12V Output Limit

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FarmerDan

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Messages
12
Does anyone know what rating the 12v system would have as an output?

I am thinking about getting some sort of inverter to take the power out of the car in case of power outage. I think it would be great to be able to use the car as a backup battery pack in case of prolonged power outages etc. Also, to use power while camping and such.

:mrgreen:
 
Check the manual, or the fuse box perhaps? If you're really adventurous perhaps you could find the main DC lines from the charger and connect them with jumper cables to a big inverter. Disclaimer: if you kill yourself doing this it's not my fault! :lol:
 
Finding the big DC wired and cabling directly to it sounds a bit dangerous!

I was thinking one that just plugs into the cig lighter outlet, but maybe that is rated too low.

In favor of not killing myself, has anyone tried anything like this?

:mrgreen:
 
We have a 100 watt inverter that we plug into our 2002 RAV4-EV all the time without issue to use computers, hair curling irons etc while we drive. We also sell inverters in our store. Those larger than about 140 watts have to be attached to the aux battery. The cigarette lighter is limited to 10-15 amps typically (multiply by 12 volts to get watts). When you attach the larger inverters (400-2000 watts) you use clamps just like you were jump starting a car. The size of the clamps is usually smaller. You can calculate how long your car main battery will last depending on how much power you pull out. You also need to find out the capacity of the DC-DC converter that recharges the aux battery from the main battery, as that will likely be the limiting factor. Someone here may know that already.

John
 
Can you put the car in a ready state and draw off the 12v battery with an inverter and have the traction battery recharge the 12v?
 
RAV4 EV 12V power sockets are rated 10A each. Leaving the car in READY will keep charging the 12V battery from the traction battery. So, yes you can run an inverter indefinitely this way. The only problem comes when you want to plug in the J1772 to charge the traction battery - then the DC/DC converter that's charging the 12V battery will be cut off.
 
miimura, that doesn't seem right: the dc-dc should continue to trickle charge the 12V battery during traction battery charging. I don't know if there are any power limits on the dc-dc during traction battery charging, though.
 
boredcleaner said:
miimura, that doesn't seem right: the dc-dc should continue to trickle charge the 12V battery during traction battery charging. I don't know if there are any power limits on the dc-dc during traction battery charging, though.
Yes, it is counter intuitive, but the DC to DC converter doesn't work when the car is charging. Kevin, the Toyota factory guy explained it to me that the 12v battery is only charged when the car is running, just like a gas model.
 
Ampster said:
boredcleaner said:
miimura, that doesn't seem right: the dc-dc should continue to trickle charge the 12V battery during traction battery charging. I don't know if there are any power limits on the dc-dc during traction battery charging, though.
Yes, it is counter intuitive, but the DC to DC converter doesn't work when the car is charging. Kevin, the Toyota factory guy explained it to me that the 12v battery is only charged when the car is running, just like a gas model.

I disagree with the statement above. The 12V battery is supported during both ready-on and during charging of the main traction battery. If one measures voltage at the 12V aux battery they'll find about 14.4V during both ready-on and charging, but something around 12V when the car is off.
 
BatteryRav said:
Ampster said:
......
Yes, it is counter intuitive, but the DC to DC converter doesn't work when the car is charging. Kevin, the Toyota factory guy explained it to me that the 12v battery is only charged when the car is running, just like a gas model.

I disagree with the statement above. The 12V battery is supported during both ready-on and during charging of the main traction battery. If one measures voltage at the 12V aux battery they'll find about 14.4V during both ready-on and charging, but something around 12V when the car is off.

Well that wouldn't be the first time Kevin misinformed me. LOL. That is good news for those that put a trickle charger on their 12v battery when on vacation. Just to clarify, is it your understanding that if the car has finished charging but the J1772 plug is still in the car, the 12v battery will not be charged? Only when the onboard charger is running is the 12v battery charged.
 
Does anyone know what the Amps (Amperage output) of a 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime SE from the DC to DC Converter to the 12Volt Battery. The reason I need to know is I would like to install aftermarket car stereo amplifiers and want to make sure that I have enough Amperage output to handle the load from the car stereo amplifiers. I would like to add an additional 12Volt battery connected to the primary 12Volt battery for capacity with the car amplifiers and other car stereo electronics. If you know of an aftermarket DC to DC converter that has a higher amperage output on the 12volt side so I have more amps than what I need. I want to make sure I'm not pulling more amps then what the RAV4 provides with the stock DC to DC converter. Thanks for your help!
 
Wow. 10 year necro-bump here.

I was wrong. When the traction battery is charging on J1772, the 12V battery is maintained at about 13.8V float charge. When it is in READY, it will charge and float at about 14.4V. So, it is impossible to kill the 12V with small loads when READY or charging.

The RAV4 EV DC-DC has a peak output of up to 2,500W (roughly 200A DC) and has no problem supplying 1,000W continuously. I have no idea about the capability of the RAV4 Prime DC-DC converter.
 
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