12V Socket at Rear of Prado

A light no problem because they draw 1-3 amps at most. As long as all is in good order ie. no corrosion causing high resistant joint which heats up.

A fridge I wouldn't recommend unless checked prior.

My fridge will draw 9 amps at start and backs off to 4.5 Amps after a few seconds. If the lighter socket is a few meters from the battery with 1.5mmsq wires then add a couple of volts voltage drop... the cable needs to be 4mmsq at least. If the fridge has low voltage cut-out (typically 10v ish) fitted you won't get the best from your battery.

Take it to an auto electrician/sparky prior to using for fridge to be sure.

We have owned a Prado since 2000 and have had a store bought fridge/warmer plugged into the rear 12 volt port many times with no problems. Haven't burnt out any fuses so far

Hi Bradley,
I have a 98 series Prado. The lighter socket in the back should be OK for a camping light.

However, I used to plug the fridge into the back socket unto one day it didn't work any more.

I pulled the socket out and the crimp connector where the wiring goes onto the back of the socket had melted.

I have since re-wired the back with a dedicated Narva plug and heavy duty wiring (6mm) to run the fridge. I have had it this way for 6 years and I have had no problems since.

If you are serious about running the fridge in the back, I suggest that you do the same.

cheers,
Mal

Hi Bradley

The socket is rated at 10 amps but I would only use it for max 5 amp loads.

Run a dedicated fridge socket and wire.

Contact me directly if you wish but I won't post the 'how to' on here.

derek@sidewinder.com.au

Regards

Derek.

I rewired my 120 socket to the second battery. I only run a fluro 12v light so there is no probs as I have a seperate plug dedicated for the fridge on the other side.

Like Mal says, the rear sockets have a solder fuse, which melts at less than 10amps. No matter what fridge, the cig sockets are not secure - too easy for the socket to work its way out and the fridge stops working until you realise whats happened.

If you're running a current series 40l Engel, you should be fine, as they only draw 2.8amps when cycling, and don't have a low voltage cutout. Most other fridges draw 5-6amps when cycling, and many have low voltage cutouts that will trip because of voltage drop in the factory wiring.

We often go away with people who run fridges in hire 4wds which have no extras, and they are fine running an engel overnight from a single starting battery.

Hi Bradley, as Mal58 posted, in most vehicles, not just Toyotas, the wire used by the manufacturers for this rear power socket leaves much to be desired and makes it not much use for anything more than lighting or the smallest of fridges and even then, because of the voltage drop that will occur with even a small load, the fridge will have to work hard to try to keep the temperature at any low setting.

If you have a small fridge and you only intend to use it infrequently, just suffer with it, your not likely to have a major problems.

If your fridge is a decent size and/or you intend to use it a lot, again as Mal58 posted, run 6mm auto twin cable ( 4.5mm2 x 2 ) all the way from your battery at the front and you will need an in-line fuse holder with a 10 amp fuse fitted as close as practical to the battery up front.

As you have posted above that you intend to run lights and a fridge, another option is to run 8B&S ( 7.9mm2 x 2 ) twin cable, this size is readily available and is the largest size you can go and still use Yellow crimp terminals on the cable, this saves trying to source larger cable terminals.

You could then fit a 20 amp circuit breaker or fuse at the front battery and in the rear of the Prado, you could make a junction and fit two in-line fuse holders with 10 amp fuse at the junction and then run 6mm auto twin cable ( 4.5mm2 x 2 ) to two new power sockets in the rear, giving you the ability to have the fridge connected to one all the time and the other could then be used for your lights or a small inverter and so.

This type of set up is often installed where the rear manufacturer’s power socket is only powered while the ignition is on.

Cheers

The main problem comes when people try to use 3-way Fridges as these draw 10 amps continuously when they are plugged.

Thermoelectric Coolers/ Heaters usually draw less than 5 amps.

For this you need to have AT LEAST 8 Gauge (B&S or AWG) = 8mmsq = 6mm outer diameter = 4mm Copper Diameter . . . . AND to get rid of any Cigarette Lighter Socket.

I've run a Finch fridge in three successive Prados. No problems with the socket but it needs a good quality plug on the fridge. I melted a cheap one early on. The Finch 3 way uses much more power than a compressor fridge so Engels etc would work easily and a light is a breeze!!

I am installing a dual battery system and my auto sparky is laying new cable next to the exisisting wiring. He explained that the original wiring is very thin and advised it is not ideal for a fridge on extended trips. I have used it for a couple of weeks, but he convinced me and everyone seems to agree about the new cable.

fj