<span class="highlight">wiring</span> 12v cigarette soc & usb soc.
Submitted: Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 18:04
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David W28
Hi i run 160w solar panel and a 20AMP MPPT Solar Charge Controller attached this charges my 120AH AGM Battery. Now I want to wire 2x 12v cigarette sockets and 1 USB socket (fix inside my campervan) to my Battery... My ? is what size
wiring 6-8mm, i have 30amp fuse is this to big and do I need a blade fuse box, all said how would the
wiring be fitted. I only need
wiring instructions andsupplies I need.
Wiring connections i am right with. I am only charging phone, ipod-ipads, rechargable light which are under 3 amps. Hope somebody can help.
Regards David.
Reply By: Member - Rosco from way back - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 19:05
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 19:05
G'day David
I reckon any reasonably light weight twin core would be up to the job. e.g. normal 240V(10A) light weight cable from the local hardware. Run that from your batt through a 10A blade fuse and connect your various outlets in parallel i.e. from one to the next to the next and so on. Note I said from one TO not from one THROUGH as that would be in series.
6-8mm would be overkill in my opinion for the low current draws you are planning and would be a tad stiff also.
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519871
Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 19:42
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 19:42
I agree with Rosco. From the battery, through a 10A blade fuse to the two 12V cigarette lighter sockets and a suitably regulated USB socket.
A word of warning - USB sockets provide 5 volts, not 12V. Those intended to run from 12V include a regulator to drop the voltage. Your 5V devices won't be too pleased if you connect them to 12V !
An easy option for you might be one of the cigarette lighter "double adapters" that are fed by a cigarette lighter plug and provide two or three cigarette lighter outlet sockets, plus a 5V USB socket. Most of these USB outlets seem to be limited to 0.5A, but you'll find some on ebay that are rated at 2A.
Cheers
John | J and V
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Follow Up By: David W28 - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 20:16
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 20:16
Thankyou Rosco, I think the USB Narva heavy duty socket converts the 12v's into 5v and is rated @ 2.5amps. Both comments today will help me finish the job under $35 I think. I was quoted $175 min so that will save me heaps, thankyou for your positive comments and help.
Regards David.
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Reply By: Member - johnat - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 19:57
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 19:57
You could get one of these
wired direct to the battery, through a 10 or 15A blade fuse in the positive wire (an inline fuse holder is easy to get at supercheap or repco or whatever. The USB unit has its own voltage controller.
This is what I did, but bought a binnacle with double 12v outlets and a twin USB, installed it as above. All working good!
AnswerID:
519874
Follow Up By: David W28 - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 20:19
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 20:19
Hi Johnat, the unit above would have been better than the 1 I am using, only cos their facing outwards not upwards! No crumbs. lol
FollowupID:
800187
Follow Up By: Member -Dodger - Friday, Oct 18, 2013 at 16:51
Friday, Oct 18, 2013 at 16:51
I installed one of these in the BT50 and hard wired it to the ignition circuit from the fuse box.
Works a treat.
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800240
Follow Up By: David W28 - Sunday, Oct 20, 2013 at 01:04
Sunday, Oct 20, 2013 at 01:04
Hi Johnat after a lot of thinking I'm back here.
My ? to you is do i use two seperate positive & negative wires to connect too both the cig soc and usb soc. This means I need say 2 x pos wires and 2 x neg wires + 2 x inline fuse holder and 2 x 10-15 amp fuses? What size
wiring mm? Do I or can I use a fuse holder on the usb unit neg wire to be safe or is there no need for it?
I was going to place a 20 amp fuse in both pos wires then wire into a blade fuse box 10amp for cig soc and a 5 amp for usb thats what i was told but weren't sure i needed the fuse box. Thought it might be overkill.....This is why I'm writing back to you after a lot of thinking. You have the easiest solution. Hope you can help.
Regards David.
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800366
Reply By: Ross M - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 20:20
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 20:20
David W28
If you use a cig socket and usb slot type device then you may find,as hinted, that a pad won't charge from a 0.5A usb socket. My AUSUS will not and requires a USB of a greater capacity Ie 2A at least.
I would also wire a switch on the input to the socket system so the power can be turned off when not required.
Handy for lights etc. If the unit has a dedicated USB or even a plug into the Cig plug style they will use some power even if nothing is plugged into the USB itself. Therefore the switch is useful.
I would use automotive cable which has a red and black twin core, this is so when making connections you don't unwittingly reverse the polarity to your valued electronic gear. Easy to do will house fig8 cable.
I would select a fuse size which is only a little above the expected drain, not 4 or 5 times the draw. More safe, more better!
If you have an MPPT controller on your panels, it is best to remove the reg from the panels and have it at the battery so the highest voltage is sent the longest distance and the regulated voltage is going the shortest distance to the battery. That will make best use of the power available and it is also what an MPPT reg is trying to do. It just allows it to maximize the charge to the battery. Maybe even upgrade the cabling if it is a bit light on. Then you will have more power/charge in the battery to have the lights on.
Cheers
Ross M
AnswerID:
519876
Follow Up By: Member - johnat - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 22:03
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 22:03
Ross,
I am a bit bemused at this " If the unit has a dedicated USB or even a plug into the Cig plug style they will use some power even if nothing is plugged into the USB itself. "
How is that? And, what level of current use would you expect from a double USB unit such as the one I showed?
FollowupID:
800191
Follow Up By: Ross M - Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 22:30
Thursday, Oct 17, 2013 at 22:30
G'day johnat
I sometimes use an adapter which changes 12v Cig plug to a USB output. Even if the usb device is removed the electronics dropping 12v to 5 v is still active. n Led is on ant he regulator itself is passing some current. I must admit it isn't much.
The switch is handy so t turn off the appliances the swithc is operated and unplugging isn't needed.
On some of the modern ECU CRD diesels, they sometimes won't start or have a delayed start or cause some strange situations if the ECU detects there is a device in the Cig plug or AUX Power outlet as the key is turned on.
Some BT 50 owners have reported problems and unplugging the device clears it and the ECU then allows the system to begin ops normally.
Dmax delay start sometime, ie turn key and nothing happens for a while, then it will start.
The switch also allows this to avoided without pulling out and reinserting the devices or multiple outlet Ciggy units which also have a USB out. Really annoying if it happens ever time you want to start.
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