12 Volt Power Source On Floor Of Lexus 2005 Rx330 Not Working

[Hootenanny]

I recently purchased a Lexus 2005 RX330. There was a dime in the receptacle. I took the dime out and plugged in the power cord for GPS and the battery died. Had to use jumpers to restart. What's going on and what do I do to fix it?

[pj8708]

Hi Sandra,

Talk about a time machine! This trick goes way back to when homes used screw-in fuses to protect an overload from one of the outlets or lights in the house. If a fuse blew and the person did not have a spare, they would put a penny in the fuse socket and screw the fuse back in. This would bypass the bad fuse until a new one could be purchased. This was a very dangerous fix.

I've never heard of this situation before in a 12 volt plug-in outlet in a car. The only thing I can think of is when you plugged in the GPS after removing the dime, it allowed something to drain the battery even though your RX was turned off. This doesn't take much. I once left my dome light on overnight and the battery completely drained over night.

Others will chime in here and probably have more help.

Come back and let us know how things turn out.

Paul

[Hootenanny]

I'm thinking the former owners knew the power source didn't work and put the dime in there...or else the dealer did for some reason.

So, how do I fix it so it has power? Is it a fuse problem?

[RX400h]

First of all, how old is the battery? If you are not sure, have it charged and load-tested. If it is weak, that may explain your problem. Likewise, if the alternator is bad, that may also cause a no-start situation.

[pj8708]

Hi Dave! Good to hear from you.

Sandra, I think between Dave's suggestions and my thoughts, you probably have enough places to start from for now. Try running down some of these and then move on if they don't help.

I believe in starting with the possibilities that cost the least. A simple bad fuse could easily be the culprit. If you don't know how to check for voltage in the socket, find some one like a well known and respected independent shop to run the check. it only takes an inexpensive little probe to touch the fuse.

If you do know how to check for voltage and bad/blown fuse's, just go to your owners manual and look up the chart for all of the fuse's, and the location and circuits they belong to. However, I'm not sure this is going to help solve the problem. If it were only a bad fuse you would think the previous owner would have fixed the problem and got on their way. This means it may be just a bad socket when the plug is pushed in.

Like I said, there are no shortages of possibilities. Try David's advice and the above, and let us know if we've helped or just confused.

Paul

[RX400h]

Hello, Paul,

I always knew when my Corvette's battery was weak if l inadvertently left my radar detector on after shutting down the engine. The next morning, the car wouldn't start.

Now, in this case, there could be a bad power socket that shorts, any time something is plugged into it. The clue would be a blown fuse, as you mentioned.