Wiring question

I'm no electrician but the wiring I've seen in some of the crazy big and expensive "overland rigs" use house wire and boxes.

Where do you plan to pull your battery voltage from? What kind of truck are you putting this in?

Run 4ga wire from battery (with fuse!) to under console. You can run a lesser gauge wire off that lug to a fuse block under the passenger seat for other devices.
For radios and chargers, I have a 10ga wire from the positive lug on the firewall to under the passenger seat. In that location I have a constant power fuse block and one switched with a Lind shutdown timer. The input for that is from the old cig lighter outlet in the console. I have fresh 16ga wires to two new power outlets and one dual outlet USB charger. I have one constant power wire run to the right rear corner of the truck for the travel fridge.

Option B. I'm not a fan of sloppy splices.
But if the front needs 4ga and the rear needs 4ga would you want a larger ga going to the the junction location from the battery to safely handle bith loads to that point?

KngTgr said:

Would you run a dedicated ground 4 gauge cable?

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I would find a good ground on the truck (unless it was a radio). Make sure the body and chassis to battery grounds are in good condition.

KngTgr said:

Would you run a dedicated ground 4 gauge cable?

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Check you available ground continuity, if it's neglible (say under 20ohms) then no need for a dedicated ground. If you are running a radio or some other device that needs clean dc power thenrun a dedicated ground. To check your ground continuity, ground one test probe at your grounding site, ground the other probe to your neg battery cable termination. Disconect the battery terminal from the battery to get the most accurate reading.

Im a fan of using circuit breakers in place of fuses when you get into the higher amperage. Plus you dont have to worry about not having a replacement fuse if you do have a surge. Here is a 300amp. I run a 100amp breaker on the feed to my aux fuse block.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...-6367-5e0a-be05-493d217d33cd&pf_rd_i=15734151

KngTgr said:

Something like this?

View attachment 56653

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The timer may not like the current required for the inverter. It may need a direct link to the distribution block. I don't know if the inverter has a remote power switch that could be replaced by a relay to give you the same functionality

KngTgr said:

How about a manual switch, and a 120 Amp relay (with power from the distribution block) between the timer and the Amp

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That should work.

KngTgr said:

I want to run power to 2 places

1. I have a 400W (constant, 800W peak) converter that I would like to install under the center cubby, with the plugs sticking out in place of the rear ashtray. power rating and distance calls for a 4 gauga cable

2. all the way to the rear for future needs (undecided on what those needs will be). i figure the same 4 gauge wire

question.
what is the best way to acomplish this?

a. run a straight line all the eay to the back, and peel off the insulation midway to pull cable to attach cable to the cubby.

b. run a line to the mid section, with a distribution block, in a y split, one end to continue to the rear, the other to the cubby.

c. other. please explain

thank you guys

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Peak draw (800w at 120vac) is 67amps at 12vdc.
Since no inverter is perfect, and many are very far from it, assume a 15% loss (85% efficiency) during invert. So to get 800w at 120vac, instead of 67a you'll potentially pull 77a at 12vdc.
4AWG will safely deliver 80A at 12VDC up to about 16 feet, assuming a 3% voltage drop.
Limit your current draw to 50A at 12VDC if the cable length is 20-25 feet with a 3% voltage drop.
Note this is "round-trip" cable length, so I'm assuming a "local" ground.
Be CERTAIN it is 4ga AWG, NOT SAE.
SAE gauge is 6% to 12% smaller.

Recall that the purpose of the fuse (or circuit breaker) is to protect the wiring.

I like the idea of a home-run to the back, separate from the feed to the center console.
Church. State. Separate.

Do not neglect to provide adequate ventilation for the inverter; it has a fan for a reason.

They're not plugs, they're receptacles.
Plug. Penis. Male.
Receptacle. Receive-a-penis. Female.
Go into the bathroom and look inside your trousers; this will make sense.

Ensure a high quality ground connection at the battery.
Ensure a high quality "local" ground connection.
Run only the positive power lead.
That's how everything in your car is wired by the factory.

KngTgr said:

Thank you all, I just placed the order, will do the install next week.

View attachment 56656

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That seems like a pain in the butt. Personally I'd just run a single larger gauge wire through the firewall then split it by the passenger seat. I did that for my stereo amp under the passenger seat and continued the wire back to the cargo area for my Puma compressor.