[striker99]

Hi all,

After recently purchasing a fridge I am wanting to wire up a second cigarette lighter socket in the back of the Jimny to run my fridge off of.. I am in the process of getting a second battery installed so that won't be a problem, but i am at a loss as to how to run the wiring..

1. Through the firewall, under the floor, pull side panel off and run cabling behind that..

2. Run along chassis rails, and then through grommet where the jack is kept.. (Don't like this option as there is only 1-2cm of clearance between grommet and the muffler)

Anyone with advice (and photos) would be appreciated


Thanks

Matt.

[Reubs]

striker99 wrote:

1. Through the firewall, under the floor, pull side panel off and run cabling behind that..

^^^ is the way virtually all of the wiring to the rear of the SE416 Vitaras is run. I'd go this route as drilling into your floorpan probably isn't a great idea. Just take your time getting the wiring neatly through the grommet in the firewall - probably best not to put a hole in the rubber.

Also a cig lighter socket in the rear is not a good idea IMO. There is a decent potential for a plug it to work itself loose in the socket, heat up and either stop working or even melt your plug! This is the reason Engel plugs have a thermal fuse in the end of them! Better ideas would be a couple of insulated spade terminals/anderson plug/merit socket or just hardwire a fridge cord and find somewhere to stow it when not in use.

[Jezza86]

striker99 wrote:

1. Through the firewall, under the floor, pull side panel off and run cabling behind that..

this is what i had. ran a standard chineese fridge lead to the battery. the fridge was cuting in and out due to voltage drop as the wiring was to thin. now the fridge plug is fed by some 6mm^2 big fat amp cables which also run to the battery isolator/solanoid

[striker99]

Hmm I might run 2 leads, one for an anderson plug to run fridge off of, and one for cigarette lighter accessories, I bought a narva 12v outlet the other day which looks to be fairly decent quality..

[jimny_timmy]

Anderson plug is overkill... The 6mm^2 that jezza is talking about will be heaps. It's rated at around 50amps. Either way, your ciggy socket is only going to be rated at around 15-20amps max. The thicker wire is purely to compensate voltage drop from running the wire so far. I've run a setup exactly like you are going to do into the back of a 76 cruiser and it runs the fridge and led lights not a problem. Look for the twin core stuff so you can run a + and - from the battery with ease.

Ps make sure you put atleast a 15amp fuse in your wire that you run.

[Jezza86]

i run my amp, compressor, fridge and break controller all off those cables. put a 100A fuse on the battery. figured if it got a dead short that would still blow.

[Blakey]

Jezza86 wrote:

i run my amp, compressor, fridge and brake controller all off those cables. put a 100A fuse on the battery. figured if it got a dead short that would still blow.

that is not always the case a dead short could produce 90Amps. then thats going to melt your wires and set fire to your car. you're pretty much using your cable as your fuse.

a fuse should always be less than the current carrying capacity of your cables so if you're dead short is less than your fuse you will not melt your cables.

[JayKay]

I ran my wiring for my Dual Battery, through the firewall and under the plastic covering of the door step and under the carpet to the back.

[Jezza86]

Blakey wrote:

Jezza86 wrote:

i run my amp, compressor, fridge and brake controller all off those cables. put a 100A fuse on the battery. figured if it got a dead short that would still blow.

that is not always the case a dead short could produce 90Amps. then thats going to melt your wires and set fire to your car. you're pretty much using your cable as your fuse.

a fuse should always be less than the current carrying capacity of your cables so if you're dead short is less than your fuse you will not melt your cables.

good point...
never realsed the 6mm stuff was only rated to 56A
my jumper leads are thinner and their rated to 200A

[jimny_timmy]

^^^^ What???? How thin are you jumper leads?

[Jezza86]

im thinking i have more then 6mm^2 cable going to my power rails in the boot

[jimny_timmy]

I'm thinking you might too lol

[Bugsta]

For reference, an Engel 40L fridge (as an example) draws 2.5A (@12v) when cooling. The duty cycle depends on the set temp and outside temp. A hot day will mean it runs for a lot longer to try and keep up.

Engel fridges come with a special screw fit plug for a positive lock. I recommend this. I have had frustrations with standard CIG plugs working out of the socket after minimal driving. There are locking type CIG sockets available, and I have installed a couple in my centre console but I am yet to test them.

And yes, you want your fuse to be more than your nominal draw and less than your cable capacity.

[Jezza86]

i dunno bout those swingfuji motors in those engels, but the peak draw on my crappy 22l chinese fridge was over 20 amps, but for such a short period it didnt blow 15a fuses.
the safety detected the low voltage and cut power to the compressor. then 1 minute later the compressor would try and restart, and the same thing would happen.
with the engine running and a extra 1-5=2volts at the batery it was fine, would run all day perfectly