Adding auxillary outlet
- Thread starter drnls
- Start date
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BUMP......
I'm curious too.
I'm curious too.
I was thinking of adding another cig lighter next to the current one in the dash. There is a spot right next to the lighter you can pull the plastic piece insatll one there...
There is a piece you can buy from radio shack if you want to get more cig lighters in there. You can buy one with that plugs into the exsisting one and it can make either two or three more!
I would take the time and do it right, versus just adding in a 2 or 3 way adapter. I put one in the back of my '97, bought a "Truck 12v outlet" from Walmart, which is a plastic cig outlet with a spring cover, and comes with about 25' of wire for the positive wire and about 12" for the negative. I cut those off and wired it up to some solid 12-gauge house wire I had ran under the carpet then up to under the steering wheel and through into the firewall (a good grommet above the brake pedal) and to the battery, so that outlet was always on. I put a fuse at the battery. That worked very well, the outlet has a screw-off back so you cut a hole in something, put this in it, then screw the back on and that's how it's held. A good place would be one down in the center console, it'd take a bit of disassembly and wiring, but it'd be worth it to have a cellphone charger all in there like most newer cars do.
Outlet was about $8 IIRC at Walmart.
Outlet was about $8 IIRC at Walmart.
http://www.sleeoffroad.com/technical/tz_interior_fusebox.htm
and
http://www.sleeoffroad.com/technical/tz_outlets.htm
if ya want to get fancy
and
http://www.sleeoffroad.com/technical/tz_outlets.htm
if ya want to get fancy
Mabrodis set up sounds almost like mine; but I ran the power wire from the battery (large fuse) along with the rear brake lines along the chasis and entered the truck in the cargo area instead. There I have a power splice block that connects (with a smaller fuse) to the power outlet (the only one at the moment). I'll take some pix & details if ya want.
Frank.
Frank.
- Thread starter
- #8
Thanks for the answers. sjcruiser - pics would be great. What size fuse should I use and does it matter how many connections are made to the battery? Do I ground the black wire to anything specific. Man I love this site. Nelson
Not sure how illiterate Nelson is but...
I've seen people slip a stripped back piece of wire into and existing fuse and hold it in place by cramming the fuse in over the wire. Hope nobody here has done this :whoops:
I did exactly the same thing mabrodis did except I added a second one at the center console. Both were quite easy to do. I unscrewed and ran the wire from the back under the door kick-plates and through that same rubber grommet. At the battery, you can replace the + battery clamp with one that has a screw/wingnut for accessories (autozone,checker, napa, etc). As far as the connections, you run the red (+) wire from the plug out to the battery and add a (10amp - 15amp) fuse in between. fuse size is dependant on the wire size and should be rated on the plug packaging. The black (-) wire should be attached to a bolt/screw attached to body/chassis for proper grounding.
no details on the wiring portion but this thread has some pics of where I put the plugs.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=26782&highlight=cupholder
WET
I've seen people slip a stripped back piece of wire into and existing fuse and hold it in place by cramming the fuse in over the wire. Hope nobody here has done this :whoops:
I did exactly the same thing mabrodis did except I added a second one at the center console. Both were quite easy to do. I unscrewed and ran the wire from the back under the door kick-plates and through that same rubber grommet. At the battery, you can replace the + battery clamp with one that has a screw/wingnut for accessories (autozone,checker, napa, etc). As far as the connections, you run the red (+) wire from the plug out to the battery and add a (10amp - 15amp) fuse in between. fuse size is dependant on the wire size and should be rated on the plug packaging. The black (-) wire should be attached to a bolt/screw attached to body/chassis for proper grounding.
no details on the wiring portion but this thread has some pics of where I put the plugs.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=26782&highlight=cupholder
WET
I've posted this on a few posts, but I'll post it here just so it is on one place.
