Power Outlet Overloaded

Hi All,

Yesterday I plugged a portable air compressor into the rear 12v outlet of my double cab. Apparently the compressor was way too much power because the plug got extremely hot and the fuse in my truck tripped. I replaced the fuse and when I turned on the truck it tripped again. I removed the back panel of the center console and found one of the wires to the 12v outlet had melted the casing. I assumed it melted the case and then touched the metal arm that is attached to the lid and that is what caused the fuse to trip. So I temporarily electrical taped the exposed wire and put a new fuse in. However, when I turned on the truck the fuse still tripped. So now I am guessing that another part of the wire must have melted as well.

Is there a spot under the center console where I can disconnect the wire going to the rear 12v outlet so that I can try to rule out an issue further up? Really hoping it is just a problem with the rear outlet wire and not something else that got melted.

Thanks in advance

 

I assume its the 15A PWR OUTLET Fuse that keeps blowing?

This is a diagram for 2014-2017. *1 is Column Shift Truck, *2 is Center Console Shift Trucks

Assuming yours is console shift, You can unplug the TJ1 connector and see if the fuse no longer blows. That would confirm your problem is somewhere between TJ1 and the rear outlet.

In the second picture the Green is the main wiring of the truck, the orange harness is to the power plugs in the front and rear of the console.

 

This is very helpful thanks! Yes it is the 15a power outlet fuse under the dash. In the morning I’ll be figuring out how to get the center console apart to get to the plug. Really hoping the fuse doesn’t trip with it unplugged.

 

The wires at TJ1 are ground. You'll likely still blow the fuse even with that unplugged.

 

Power wire goes through there also. Pin #2 is power, Pin#11 ground

If the fuse blows with the connector unplugged it means the power wire is grounding out between the relay and the connector (deeper in the truck).

If the fuse does not blow with that connector undone it proves his short is in the last 1-2 feet of the circuit. Between the connector and the power outlet.

 

If it’s the outlet below the HVAC controls where you’re having issues, TJ1 won’t help much. TJ1 will only isolate the outlet in the back and inside the console

 

Have seen issue in other vehicle with portable air compressors doing this. For airing up tires with a portable air compressor we are currently connecting directly to the battery. May install ARB compressors in the future.

 

I think he said rear outlet so I was assuming at the back of the console by the rear seats.

As you mentioned if it’s a front outlet in the dash this will not help.

 

You're right. Missed that when I glanced at the schematic you posted.

 

Yes correct it was the rear outlet for the back seats. I was able to remove the center console cover by the shifter and unplug the white connector for the rear outlets. Put a new fuse in, turned the key, and the fuse did not blow! So the issue is in the rear wiring further up than where I taped the exposed wire. I remove the center console, very easy it’s 6 bolts and pulls right out. I took the wire off and remove the black sleeve. The wires were melted to the sleeve in many spots and I also found at least one spot where the wires had melted together. So my options are to replace the wiring in the harness or buy a new harness. Luckily the wire harness had a part number tag on it (82166-0c230) Dealership said it wasn’t available to order but I found it on Toyota parts website for $16 (plus $11 shipping). For that cheap I’d rather not mess with trying to replace the wires. So hopefully when it gets here in a few days it is the correct part. Otherwise I will be building a new one myself.

I am very luck I used the rear outlet. If I had used the front outlet or the wires where they joined with the rest of the wires for the truck had melted I would have a much bigger and more expensive issue. Lesson learned I will be checking the voltage before plugging anything into my truck. Could have been very bad or even caught fire.

As for my air compressor issue, I’m planning on buying a ryobi 18v inflator that has small and large volume settings. We use it for tires and paddle boards. There’s probably others out there, but I already have a bunch of 18v ryobi stuff.

 

Awesome a new harness is the easy way to fix it especially if only $30.

What was the power load of the compressor? I assume 12v but what does the label say for watts or amps

 

My concern is that the fuse did not blow prior to the wires melting. The primary reason for fuses is to protect the load. The secondary reason, which should be primary in my opinion, is to protect the wires. If the wires failed before the fuse blew, and it was all OEM, that reveals a design failure.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I would have thought the fuse would blow first if the circuit was overloaded. I just checked and the compressor was 13.8 volts, so definitely my fault for not checking that first. I am surprised at how much impact just that extra 1.8 volts had.

 

Voltage isn’t the problem. Current in Amps is.

Does it say a value for power in watts or a number for Max A (Amp). The fuse should blow at 15a or more. Assuming you had the correct size in it.

With the wires melted together and it shorted out it definitely was enough Amps to blow the fuse.

 

Compressor is listed as 30amps max. It has an inline fuse of 30 amps. Yes I had a 15amp fuse in the power outlet slot of the truck, never messed with any of that.

 

Safe to assume it was running at more than 15a ideally the fuse should have blown before enough current flowed through the wires to start melting them.

Obviously pulling 30A on a circuit built for 15A is double the rated capacity.

Anyway replace the harness and keep loads you plug in under 15A and you will be good.

 

Just thought I would follow up. Apparently the part for the wiring harness is either no longer available or backordered everywhere. So I ended up just buying some wiring and re-creating the harness myself. FYI the stock wiring is 22 gauge, so it is no wonder it melted. Got everything back together and no issues so far.

 

$69 DEWALT 20V MAX Tire Inflator, Compact and Portable, Automatic Shut Off, LED Light, Bare Tool Only (DCC020IB)

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCC020IB-20V-Inflator-Bare/dp/B07H39S9JQ

 

Where did you find that badass wiring diagram?

 

We thank @RainMan_PNW for putting this together..

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

 

How.....how did I not click on that before....

I've seen it, but guess I've never needed it

Thanks for the link brother

 

I just found this thread (Feb 2023), but I have exactly the same symptoms that BlazingBlueFive described above, also caused in my case by running an air compressor plugged in to the back seat power outlet. So the posts above are very helpful to me. Btw, I used the same air compressor several times in the past with one of the Front power outlets, with no problems. Could this suggest that the wiring under the console from the front to the rear power outlet is smaller gauge than the upstream wiring? I'll check it out when I get my console apart...

thanks all

 

After blowing fuses I stopped plugging air compressors into the trucks 12 outlet and only use the battery connection. Most pull more than what our outlets can handle and it's not worth damage if the fuse doesn't blow.