Hello All, I am trying to put an inverter in the Prius C that will allow me to run ac electronics (while camping for example). I probably won't ever use more than 400 watts but I'd like to "max out" what the Prius C can handle if I ever found myself needing to. I'm trying to figure out how many amps the DC to DC converter can handle before the 12v bus voltage sags. On a regular Prius I have found threads that suggest it's ~75-80 amps. Is it the same for the Prius C? Can I connect to the auxiliary battery directly, or is there a better place to connect to? PS: Bonus question if someone knows of a 12v line I can tap into, that is only hot when the Prius is in ready, that way both the inverter has to be switched on AND the Prius C needs to be in "ready" (I know I've stumbled on the answer to this question for another application, but I can't find the thread ).
There are two spots where an inverter could go or fit if it were placed under the back bench. (then the outlet could easily be accessible by all passengers via an outlet in the middle of the back bench). The first spot is a pretty large cavity under the left side of the back bench (vented side for the traction battery). This area is rather large though it has some cables in the way, but there is still some slack to move them. The max volume would be no more than about 10x5x6. (see pictures). It would also need some venting, I'm guessing a 5cm 12v case fan would do and could be connected to the inverter supply so it's only on when the inverter switch is flipped on. Here you see the fan on the left and the difficult to use open area, (great for figuring out cabling) Here you see the max width (or depth depending on perspective) it slopes so it would depend on the inverter height. Here's the max height, but it also needs to reserve some room for the cables to go around the inverter, so it's probably more like 6". And here's a poor shot of the depth, that metal bracket would eat into your volume so I wouldn't count on more than 10 inches.
And the second spot is just to the right of the 12v auxiliary battery. This spot is much tighter and would be tough to work with if you're trying to fit a large inverter in there. This location has one of two volumes to work with in my opinion. Vol 1: 9"x5"x2.75" Vol 2: 7"x4"x2.75" So someone may ask the question, why do I want the smaller volume? I don't know, I'm just saying, it looks like there are two options if you have a rectangular prism shaped inverter (which many inverters are). Here's the max depth and it also gives you some perspective. Above the tape measure in the back is the exhaust ventilation duct for the tract battery, it's a hard limit but it's a bit higher. Here's the max width given that support bar in the front. Here's the max height assuming you stay away from the exhaust duct. You can see here at the tip of the tape measure that I always tried to pick the more conservative spot to measure from. Here's the depth again, but this time from the worst case location on the exhaust duct. It oddly enough is slopped so you have less room the higher you go, so it's a hair under 4". And here's the max depth from that bracket thing.
