Clever Inverter Installs

[antichrist]

How many headlights do you have? Two stock 60W H4 highbeams would only draw 120 watts, or about 8 amps.

With the engine running, 1000 watts would be closer to 69 amps.

This all assumes the correct charging voltage of about 14.5.

:banghead: Actually, since the inverter is only going to draw 12v, the amps would be about 83. But the headlights will still only be 9 or 10.

Mounting the inverter in the back of the Rover would require about a #4 cable from your battery so you keep your volt drop under .5

 

[peter sherman]

Oh wait...damn...thats not an inverter.

AHHH the old Pussweiser

 

[edthediscoman]

OK...here we go.
I ran a #4 positive cable to my glove box, and installed 40A fuses, with a voltage battery readout in there - handy to know when you are running full juice. Then from there ran the #4 welding cable to the back, jump seat area where the compressor and Inverter are. The 1300W (3400peak) inverter (80 bucks on sale - harbor freight) is enough to run my laptop and more importantly my blender. The 120V Compressor is a little slow, but fills the 2 gal tank. Used with the 12v ARB compressor, seems to run just fine for filling tires. The ground just hits the frame in the rear. It also gives me the option of hooking up jumper cables from the rear of the car if needed. I am running an extension cable back to the front for power up there, and considering adding a couple of outlets under the passenger glove box.

Couple of things I would like to do. Rerun the on/off power switch to the front...as its low voltage (not 90A max draw), as I have to get out of the rig to turn it on/off.
Outlets under the passenger side glove box - 120V power.

BTW...never even got warm when running blender/compressor/etc....
Ed

 

[jim-00-4.6]

I ran a #4 positive cable to my glove box, and installed 40A fuses, with a voltage battery readout in there - handy to know when you are running full juice. It also gives me the option of hooking up jumper cables from the rear of the car if needed. Ed

The first time you try to jump a car from the rear connection, you'll blow that 40A fuse.
Typical car starter will draw 60amps or more while turning the starter motor.

 

[chuck c]

Ok, headlights only about 8-10 amps, but ALL the lights on the truck should total about 20.

 

[FIVESPDDISCO]

I would recomend runnd the ground back to the battery.

 

[drjohnso2]

I put the inverter under the drivers seat and rewired the inverters on/off switch to the console. Went out and bought 15ft small brown extention cord ran it under the carpet and to the back of the truck...cut off the end and wired it the same as you would in your house and off of that receptical I ran it to the other side and done the same. Black line drawn on the last picture to show wire route.

 

[garrett]

very nice. what size inverter is under the seat?

 

[drjohnso2]

1000 Watts Continuous ,2000 Watts Peak Power
Needs a small warning light to remind me that it is on, I have forgotten it a few times.

 

[azarmadillo]

We do that in our company cars. We hardwire them in under the rear floor (BMW X3) and then move the on/off switch and one of the inverter's outlets so they are easily accessible. It's a much smaller load on the switch by moving the inverter's power switch than it would be to put a switch inline from the battery to the inverter itself.

 

[SGaynor]

I want to install an inverter into my Rover. But, I don't want to see it, yet it needs to be accessible from the drivers seat with ease.

Did you ever do this install? How did you end up putting it in?

I'm planning on putting one in this summer and want to see how you did it. I like drjohnso2's set up.

 

[rmuller]

We just installed a 1200 watt inverter in Kacers Disco2 last night.. mounted it under the passenger seat (he didnt have a 6 disc changer there)... ran a low gauge (4 or 6, cant remember) line under the carpet up to the kickpanel then through the firewall where there is a grommet, then put it through a circuit breaker. Nice thing about the install is that you can just open that little access door and plug anything in.

 

[Lucasd2002]

We just installed a 1200 watt inverter in Kacers Disco2 last night.. mounted it under the passenger seat (he didnt have a 6 disc changer there)... ran a low gauge (4 or 6, cant remember) line under the carpet up to the kickpanel then through the firewall where there is a grommet, then put it through a circuit breaker. Nice thing about the install is that you can just open that little access door and plug anything in.

Do you have any info on the circuit breaker you used?

 

[rovercanus]

A GFCI mounted in the seat bottom there would be pretty cool!

 

[Jaime]

We just installed a 1200 watt inverter in Kacers Disco2 last night.. mounted it under the passenger seat (he didnt have a 6 disc changer there)... ran a low gauge (4 or 6, cant remember) line under the carpet up to the kickpanel then through the firewall where there is a grommet, then put it through a circuit breaker. Nice thing about the install is that you can just open that little access door and plug anything in.

I guess Kacer won't wheel in the Pine Barrens

 

[rmuller]

I guess Kacer won't wheel in the Pine Barrens

We figured that the transmission ECU under the drivers side seat would get destroyed first, so there are bigger things to worry about.

 

[Axel]

1000 watt inverter will pull about 80 amps. You're going to have to cut pretty big holes in the firewall for the welding cables to hook it up.

The size of the inverter has little to do with the amperage draw under normal load. The amperage draw of a 100 watt bulb plugged into a 1000 watt converter will be the same as a 100 watt bulb plugged into a 3000 watt converter. You do however have to take into consideration that the draw of a 3000 watt converter under full load will be 3 times that of a 1000 watt converter when sizing your wires, which is where your 80 amps come into play. To figure the actual draw, use Ohm's second law:

Wattage = Voltage x Amperage

Solved for amperage:

Amperage = Wattage / Voltage

So our 100 watt bulb will draw 100/12 = 8.33 amps. Use 12 volts in the calculation for a safety margin, since the draw will be higher at lower voltage.

 

[antichrist]

Yeah, I should have put that in my original post. Thanks.

The other thing that should be mentioned is that running lamp cord may not be the best idea, unless it's fastened down in a lot of places. Wiring in a vehicle will be subject to more vibration and resultant wearing away of the insulation.

 

[drjohnso2]

Yeah, he's right... I ran duct tape about the whole length of the cord and if your going to run anything big from you inverter, use bigger cord or youll want or have to do it later if you dont. I went back and upgraded my cord even though you cant really over load them due to safety kick off but it looks like it would have to be hard on a larger tool. I have ran a pretty good sized hammer drill with no problem but I changed wire anyway all for about 3 or 4 dollars.

 

[nrene]

Resurecting an old thread.

Anyone have pics of their 3-prong plug installs (location and parts)?

Current plan (as inspired by this thread) is a 1000w inverter under passenger's seat. Remote switch mounted to dash, and AC plugs under the passenger seat (through the seat base), and in the cargo area.

I can do the standard household plug and faceplate, but with so many cars coming with inverters and plugs standard these days, has anyone found (and/or installed) one of the vehicle (non-household) plugs?