybones · Jul 11, 2005

SD90 said:
Nice work, I think they should be standard too! It wouldn't be that hard to do from the factory.

Its a $110 dollar option on the 4runner.....it would be real easy to do on Tacoma , thanks Toyota

Pb · Jul 11, 2005

SilverStreak05 said:
Nice work! How hard was it to get the center console out?

Just pull up on the silvery plastic piece/cupholder that surrounds the shifter. There are 2 screws to unscrew around the shifter. Then there are 2 bolts under the felt padding inside the center console/arm rest. Then just pull the whole console up and backwards toward the rear window of the truck. Most of the plastic pieces on this truck are held on by clips that release when you pull on 'em. It's easy.

WildSun · Jul 11, 2005

Very nice install. . .

Pb · Jul 12, 2005

WildSun said:
Very nice install. . .

Thanks. Now my next project is installing the dash kit and head unit. I think I might take the dash kit to body shop to get it painted as close to the stock color as possible.

Gadget@URD · Sep 10, 2005

Where can I get one of those 120v plugs you used?

Gadget

Pb · Sep 10, 2005

The plugs came out of the inverter. Basically all I did was take the 2 plugs out of the inverter case and extend the wires.

Pb · Sep 15, 2005

Anybody know how to do this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005...WER-OUTLET-Always-ON-MOD_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQitemZ4575446162QQrdZ1

I'll figure it out myself. I sure won't pay for it. People will sell anything these days. If this auction actually gets bids then that means that our DIY thread would be worth a fortune!

:disappoin

Lotust25 · Sep 17, 2005

Pb2theMax said:
Anybody know how to do this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-Tacoma-AC-POWER-OUTLET-Always-ON-MOD_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQitemZ4575446162QQrdZ1

I'll figure it out myself. I sure won't pay for it. People will sell anything these days. If this auction actually gets bids then that means that our DIY thread would be worth a fortune!

:disappoin

this is free. This ass should be banned from Ebay.

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10988

Pb · Sep 17, 2005

Oh, yeah, that is the same mod that we have posted in the DIY thread. For some reason I was thinking that he was showing how to make the 110 AC outlet in the bed able to be turned on whenever you want, instead of having to turn the key on. Hey, another idea. I bet that the mod would be similar, just a different relay. I'll have to look into that. Anybody know how to turn the outlet in the bed on whenever you want?

And sadly enough, I don't think that what he is doing is illegal on Ebay. You can sell information.

Lotust25 · Sep 17, 2005

Pb2theMax said:
Oh, yeah, that is the same mod that we have posted in the DIY thread. For some reason I was thinking that he was showing how to make the 110 AC outlet in the bed able to be turned on whenever you want, instead of having to turn the key on. Hey, another idea. I bet that the mod would be similar, just a different relay. I'll have to look into that. Anybody know how to turn the outlet in the bed on whenever you want?

And sadly enough, I don't think that what he is doing is illegal on Ebay. You can sell information.

yeah but its not his to sell right? Im not sure on this. :ugh3:

mofrogeek · Dec 6, 2005

power inverter...

Hey, Great Mod. Got a Mod-on just thinking about it. Anyways.....

Where did you install the circuit breaker? Is it installed under the hood? What wire is the powersource that you spliced the circuit breaker into.

Thanks

KLowe (who has his entire center console and dash in peices in the back seat trying to figure this mod out)

clfx34 · Dec 6, 2005

Gibson eshaust

WildSun said:
Very nice install. . .

How do you like your gibson exhaust?

Pb · Dec 7, 2005

mofrogeek said:
Hey, Great Mod. Got a Mod-on just thinking about it. Anyways.....

Where did you install the circuit breaker? Is it installed under the hood? What wire is the powersource that you spliced the circuit breaker into.

Thanks

KLowe (who has his entire center console and dash in peices in the back seat trying to figure this mod out)

I connected the 10 gauge power wire to the big terminal in the top left of the fuse box. It comes right off of the battery.

The circuit breaker is mounted in the engine compartment.

twistednightster · Jun 24, 2012

Pb said:
I connected the 10 gauge power wire to the big terminal in the top left of the fuse box. It comes right off of the battery.

The circuit breaker is mounted in the engine compartment.

What size circuit breaker are you using? I am going to install 400w inverter soon and looking into circuit breaker on the 12v side of it and all im needing at 80% of the load is a 20amp circuit breaker. Just curios to what size your using.

docindahouze · Jan 12, 2006

Doing the same thing

Hey man i really like yoursetup man and im gonna do the same thing in my taco i already got the same inverter as you did. I was thinking about getting different outlets from toyota i know my mom has an outlet in her 05 sienna sienna and it matches the interior better than the black ones that are on the inverter and im gonna order 12v power point, the same one that is in the bottom right hand corner of the dash. let me know what gauge wires you used going to the power outlets and the ground. Did you use a dremmel tool to cut out those wholes because thats what i usually use. Please post a reply or e-mail back at docindahouze@aol.com
Thanks
-DOC

timholtz · Jan 13, 2006

Pb2theMax said:
I connected the 10 gauge power wire to the big terminal in the top left of the fuse box. It comes right off of the battery.

