'05 Tacoma Dcab SR5 12 volt power outlet mod

[cheg]

I have made a mod to my 2005 Tacoma Double Cab SR5 V6 automatic to make the 12 volt power outlet and cigarette lighter always powered even with the ignition key removed. Here's how:

Tools:
Small flat bladed screw driver
10 mm socket and drive extension

In general, you should always detach the battery ground cable before doing electrical work. Can't say I always do it myself.

First remove the door sill guard by pulling it up. It snaps in, no fasteners:



Next remove the foot rest:


Now remove the thumbscrew that holds the driver's side kickpanel:


Remove the kickpanel by pulling it back:


Here are the clip locations that hold it in:



Remove the "auxilliary box" from the dash by opening it and pulling it up:


The driver side junction box is behind that compartment:


Also remover the tray in the dash on the right side of the steering wheel by pulling it straight back.


There are two bolts that hold the lower dash panel in - The left bolt:


and the right bolt behind this cover piece:


Open the cover by prying at the slot with a small flat blade screw driver:


Remove dash panel the bolts with the 10mm socket.

At this point you can remove the hood release cable. First pop the hood:


You can detach it by pulling the cable housing put of the bracket and sliding the wire out of it's slot toward the drivers door.


The cable is detached from the release handle by pulling enough slack through to the front of the panel and slipping the cable end out of the handle. I always find this to be a pain in the butt. You may choose to wait until the panel is loose from the dash before detaching the hood release cable.

The dash panel has clips on both sides around the edges that hold it in. Remove the panel by pulling straight.

On my truck there are electrical 3 connectors to detach on the left side of the dash panel - fog lights, a dummy plug with the DAC cable in it, and the glass breakage sensor for the alarm system:


Detach the cables. Each one has a release tab that you push down to release it. Be careful with the alarm cable, it has a small connector and the retaining tab is recessed on the right side. Now the panel is free and can be removed.



The relay you are looking for is on the back of the junction box. The box is held in by two 10mm nuts on studs top and bottom and a bracket in the lower left corner.


I was able to do this without detaching the connectors from the jbox. I just moved the box out far enough to get the relay loose:



You can carefully slip the flat screw driver under the relay to get it started. Then you can rock the relay back and forth a bit and it will come out:


There are tabs that stick out of the j-box around the corners of the relay, so be careful not to break them while removing the relay:


The relay cover can be removed with the flat blade screw driver. I altered the relay by pushing a small rubber wedge under the relay contacts so that the relay will always be closed even without the accessory power on:


More information on altering the relay is described in:
HOW-TO: Power Outlet Modification

Note that the relay contacts on this truck move in the vertical direction, so you have to slip something under the lower contact to close them.


Good Luck!

Disclaimer: Blah Blah Blah not responsible for anything that might happen as a result of this modification blah blah blah not guaranteed to work blah blah blah.

[cheg]

New thread on a 12 Volt power outlet modification for the '05 Tacoma:

'05 Tacoma Dcab SR5 12 volt power outlet mod

[rrentrop]

I just posed this question earlier this week.

Thanks for the detailed and easy-to-follow instructions. Took about 20 minutes and works great!

[offroadseeker]

Great MOD, I tried it and it works great!!!

[offroadseeker]

Worked great, thanks for the pics!!!