How to wire a small inverter? (1 Viewer)

[rc51kid]

I am going to install a small 300w or 400w inverter in my 80. I will have a dual battery system by the time i do this. The easiest way would be to run the inverter straight off the battery, constant power, obviously fused. With the dual batt i would always have one fresh batt to start the truck from. So my real question is do you guys think the inverter should have constant power or switched power?

 

[NLXTACY]

Up to you. The inverter already has a switch built in. But you can move that switch wherever you want. I have my thread somewhere around here.

 

[LFD2037]

Just wire it straight & use the switch on the face of it.

 

[greentruck]

Yeah, both my 400w inverters are wired so that they have constant power to them, but they are controlled by the power switch on the inverter.

I fused the feeder and ran the ground all the way back to the battery rather than count on a frame ground. More wire, but electrically quieter in some cases. I like to get the shortwave out when I'm back in the woods sometimes, so I tend to do things like this that avoid any potentially RF noisy connections in the circuit, particularly since I'd most likely be using one or both inverters to power radios.

If you need some long cabling, consider finding a pair of cheap jumper cables. Plenty of capacity for dual 400w inverters and generally flexible. Protect it from damage, of course, but these days often cheaper than buying it by the foot.

One is under my Tuffy.

The other built into the back end of the sleeper/drawer conversion.

 

[Output Shaft]

Note that every wire in the stock vehicle goes through the fusible link via the wiring harness before going to the fuse box.

The "correct" way to wire any accessory is to have it fused in one way or another as close to the battery as feasible. A switch is not a fuse.

Though temporary jumper cables are ok.

But how many of us (myself included) follow the rules?

 

[greentruck]

Oh, my inverters are fused at the battery, but no fusible link and thus are independent of the truck's electrical system.

Just to clarify, I mentioned jumper cables to use the wire in them as an often more affordable alternative to buying heavy gauge cable by the foot. The clamps go in your scrap box for other uses. The cable is wired in permanently, including the fusing at the battery.

Might not be totally by the rules, but having the circuits independent of the truck wiring also means good RF isolation when I listen to my radio(s).