How To - 12v Accessory point in rear

G'day Smocky,

I have a similar set up in the rear of the Patrol (a marine 2 pole screw in job) runs off the battery (not accesories) and I also use Anderson plug fitting. I like the latter because of the length from the power source I can use serious cable and that way I don't get voltage drops which will be important if you intend running the new fridge from this point.

Kind regards

G'day mate,

It's okay to earth to chassis (i wouldn't "trust" the tray itself though, as a good earth point).

As for switch, it all depends on what you want to plug in to it.....I'm guessing it's gunna be your 3-way fridge which you've finally got sorted. If so, you are gunna need VERY HEAVY cabling and I wouldn't worry about a switch. Also, the plug you use should be a Hella-type unit, not a scungie, cigi-plug type, which will come loose as soon as you hit your first bit of corrogation and then the beer will be warm.

Cya bloke

I ran +ve and -ve, (I know you can use the chassis as an earth but I am much happiers doing it this way, the pros and cons have equal merit), heavy duty cable to reduce voltage loss( I forget what guage), I now have fuses at both ends to protect the equipment and also to protect the car against fire if the cable ever shorts, I didn't see a need for a switch with the fuses installed, hope this helps.

I'd recommend a dash switch running a relay- The only reason is for convenience. If you are in there doing the wiring you may as well set yourelf up for further down the track. see if you can get an LED on the dash switch too so you can be alerted another way if there isnt power flowing to your fridge. It also helps in fault diagnosis if you start grabbing warm beers out one day.

My fridge on off switch is a pig to get at: have to open both swing-away wheels, open back door, then can hit fridge power button- to get to the plug is much harder. The switch is easy- press it and the thing turn off. Also helps if you are running other appliances off the same 12V socket that dont have an inline switch.

Hi Smocky,

Take a look at this; link text - it has some excellent advice, particularly on the wiring side.

Cheers,
Jeremy