Rear inverter - convert to 12V socket
- Thread starter ROMR NTX
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By definition the wiring should support a 12V socket and an 8.5A load since to my knowledge it’s 12V to the inverter. Probably 12V, 10A but check the fuse block to see what the fuse rating is, then reduce by 20% for sustained load.
IIRC the wiring is pitifully small. Borderline undersized for the 100W factory inverter. You can replace with 12V socket, but those are rated for 12A-15A I believe so you may want to fuse the circuit smaller (assuming the inverter has a dedicated circuit) and label the outlet to indicate a max wattage.
- Thread starter
- #4
Interesting. Would it be any different than existing 12v sockets in the car?
I have two devices I'm likely to plug in back there. A power station and a fridge, both of which will pull a max of 10A. But I've never had an issue plugging them into the 2nd row socket.
I'm wondering if they'll try to pull too much and blow an 8amp fuse.
Are you referring to the wire carrying the AC load or the DC to the inverter? The AC wire only needs to carry 1A so it doesn’t need to be much.
As you have an LX, and I assume you'll be pulling at least one side of the 3rd row seat for the fridge.
There is harness the supports the powered fold 3rd row seat in the floor. On that harness is a relatively beefy ~15 gauge 30 amp fused always on power wire. It's the larger red wire on the plug.
That a perfect source for what you intend to do and I would recommend that as the supply before the inverter as that wire is smaller as pointed out earlier.
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- #8
Yeah 3rd row is already removed. I will look into this. Although I don't really want always-on power, I could definitely find a way to use the extra wattage
Was just going to post that too.
@ROMR NTX , if it's just for the fridge, most models have built in configurable disconnect at ~12.4V.
I use a relay which triggers on engine power and disconnects when the engine is shut off. I’d recommend that route, you can trigger the 12v socket off basically any switched source.
Yeah, I find my Iceco trips too soon even on its least aggressive setting.
My last 2 camping trips have been way cooler having the always on 12v in the rear for fridge and charging.
My last 2 camping trips have been way cooler having the always on 12v in the rear for fridge and charging.
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- #13
EcoFlow Glacier. It has built in battery protection.
But I don't think my Bluetti AC200Max does. Other than requiring at least 11.5 volts in order to charge from the car. Which is lower than I'd prefer to cut it off.
I'm sure there's a way to use that 30A to charge the Bluetti way faster than a cigarette plug. But I think that would involve tricking it into thinking it was being charged by solar. And based on the max solar amps, I'd have to step up the voltage to take full advantage of that wire.
I used mine to hardwire a WeBoost cell amplifier.
While we are on the subject, does anyone know if the connector on the other side is a 2nd circuit, or tied to the same circuit?
You can use something like this Victron Converter to charge your Bluetti. There's several flavors in Victron's line-up and most of them all have very configurable engine on detection via voltage.
Note there are 18A and larger versions of this too. As this is a continuous draw and you may also powering other things, I would be conservative as there is going to be voltage drop on that wire when pulling >18A from my experience. These converters draw something more than their rating because of conversion losses. The 30A fuse has built in margin so as not to prematurely trip, but I would say the circuit is only appropriate for something less than 18A.
Sweet… that’s lots of free power.
This was my quick and dirty solution. I kept the plug side from my seats before I trashed them.
I haven’t trimmed out the cables yet. Was going to do some continuity testing to see which wires get connected when you hit the switches on the rear seat control panel. No idea what to do with them yet, but might be cool.
I haven’t trimmed out the cables yet. Was going to do some continuity testing to see which wires get connected when you hit the switches on the rear seat control panel. No idea what to do with them yet, but might be cool.
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- #20
That's really cool but I want to be able to revert to stock some day. Wonder how hard it would be to find a plug that would match up to that.
