Charging with 12v while the truck is off

Does anyone know how to allow power to the 12v charging port when the truck is off? I often want to charge some things via a USB car charging adapter when I am not in the truck. My SUV charges just fine when it is off.

I know the built in USB port doesn't work so I bought a 12v USB charger thinking that would do the trick... I tried the 12v ports in the center console and the one on the dash to no avail.

Thanks!

 

Subb

 

you'll need to either rewire the 12V or just add a completely new circuit from a constant power source.
If I remember right there is one empty slot on the interior fuse box that is constant power. At least when I was installing my dash cam I found the empty socket was constant power.

Otherwise most of the stuff is only on with ignition.
I'm assuming there would be more options for constant power in the fuse box in the engine bay.

My plan since I want a constant USB source as well is I'll be adding a two port USB in one of the factory toyota slots, and its going to be wired to my aux fuse box.

 

Solid...

So if it did would work. Theoretically, I just need to find one of the 12v wires in the interior fuse box and switch it over to the constant power connection?

That honestly sounds to easy, so I must have be wrong, right?

 

Adding a constant 12V circuit is pretty trivial.

Converting an existing circuit over is probably unwise if you don't verify exactly what all the circuit is connected up to. Unexpected dead batteries suck.

 

if you can confirm that the spare one is constant then I imagine you could take the wire for one of the 12V power outlets and move its termination to the constant power one and throw a fuse in it.

I didn't test it, I just had my add a fuse plugged into it as I didn't want to take apart the fuse panel at the time (it was cold out)
Had the battery disconnected as I did all my work since I had the A pillar apart as well, once I put it all back together and hooked the battery back up the camera came on without me touching the ignition.

 

just curious what are you trying to charge though?

Like @gpb said you might want to consider that you could drain the battery.
I mean yes I'll be adding a constant one but thats going to be off my second battery so won't matter if i drain it as its isolated from the starting battery.

 

It would only drain the battery when in use, right? I'm talking about charging phones, which is like nothing. When the phone is done charging it would stop pulling current. I mean, if I was charging a bunch of stuff I could see that draining the battery. Not one cell phone.

If my truck battery did drain, hopefully I would be on a hill. I could bump start that bad boy.

 

Search. There was a member who did a write up on making one of the 12v outlets always on

 

I tried a few search strings and didn't find anything. Did you find something?

 

Google search string - site:tacomaworld.com always on 12v

Here you go:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/always-on-12v-power-outlet-mod-3rd-gen.432620/

 

Thanks! It's weird that didn't come up using the Tacoma world search bar...

 

Yea, Most of the search functions built into forums suck.

The "site:domain.com <search string>" method in google is almost always your best bet unless the sub forum you're searching requires a login

 

it maybe easier or cheaper to just get a battery pack to recharge things... then charge that when the ignition is on

 

Just hope there's enough charge left to drive the fuel pump and ignition circuit...

The trick with converting an existing power outlet is making sure nothing else is powered from the circuit that you don't know about.

IMHO it's smarter to just add a new circuit. Add a dual-USB port to the back of the center console and power it from constant +12VDC. Done.

 

Agree, I have something like this and it will give me 3 or 4 full charges.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerC...d=1486214883&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+battery+pack

 

Yes, and anker offers this little treasure as well: https://www.anker.com/products/A1694011

 

unless yours is manual you can't bump start an automatic.

and yes it would only pull when using it, and phones do not pull current until they are full they continue to pull after fully charged.
Once charged a phone will bypass the battery and only run off the charger.

Why not just plug your phone in while driving and let it charge then?
Or like someone else suggested just buy a power pack. Its honestly probably cheaper lol.

 

I have a 4.8A plugin adapter..... charges my phone fully in like 30 minutes.. Need to charge m cell no problem, quick drive to the mall and .... problem solved.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M6QODH2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

As mentioned above just get a USB battery, but make sure it has pass-though charging. Most batteries will not charge devices while the battery is plugged in for charging. This means that your phone will not charge when the truck is on and the battery is plugged in.

I picked one up on Amazon that has pass-through charging and 3 output USB ports and keep it plugged in and stored in the center cubby. When I turn off the truck the phone continues to charge.

There are many variations available. Just search for "USB battery pass-through".