Wire an “always on” cigarette lighter

My 2018 Limited 4x4 does not have an “always on” lighter, like my previous non-Toyota truck did. Is there an easy way to require one of the existing lighter outlets to do that?
Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum.

They are all on the same circuit.
You could bypass one of your 12 v plugs and find a constant battery feed fuse in the under-dash fuse box and use an add a fuse for power.
I guess there are some battery feeds in there?
I know the radio has one.
Wiring diagrams can be found here..

Ultimate TUNDRA Wiring Diagrams Collection | Toyota Tundra Forum (tundras.com)

 

Looks like there is a relay if need to bypass , or wire a separate fused line.

 

On your 2018, the relay powers the two round sockets in the front is the P/OUTLET NO. 1 relay that is fed from the (BAT) 15A P/OUTLET NO. 1 fuse (i.e. the fuse is always on). The relay coil is triggered by the ECU-ACC circuit. The round sockets inside the console and in the rear of the console (if you have a floor shifter) are powered by the (ACC) 15A P/OUTLET NO. 2 fuse.

P/OUTLET NO.1 Relay is located in the engine bay, here:

 

So bridging this relay spot would accomplish the “always on” function, correct?

 

In theory.
But I would recommend downloading the EWD and checking what else might run of that relay just in case

 

^ Yes...

There are so many threads on the forum stating 'I did this, and this happened'..

One really needs to cover your bases and see what is involved in a circuit before tapping in or modifying it..

 

I’ll start diving into the EWD I just downloaded and see what I can determine about the relay.

 

Happy New Year Casey!

I'm a bit rusty when it comes to wiring and reading wiring diagrams. I am looking through the ECM that you provided and have been searching and looking up a few how to videos about add-a-fuses. I am looking to hardwire a dash cam to my fuse panel below the steering wheel. So far i've gathered that the P/OUTLET NO.2 is ACC and could be a safe fuse to tap into. I am looking to tap the BAT wire into the RADIO as I understand this is Always On. Would you recommend or suggest anything different?


I have not wired anything yet as I'm waiting for Lowes to open to go and pick up a circuit tester to be sure I'm testing the fuses for constant power vs. ACC. Like I said, I'm rusty so I don't even have the proper tools but looking to learn.

This is my panel cover..

 

Depends on where you plan to mount the dash cam but the mirror plug has a BATT feed.


Some places sell bypass adapters so you do not have to cut/tap into OEM wiring.
Not sure if it taps into the ACC or BATT feed.
Dash Cam Power Adapter (10-Pin Type B) for Select Toyota/Lexus/Subaru – Dongar Technologies LLC

I would guess your truck has a 14 pin connector on the mirror.
I'd check and make sure before ordering.

 

Thank you!
Followed the wiring from the mirror and removed the dome light panel. Looks like there are 2 14 pin connectors. This one I have circled looks like it feeds the mic and dome lights.

 

The 14 pin connector I'm referring to should go directly into the mirror or the wiring at the mirror.

 

Ahh yes okay I see it now Right behind the mirror


So I'm installing a 2 channel dashcam. Front cam is right next to the mirror and rear is gonna be with the bracket from dashcamstore.

I've already got the wiring ran thru to the kick panel to hardwire so I'll probably go that route.


Would you use tap into the RADIO fuse for this? Saw one video where guy tapped into HAZ(BATT) & DOOR R/L(ACC)

 

You could certainly try the radio fuse.
In those old days I'd be concerned with audio interference, but these days not so much.


You could use the HAZ as well.

 

Sorry i'm a bit all over the place this morning but I've been looking at the EWD trying to make sense of it...
https://www.tundras.com/threads/ask-the-toyota-mechanic.2404/page-104#post-3806386

Does this mean that everything listed in my other post above is tied into the HAZ fuse? So if that fuse blows, all these items would malfunction or stop working?

 

In theory, you can use any of them as long as the source side is coming from the right circuitry (BAT, ACC, or IGN as appropriate). In many ways it comes down to what will fit the easiest and not block access to something else. Just have sure the tap is oriented correctly (pigtail pointing outward from the centerline of the fuse block)

The 12-pin connector in the back of the mirror does already have both ACC and BAT power which is why that Y-cable is so damn convenient. But that’s up to you.

 

That list is all the circuit diagrams that that specific fuse shows up in… i.e. some part of that diagram has wires from the HAZ fuse. Without tracing each diagram, knowing what exactly it is wouldn’t be clear.

As a basic example - the HAZ circuit that drives the flashers also drives the two turn signal arrows on the instrument cluster. Blowing your HAZ fuse will not let your hazards work, this also disabling them from flashing in the instrument cluster (but likely not affecting anything else in the cluster).

a fuse tap also isn’t passing new load through the original fuse - the old fuse goes in the lower slot to protect the original circuit and the new fuse is drawing from the same source but then feeds the new load.

the one caveat on these is that the source wiring needs to still be heavy enough to handle both the original load and the new load

 

So the adapter that @1lowlife linked me to provides for both ACC & BATT? I thought it only provides constant power and I would have to still tie into ACC somewhere. So it looks like that adapter is powered by USB. I'd have to get a seperate USB power adapter that would work with my camera.

 

Not specifically, but there is both ACC and BAT going into the rear view mirror. You would need to search the EWDs for connector “W1” to figure out the pinout for all the different connectors. From lowlife’s images, pin 8 is the BAT power and pin 2 is the ground. One of the other wires is ACC.
In theory, cut off the USB connector and attach your own wiring right there. Splice the ACC wire in that little short harness as well.

of course, if the “always on” power supply for your camera has extra parts built into it (like voltage monitoring and low voltage cutoff), you’d be better served at least running the BAT power off a fuse tap)

 

Okay thanks Casey
I think I'm going to feel a bit more comfortable with tapping rather then splicing. It seems a bit complicated for me to go the mirror route.

One last question(sorry)
So the fuse box below has empty slots. I'm running my tester in those with the truck shut off and seeing that a few of them have power. Would I be able to simply stick this tap in those empty slots rather than tapping into an already connected fuse? If so, would 5A fuses be enough to operate the dashcam?

 

Yes. That is an option. Again - so long as that slot is fed with the appropriate "source" that you want, you can go that route.

This depends on how much power the dashcam you have uses. I would THINK so, but the only way to safely know is to look at what the rated power draw is on the power supply (or the camera). Typically, those things come with some kind of in-line fuse on their power supply and you should be able to match that fuse size.

 

Awesome! Thank you for confirming that. This is good information to know should I ever need or want to wire something into those empty slots. I went ahead and tapped into the RADIO & P/OUTLET NO2 and made sure the connected correctly(+ & -). All seems to be working great so far. Now i'm just waiting for my rear cam bracket from DashCamStore

Thanks again!

 

This has been extremely useful info, but I have the opposite question. I would like to have the plug inside of my center console to turn off with the ignition. Right now, it is always on. What could I do to make that change? (I am not experienced with electronics, and I need to study this topic some more) Thanks for any help!

 

On the Gen 2 I’m pretty sure it’s on a timer circuit that will shut it off after 2 hours but I could be wrong…it’s been a while since I owned my 2008.
If you want it to be immediately off, then the best part would be to disconnect the factory wiring (positive at least) to that outlet and run it with a dedicated new hot to an add-a-fuse that is fed from an ACC circuit in the fuse box.

 

Thanks for the tip! I'll give it a shot.