The problem with multiple 'cig lighters' is that they can be a major PITA - they take up a lot of space, tend to be limited in how much power you can run from them and are really problematic if you run a 3:1 splitter into the one jack that currently exists (low power lines)
If you want a really good alternative that is really designed for 12V applications, consider the following:
- Have a look at 'Anderson Power Poles' (show me the plugs) -shows one style of distribution box and the plugs - these are effectively 12V 'plugs' - the same concept as the 120V plugs you run in your house. The plugs crimp onto standard wires and then plug into a distribution box(typically have more than one plug - usually 4-5) that is powered from the battery or on switch power.
I have just placed a big order for these along with a friend and plan to completely rewire my truck (and some other stuff). In my case, I have so many 12V power needs, that it's impossible to power everything and keep it clean. I will be running the following (not all at the same time)
- GPS
- Laptop
- Mobile phone charger
- Inverter
- Two work lights
- fan for dog in cage in the rear
- CB radio
- Triband Amateur handheld radio
- Multiband (2M/70cm and HF) amateur mobile radio (hopefully)
- 'extension cord' that allows me to take any of these things far from the truck and still have power (looking to start with 25')
Could also be used for fridge, cooler, etc
The nice thing is (1) very compact (2) very high load rating (needed in some applications) (3) easy to plug and unplug so stuff can be removed. If you want a clean power source for your radios, there are distribution boxes that are individually fused and filtered.
One more option to consider. I'll post pics when I figure out where to mount my stuff.
Cheers, Hugh
The problem with multiple 'cig lighters' is that they can be a major PITA - they take up a lot of space, tend to be limited in how much power you can run from them and are really problematic if you run a 3:1 splitter into the one jack that currently exists (low power lines)
If you want a really good alternative that is really designed for 12V applications, consider the following:
- Have a look at 'Anderson Power Poles' (show me the plugs) -shows one style of distribution box and the plugs - these are effectively 12V 'plugs' - the same concept as the 120V plugs you run in your house. The plugs crimp onto standard wires and then plug into a distribution box(typically have more than one plug - usually 4-5) that is powered from the battery or on switch power.
I have just placed a big order for these along with a friend and plan to completely rewire my truck (and some other stuff). In my case, I have so many 12V power needs, that it's impossible to power everything and keep it clean. I will be running the following (not all at the same time)
- GPS
- Laptop
- Mobile phone charger
- Inverter
- Two work lights
- fan for dog in cage in the rear
- CB radio
- Triband Amateur handheld radio
- Multiband (2M/70cm and HF) amateur mobile radio (hopefully)
- 'extension cord' that allows me to take any of these things far from the truck and still have power (looking to start with 25')
Could also be used for fridge, cooler, etc
The nice thing is (1) very compact (2) very high load rating (needed in some applications) (3) easy to plug and unplug so stuff can be removed. If you want a clean power source for your radios, there are distribution boxes that are individually fused and filtered.
One more option to consider. I'll post pics when I figure out where to mount my stuff.
Cheers, Hugh
NorCalDoug
problems solved daily...
It was alot easier than I anticipated.
Take a look at this:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=17824
Post #5 for what I did.
Take a look at this:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=17824
Post #5 for what I did.
Yes, Doug, you da man! Those were the type of plugs i was looking for.
NorCalDoug
problems solved daily...
These plugs come with a face plate (with 4 holes for screws), but I didn't need to use it.
After you drill the hole in the plastic panel, you slide the outlet in the front and screw the backing plate in on the back of the outlet -- VERY simple install.
After you drill the hole in the plastic panel, you slide the outlet in the front and screw the backing plate in on the back of the outlet -- VERY simple install.
In both my 884runner and 89supra what I have done is used one of the 1-to-3 multi adapter that plug into a single 12V cigarette lighter. Instead of plugging it in (since they always wiggle loose and cause connection problems) I cut the end off and tapped in parallel to the wires behind the dash going to the lighter. Of course I'm not running anything major off of them either just radar detector, CB, digital voltmeter, and Garmin street Pilot III power. The reason why I did it that way was because I like the idea of the 12V lighter not having power when you turn the vehicle off (helps prevent forgetting to turn all your toys off )
)
