1st Gen Tacoma Power Ports Hard to Use

Hello everyone.

I will soon attempt to get my 1st gen Tacoma to pass inspection in one of the tougher states.

when I used the tire inflator recently, I noticed that the power ports work but I had to hold the plug in the socket---otherwise the tire inflator would lose power.

I tried with multiple power ports and they all had the same problem.

Can someone help me to diagnose this?

 

I had a similar issue with my cig lighter outlets. I replaced them with new ones, and they work fine. I believe the old ones just get worn out over years of use. I also added a splitter, that allowed me to relocate the extra outlets so they're easier to access.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Could you tell me how you replaced the outlets? Do I need any special tools? I took a glance at them and they seem not to come out easily.

 

It's fairly simple to replace them, but before you do that, I'd make sure the accessory that you're plugging in (air compressor) isn't the problem. Try plugging in a different accessory and see if it works without holding it in place.

 

The air compressor works fine when plugged into another vehicle. You're right that I should test another accessory to be 100% sure.

I noticed on YT that some vehicles need a special tool to remove the sockets. Does Tacoma need a special tool?

 

I took one of mine out and replaced it with USB port/volt meter and didn’t need any special tools.

 

Ok, maybe I need to use more force than I was comfortable with.

 

if your 1st gen is like my 90, i had to unscrew a sleeved like washer thing that was on the back side. then like others wired up an additional set of USB and a volt meter for extra items