120 Series Prado 12V Plug

You need to get it upgraded the standard wires are only really good enough to charge a phone or something like that. With incorrect wiring you could potentially start a fire in an extreme case as the wires won't be able to cope with the current draw from the fridge and they will get hot.

Imagine you have a funnel with a small hole....all that water needs to get through the little hole the bigger the hole the more water can go through.

Do it properly and upgrade the wires.

The Waeco _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx 5 amps which the wiring can cope with. They're rated at 10 amps - but that deserves a complaint to the ACCC as "not fit for purpose".

However Cigarette Lighter sockets were never designed for long-term power supply - especially in a moving vehicle - it'll come loose and cause a high-resistance joint.

As a minimum, put in a locking socket - whether a decent Cigarette Lighter socket with locking springs and matching lug with collar; Merit/Hella Plug and Socket; or Anderson connectors.

Howard, ideally you should run a nice thick gauge wire all the way from the battery. Over that length (the length of the car) you can have a significant voltage drop when you are running your fridge. It will probably be okay while the car is running, but you may find as soon as you switch the engine off, that the battery voltage will drop and by the time the volts reach the back of the car, there won't be enough to power your fridge.

As you've said, while the vehicle is running it should be okay. I'm assuming you've got some other method of powering the fridge while you're stopped (don't do what I first did and rely on the Waeco power management to prevent your main/only battery from being drained to the point where it won't start the car!)

Hi Howard

Best to upgrade the wiring otherwise the fridge will show errors and shut down way too often.



Regards

Derek from ABR

Wiring for cigarette lighter sockets in the Prado are rated for 10amps intermittent use.... not continuous... the wiring won't handle it. Not to mention that the sockets are all on one circuit (front and rear). As others have stated you are better off with a dedicated circuit to run a fridge, therefore less likely to have any dramas.
regards,

The waeco instruction manial tells you the correct size cable for the required distance from the battery. I replaced the cable and it was very cheap. Just do it and avoid the problems mentioned in previous posts.

Hi Howard,

I have an 08 prado and a 50 lt Waeco. I found the fridge error light would come on with the original wiring and cig plug. I upgraded wiring and put in hella plug and its worked perfectly since.

Cheers


Kevin

Whilst you are upgrading the wiring do the right thing and upgrade the secket as well. Almost anything is better than a cigarette lighter socket. With anything over an amp or two you will eventually develop high resistance contact. My preference is a Merit connector.

PeterD

Its best to upgrade your wiring to suit other posts above. If not try fridge and see how you go. If you are about to head off on a big trip maybe do a test run and see what happens. Fuses should protect you.

I have a Waeco CF40 which runs fine in my prado (standard wiring - never got around to replacing it) although it is 90 series not 120. Only time i have a problem is when i forget to switch fridge over to LOW for in car use and HIGH for 240V use. If I switch it to what my fridge is designed to be on it runs just fine.

WAECO market a wiring kit for installation in your 4WD which is suitably robust. I bought it and installed it myself. Fridge runs perfectly. I wouldnt use the Toyota plug in the back.