Electrical Wiring Problem

[hulk311]

Ok, so my 12 volt outlet stopped working in my 4Runner. I put in a new 15amp fuse but that didn't fix it. I bought a new 12 volt outlet and took the old one out, also didn't work.

So I bought another 12v outlet, this one with long power and ground wires. I installed the ground wire to a bolt in the truck. I then hooked up the power cable to an old power cable.

Let me explain, I installed aftermarket fog lights a while back and they have now stopped working. I don't plan on fixing them (long story) so I taped the power wire from the new 12v outlet to the existing power cable that was used to power the fog lights. I should mention that the power cable from the 12v outlet has an inline 15 amp fuse (just like the stock one did).

Now, here is my issue:


1) My Iphone says its connected, (the icon changes) but it does not charge.
2) When I plug in the GPS, the green light goes on the charger that plugs into the 12 v outlet however the GPS does not charge.
3) When I plug in my seat cushion that has heat in it the light again goes on the charger that plugs into the 12v outlet however the seat cushion does not work.

All three devices work just fine in my wife's car.

Does anyone know what is going on??

The only thing I can think of is that I have two fuses and somehow they are blocking the power? I know the new 12v outlet power cable is 15 amps, but I am unsure how many amps the fog lights fuse is. I have about four power wires hooked up to the battery so it would be kind of hard to see which one is for the foglights.

If the fog light fuse is bigger than 15amps, would that cause the 12v outlet not to work correctly? Should I just take the 15a fuse from the 12v outlet? What would happen if the 12v outlet would run on a power cable with say a 30amp fuse?

Sorry for this long post but not having a 12v outlet is killing me and I've tried so many different fixes!

 

[hulk311]

So basically all of my devices show that they are plugged in, but they do not charge, any ideas how to fix this?

 

[stevec5000]

So basically all of my devices show that they are plugged in, but they do not charge, any ideas how to fix this?

It sounds like you have a loose or corroded connection somewhere that allows you to get some voltage but not enough to run anything. You should be able to track down the problem with a voltmeter.

 

[4D7]

Test your battery with a volt meter, make sure it is floating above 12.3v (should always be near this when the vehicle is off) if it is nearing 11.Xv then you have something drawing power (maybe your taped up 12v wire is touching ground someplace (could be pinched somewhere?)

As far as fuses go..

Fuses are not resistors, they do not reduce voltage. A fuse simply cancels a circuit when that circuit pulls more AMPS then what the fuse is rated for.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Clean Up The Wiring

Ok, so my 12 volt outlet stopped working in my 4Runner. I put in a new 15amp fuse but that didn't fix it. I bought a new 12 volt outlet and took the old one out, also didn't work. So I bought another 12v outlet...

Let me explain, I installed aftermarket fog lights a while back and they have now stopped working. I don't plan on fixing them (long story) so I tapped the power wire from the new 12v outlet to the existing power cable that was used to power the fog lights.

First things first, do you have a voltmeter? Someone mentioned high resistance in the circuit. That's a possibility especially with messy wiring.

Try this:
Measure voltage at wires right where they go into the outlet.
Getting greater than 12 Volts?
Plug in the equipment that takes the most power into outlet.
Measure voltage again.
Did voltage drop significantly? If it did there must be high resistance somewhere in the circuit. Your personal electronics get enough voltage to make it think it indicate it is getting power but not enough power to charge its battery.

Could power cable that was powering your fog lights be defective, that's why they stopped working? Now you're tapping off a defective circuit for your 12V outlet.

I installed the ground wire to a bolt in the truck. I then hooked up the power cable to an old power cable.

Are you sure that the grounding bolt is making good contact with the chassis, and the bolt the terminal lug of your outlet's cable? Better, yet, sand the paint off the frame so terminal lug contacts the frame directly (like here).

Does anyone know what is going on? ... it would be kind of hard to see which one is for the foglights.

Choices are break out the schematic and find out which wire powers which, or pay stealer to do it for you

If you keep on tapping off questionable stuff, you will have worse problems later. Why not clean up your wiring, start fresh, remove all wires associated with those defective aftermarket fog light, then decide:

1. Break out the schematic and trace/troubleshoot the stock outlet (It's probably your wiring not the outlet itself that's bad.) No easy way around that; you need to look at your schematic and use a voltmeter to find which part of power path from battery to outlet you you lost power, OR
2. Wire the outlets directly to the battery through an inline fuse installed as close as possible to the battery.

 

[hulk311]

Thanks for the info guys, it was a bad ground.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Please Share with others how you fixed it.

Thanks for the info guys, it was a bad ground.

May we know which ground? Where outlet connects to chassis? Pls post pics or elaborate so others may know what to watch out for, at least to return the favor of fellow forum members helping you.

 

[Inate]

Yes, please let us know.

I am experiencing the exact same thing with my stock lighter outlet in my 97.

I'm prepping the truck for a full rewire so I can do my dual-battery system so i haven't given it much though as I have 4 usb connections off of my HU to charge items with but it would be nice to fix.