Will Camper Fridge Drawing Power from Hybrid Battery Damage the Battery on a 2007 Toyota Highlander

Published 07/02/2015

Question:

Hi, I have a 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. When I put on a hitch I had it wired for a 7 wire connection. Since my camper trailer has a refrigerator I want keep every thing cool while traveling in order to do this I also added a solenoid. So when the I shut off the engine the refrigerator will then get its power from the marine battery on the trailer. I took the Highlander and trailer out for its maiden voyage and all worked well. However, while waiting in a long line at a ferry the hybrid engine shuts down and no energy is being generated by the hybrid system. So my question is, am I doing any short or long term harm to the hybrid battery when either traveling between point A and B or when sitting in a long queue? Thanks

asked by: Dave O

Expert Reply:

If the 12 volt circuit on the 7-Way is connected to the main hybrid battery that powers the drive wheels on your 2007 Toyota Highlander then you would need to be careful about how much power items are pulling from it. Things with low power draw such as LED lights are not going to be an issue. But a refrigerator compressor can use a lot of amperage and that could potentially be harmful to a hybrid battery.

What I recommend is to have the 12 volt circuit from the 7-Way just go to the trailer mounted battery. This will provide a maintenance charge to the battery, though it will not charge it up, and the power draw would be low and constant. I would not have it wired up so that the fridge is pulling power directly from the vehicle because that is where problems could start.

expert reply by: Michael H