The circuit breaker is mounted in the engine compartment.

Did you use 8 or 10 gauge wire? On the original post you said 8.

Pb · Jan 13, 2006

timholtz said:
Did you use 8 or 10 gauge wire? On the original post you said 8.

Sorry, I got my mods mixed together. I used 8 gauge for the in-cab inverter.

The 10 gauge was what I ran for my backup and bed light mod.

The guage wire you use depends on the size of your inverter. When powering an inverter think of it as a car stereo amplifier. You don't want to run too small of gauge.

Here's some info about how to tell what gauge wire to use for your application.
http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp

Pb · Jan 13, 2006

docindahouze said:
Hey man i really like yoursetup man and im gonna do the same thing in my taco i already got the same inverter as you did. I was thinking about getting different outlets from toyota i know my mom has an outlet in her 05 sienna sienna and it matches the interior better than the black ones that are on the inverter and im gonna order 12v power point, the same one that is in the bottom right hand corner of the dash. let me know what gauge wires you used going to the power outlets and the ground. Did you use a dremmel tool to cut out those wholes because thats what i usually use. Please post a reply or e-mail back at docindahouze@aol.com
Thanks
-DOC

Sounds like a good plan. I bet the Toyota parts dept will charge an arm & leg for those little parts though.

The ground wire should be as big as your power wire. I used cheap 8 gauge that I got at an electronics warehouse. I grounded it to a bracket bolt under the arm rest. The bracket that holds the stock inverter.

For the power outlet wires I used a soft cable that has three 12 gauge conductors in it (14 gauge would be fine too). Like what an extension cord is made of. Inside the inverter the hot and neutral wires are both black, so you have to pay attention to which wire is which. If you look at the outlet there are two slots and the ground. One slot is bigger than the other. The smaller slot is the "hot" side. The bigger slot is neutral.

For cutting the plastic I used a Dremmel tool, and various bits. To make the circular hole for the 12v cig outlet I used a "step-up" a.k.a. Uni-bit. It's one of those bits that makes the hole bigger the more you drill. Shaped like a pine tree.

docindahouze · Jan 28, 2006

One more question

Hey PB2 i got one more question for ya bubba. i got all the wires extended except for the led's lights. do i need any special kind of wire for that? it looks like one piece of wire kind of like some used a paperclip or something tell me what you used to extend that.
By the way im really impressed by all the mods you've done and you got a nice little working space i saw the picture on cardomain.
Thanks:clap:

Pb · Jan 28, 2006

docindahouze said:
Hey PB2 i got one more question for ya bubba. i got all the wires extended except for the led's lights. do i need any special kind of wire for that? it looks like one piece of wire kind of like some used a paperclip or something tell me what you used to extend that.
By the way im really impressed by all the mods you've done and you got a nice little working space i saw the picture on cardomain.
Thanks:clap:

The LEDs are hard-wired to the circuit board. They are connected by wires; it's just that they are short and aren't insulated. I just cut the wires in the middle, and then got some small wire, like 18 or 20 gauge, and soldered the wires in between to extend it. Since the wires are close together I used heat shrink to insulate them after I soldered the wires on. It takes a steady hand and some precision soldering to get it done cleanly. Be sure to insulate any bare wires or connections. Heat shrink is the best, but I guess electrical tape would work.

Once you have the wires extended turn the inverter on, and both LEDs should come on. The red LED should only come on for a second. If the LEDs don't come on, then that probably means that you have the LED wires mixed around. Unsolder the wires and switch them. Having the polarity switched won't hurt the LEDs, but it will keep them from lighting up.

docindahouze · Feb 8, 2006

Hey Pb hows it goin man, just wanna say thanks for all you help i finished my inverter setup about a week ago workin fine i used heat shrink tubing all the way, im pretty new to using heat shrink tubing it pretty cool i used my moms heair dryer and yeah it took me a while to do but it turned out well, by the way what is the proper name for the heat shrink tubing gun i have been looking for it in stores but cant find one.
Thanks

Sony · Feb 8, 2006

docindahouze said:
Hey Pb hows it goin man, just wanna say thanks for all you help i finished my inverter setup about a week ago workin fine i used heat shrink tubing all the way, im pretty new to using heat shrink tubing it pretty cool i used my moms heair dryer and yeah it took me a while to do but it turned out well, by the way what is the proper name for the heat shrink tubing gun i have been looking for it in stores but cant find one.
Thanks

It's just called a "Heat Gun" any Home Depot should have one.

In-cab 110 AC outlets

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