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Added (2) 12v plugs to rear seat area

82K views 56 replies 39 participants last post by  sparky52 
#1 ·
Hi, my first post here, I am active on other forums, and our 2013 Rav4 LX is my wifes car so I am not on here much. But it has bothered me, that there were no power outlets in the rear seating area in the vehicle. And with the kids DVD, DS's, I pads and what ever else we needed power back there. So I came on here and didn't really find anything. So The following is how I did add 2 12v power plugs to the rear seating area. Its not the greatest and the pics are crappy cell phone pics, but if you can't figure it out by the pics and description maybe you should not be trying this.

First I had to find a good area, and while looking in the back seat I realized the center console was a lot thicker than what the interior space it gave was. So I realize there had to be a void, and I noticed on the very back end there was a seam along each end, so I carefully removed the back cover, just use a body panel tool or a plastic putty knife or something similar



Here it is with cover off ( you can see a lot of area at the bottom.


So then I spaced out the 2 power plugs and drilled the hole. I used a 1 1/4" drill bit, but may very on your purchased plug. Then snapped the plugs into the holes


I then spliced the power and ground together. I did splice the positive lead after each fuse so they will each be fused.


For the ground you will see 2 bolts that secure the console to the floor. I chose the one on the left and used that as my ground


I then ran the power wire up along the driver side of the center console tucking it under by the carpet. Up along the firewall and over to the fuse panel just behind the hood release. You then splice the power wire onto the add a fuse and install the appropriate fuses.


I used the 15amp power adapter fuse space (its a tight fuse panel area, with using the add a fuse I could not get the cover back on but I just placed in glovebox



Here it is finished up
 
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#2 ·
Excellent job! This thread is now a sticky!
 
#7 ·
Looks good, and nice idea.

+ Is that sunlight I see under your center console?
+ Did you get the outlets from Toyota, or generic ones?
+ Is the plastic fairly sturdy? (aka when you insert/remove a plug, does it feel flimsy/breakable/cheap?)
+ Since you have in-line fuses, is there a reason why you added another fuse at the fuse box? Or can you tie in behind the fuse box so a regular blade fuse can be used?
 
#9 ·
Sorry not on here much as the Rav is my wife's car.

No its not sunlight her rav is white so you are seeing the painted white metal floor

The outlets are from Radio Shack and are like $9 a piece or so

PLastic is firm enough for this application in my opinion

The inline fuses came with the outlets, and figured if one got wet or shorted it would trip the inline for the one and hopefully the other would still work. The fuse at the box is your standard add a fuse adapter and you need to use 2 fuses, 1 to replace the fuse your plugging adapter into so that that accessory is still fused and the second is another inline basically. You could tie anywhere and get power, heck you can go all the way to the battery if you want. I went with just ease of doing it and an add a fuse is the simpliest and I had them laying around.

Hope you all are finding this helpful. I know my wife enjoys them as now all my daughter power cords are back there with her and not stretched across the center counsole
 
#11 ·
#15 ·
Just finish installing the 12power, dual usb & headrest dvd system. Here are some pics Head restraint Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Car seat cover
Vehicle Car Electronics Technology Electronic device
Button
Vehicle Car Head restraint Electronics Multimedia
Screen Technology Electronic device Multimedia Display device
Head restraint Vehicle Electronics Car Multimedia



The DVD screen siZE is: 10in. with 1024x600 resolution. Total cost for everything is around $300. I need the DVD systems due to my nieces & nephews. Can't survive driving the kids for 2+ hours without them fighting.

DVD info can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JY7G9UA/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It took around 2 hours to install everything!
jc


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#16 ·
Howdy All,

I'm a new Rav4 owner. Picked up a 2013 3 weeks ago with 850 miles on it (older couple bought it and parked it in the garage... great find for me and great price). I did trade in my Magnum RT which made me sad... but have to change with the times.

Anyway, I just finished doing this install. One thing I can't have enough of, are power outlets. I was really surprised something this new only had one 12v outlet on the dash, plus the USB plug on the dash. Plus both turn off when the ignition.

I did install two in the back of the consul and have them always on. It was a piece of cake. Ran the wire up the consul and out the passenger side grommet behind the glove box. Plenty of room to work with. Ran the wire in the engine compartment right up next to the firewall at the top along with the other wire bundle over to the battery. I have an in-line fuse by the battery, plus each plug has their own fuse.

Right now I only have two but ran a large enough wire to add a third inside the glove box if I so choose to later.

My wife and I have a 2 year old who does not like being in the car. Unlike justcurios above, this kid will scream after 2 minutes, let alone 2 hours :) Need to have power for the tablet we have for him to watch stuff on.

Thanks for reading!
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the how to!

Wow I just bought a 2014 and after owning a 2011 Rav 4 couldn't believe there were only two 12 v outlets in the 14! I also like one 12v outlet powered all the time for various reasons and had plans of installing one in center console like in my 11 that I converted to powered all the time. I was trying to get the center console out to accomplish this when my search turned up this awesome forum! Anyhow I'd never noticed the back snapped off and installed one outlet in no time! Thanks again for doing the write up!
 
#28 · (Edited)
#29 ·
Question about Fuses

This is a fantastic "Hack" which I would like to implement on my 2015 RAV 4 XLE. Any regret or issues after 3 years?

I noticed in the manual that both Fuses # 8 and #17 are listed as power outlets fuses... ("power outlet #1" and "Power Outlet #2"). Is the single existing power outlet in the front center console utilizing both fuses?

I see based on the picture that you plugged your "add a fuse" connector to port #17. Did you still use two 15 amp fuses?

Finally, any idea what the diameter of the screw where you plugged the ground/neutral is? I just want to make sure I use the proper diameter loop connector...

Thanks.
 
#31 ·
I recommend 12 gauge stranded automotive wire for an extra once of caution. 0:)

My $.02 :wink
 
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