Fridge 12 V cord to Anderson Plugs Questions? (3 Viewers)

[Manuelsv]

Hello Electrical Gurus.. This might be a simple question but I thought I better check with the experts..
So I just bought a 12V/120V fridge ICECO VL65.

I want any removable accessories to be connected using Anderson plugs for better efficiency and overall sturdiness on the trail..

So to my question before I start slicing and dicing my expensive 12V OEM plug/wire that came with the fridge (See pictures)

1) There is a 10A fuse built into it, should I put an inline 10A fuse on the cord? Even though my setup is fused before the connection?

2) How do I determine which wire is positive and negative? On the fridge/OEM plug? Is there a standard? Is it the side with the writing that is positive or other way round? Does it matter?

 

[e9999]

No expert here, but FWIW:
1) Yes, that would be good. I believe in fuses. I'll gladly put in an extra one. And that way you can use it anywhere without worrying about whether the line is already fused or not.
2) Yes, it matters very much. From memory, the positive goes to the tip of the cigarette lighter plug. I would not trust any guess based on printed text. Anyway, I'd double check with a voltmeter (which you should really have if you do any sort of electrical work). With a voltmeter you can check anywhere for the Positive and then follow the wire. If you don't have one already, HF gives some out for free periodically.
x) that plug is way overkill for that sort of fridge IMO. Not needed and way big. You'd probably be just fine with even a PP15 if your wire is not too big, which is unlikely if it's a 10A max system. Or make that a PP30 for a medium bit of overkill.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Have you had a look at this?
Powerwerx has a custom cable builder so you could just leave your OEM cables alone and make your own adapters:
REF:
Design Your Own Dual Conductor Custom DC Power Cable

 

[Manuelsv]

No expert here, but FWIW:
1) Yes, that would be good. I believe in fuses. I'll gladly put in an extra one. And that way you can use it anywhere without worrying about whether the line is already fused or not.
2) Yes, it matters very much. From memory, the positive goes to the tip of the cigarette lighter plug. I would not trust any guess based on printed text. Anyway, I'd double check with a voltmeter (which you should really have if you do any sort of electrical work). With a voltmeter you can check anywhere for the Positive and then follow the wire. If you don't have one already, HF gives some out for free periodically.
x) that plug is way overkill for that sort of fridge IMO. Not needed and way big. You'd probably be just fine with even a PP15 if your wire is not too big, which is unlikely if it's a 10A max system. Or make that a PP30 for a medium bit of overkill.

Yup turned out to be simple enough I'll just see with a voltmeter which wire is which and Du'h of-course the one with the fuse is the positive.. Geesh I should have known.. Thanks.. !

 

[e9999]

Best not to assume anything and always check...

What's the gauge of that connecting cord? Looks like it's printed on it.

 

[woytovich]

Absolute Wits End sells what you need.

 

[Code Red]

I've got a couple of the Wit's End cables to connect a National Luna and an Engel to Andersons. They are much better than cig or hella. No more melted ice cream or warm beer since I bought them.

 

[spressomon]

Another plug for Joey and Wit's End fridge cables to Anderson PowerPoles. I priced out making my own and it was actually, apples to apples using the coiled wire (fridge is atop a BedSlide in my HD2500), going to cost me more than buying the all-ready to go from Joey. Worked out perfectly!

 

[bonestock]

Bumping this one to see if there are other recommendations. Joey @NLXTACY appears to not carry these cables anymore.

 

[NLXTACY]

Another pandemic victim. I haven’t tried finding a replacement in a couple months. Maybe I’ll start that up again.

 

[bonestock]

I found this place. Retractable Coiled Cord | Wire & Cable Your Way - https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/retractile-coiled-cord

 

[gnob]

Check out ebay for Anderson pp ends and your cord end.
I waz able to match my arb end and build my own.
The Anderson plugs are really cheap and even if you scalp a brand name cord, you are going to be under 50$

 

[e9999]

I've taken to cutting just about all my DC cords and putting Anderson PP connectors on them near the ends. That way I can mix and match ends at will and now have a collection of extension cords too that I can choose from based on length and gauge and even string together as needed. Very nice.

 

[george_tlc]

Anderson powerpole 3D print for 'coin' holders

I posted a couple of pics in the what did you do with your 80 thread a few days back. Anyhow, V2 looks pretty close. I'm just sizing up the roll pin hole a little to make it easier for the roll pins to be inserted. So, this is the latest 'look'. The grey is too light, so I'll probably just use...

forum.ih8mud.com

If you love using powerpoles and have a 3D printer

cheers,
george.

 

[reddog90]

I built a new cord for my VL45Pro S last night. I cut the fridge's connector off the Iceco cord leaving a few inches of cord to work with. I used a multi meter to test and confirm that the wire with the rib in the insulation is negative on the Iceco cord. I connected this plug to my desired length of 12 gauge zip cord from powerwerx using heat shrink solder sleeves and added 30 amp anderson plugs with heat shrink and a boot on the other end. Put the whole thing in 1/4" wire loom from amazon and it will go in a 10x11mm cable chain also from amazon. I considered a coiled cord but thought I would have still needed to tie it up somewhere in the cab to keep it from laying in the fridge slide.

 

[woytovich]

I built a new cord for my VL45Pro S last night. I cut the fridge's connector off the Iceco cord leaving a few inches of cord to work with. I used a multi meter to test and confirm that the wire with the rib in the insulation is negative on the Iceco cord. I connected this plug to my desired length of 12 gauge zip cord from powerwerx using heat shrink solder sleeves and added 30 amp anderson plugs with heat shrink and a boot on the other end. Put the whole thing in 1/4" wire loom from amazon and it will go in a 10x11mm cable chain also from amazon. I considered a coiled cord but thought I would have still needed to tie it up somewhere in the cab to keep it from laying in the fridge slide.

Pictures, please.

 

[reddog90]

Pictures, please.

Not sure if you wanted a shot of the diy cable or the complete setup, does this help? It would be more space efficient to run the cable chain under the fridge slide, but that doesn't work with this old dometic slide. So that area next to the cable chain can be wasted space. I'm adding a couple tie downs there so I can strap down something small that won't interfere with the cable chain.

 

[e9999]

nice. Could you have done a right-angle end connector?

 

[reddog90]

nice. Could you have done a right-angle end connector?

Is there a right angle anderson connector? The cord is very flexible, it shouldn't be in my way for loose stuff when the middle row is folded down.

 

[gnob]

What are your tie down rails?

Not sure if you wanted a shot of the diy cable or the complete setup, does this help? It would be more space efficient to run the cable chain under the fridge slide, but that doesn't work with this old dometic slide. So that area next to the cable chain can be wasted space. I'm adding a couple tie downs there so I can strap down something small that won't interfere with the cable chain.