Newbie Question - hardwiring inverter w/ switch..please help

**mykolJay** · 06-21-2004, 04:30 PM

Okay, I have no experience with electronic wiring, other than being able to install car stereos.

I would like to hardwire an inverter and have on/off switch.

Could you give me a very (very) detailed instructions.

I have a thick wire (w/ a fuse) going from my positive prong on my battery to my trunk (used formerly for an amp). Is this the amp wiring kit everone talks about?

I'm not sure where to get negative 12v (the stereo harness?).Do I plug the ACC wire or the constant 12v to the inverter?

How do hook up those on/off switches from RadioShack? (again, sorry about the broad newb questions).

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! I want to have this installed tomorrow before my lilliput comes in.

**icet** · 06-22-2004, 12:24 PM

the way mine set up is this...
i opened my inverter, and solder the on/off switch to constantly on...
then buy 30a relay from radio shack or autozone....
assume u have a cd head unit with an amp...
there is a blue or aux wire coming out from headunit to power the amp...
tap in the line to go to 86 on the relay...
30 on the relay to 12v car battery
55 is ground
87 is to your inverter...
and ground the - inverter and - on the relay to the same spot...

so i control my power on/off from my cd headunit...if the cd is off, everything is off...
hope this..help...
do a search for more details...
my topic about this is not long ago..
icet...

**lucho** · 06-22-2004, 03:20 PM

I bought a relay today for my inverter. Looking at the diagram on the back, I am confused between 87 and 30.

87 12v in
30 12v out.

Should 87 go to the battery and 30 to the + inverter?

Should soldering the power button for always on required? Can you just leave the button on the on position?

Thanks

Lucho

**mykolJay** · 06-23-2004, 10:12 AM

I appreciate the info, but unfortunately i have no clue about relays (Are those numbers (87,55, etch. some preset points on the relay???).

The headunit idea is good, but i want to think further about that route.

Here's all I want at this point: A hardwired inverter with an on/off switch.

What I have:
150W inverter
Radio Shack Switch
Amp wiring kit with a 4 out distribution block (fused) from battery (constant positive)

Here's where I'm confused:
I opened up the inverter plug and there was two wires (I'm assuming positive and ground [but I could be wrong, is there no negative?])
The radioshack switch has 3 prongs: positive, source, ground. (It's also up to 25A, is that good enough?)

So I plug the contant positive from the distribution block to the positive on the switch. Then I hook the positive wire (of the inverter) to the source input (on the switch). And then I just ground the inverter and the switch.
Is that all? I guess I don't need acc, right?

thanks for your help.

Here's a cheesy diagram (sorry, I didn't know how to post pics). Hopefully you can see it.

**mykolJay** · 06-23-2004, 02:50 PM

so does that pic look accurate? should i maintain a 10 guage wire throughout?

**mykolJay** · 06-23-2004, 03:08 PM

it's me again. Is the connections in the inverter a positive and negative or positive and ground?

As you can see, lot's of questions above. Thanks, I suck at this.

**lucho** · 06-23-2004, 03:20 PM

When I get home I will email you my diagram. I basically used the relay to power the inverter when the car turns on. For the pc, I soldered a rj45 cable to a momentary switch with 2 LEDs below. One for power and one for hard drive activity. So I turn the car on, the power inverter turns on automagically, then I push the power button to bring my pc out of hibernation. Works good. No other switches needed.

I got 10 gauge from the battery with a fuse to a distribution block. From the block it feeds to the amp and another to the relay (pin 30/51). From 87 on the relay, I go to the positive of the inverter. 85 is ground which I have a common ground for the relay, PC chasis, power inverter, and amp. Then the remote from the the radio (blue wire) to the back of my car and it splits off to two, one for the amp, and the other to the on/off pin of the relay.

Hope this helps.

Lucho

**mykolJay** · 06-23-2004, 04:22 PM

I would love to see a diagram. Thanks. I just enet accross the street to a RadioShack and saw what a relay looks like. I thought it was more of a circuit board that required soldering. That's good news. I will definitely will incorporate it.

So your computer isn't always on, is it?
I don't know if I need the whole hibernating thing, because I don't drive often, once a week or every two weeks. (I work in NYC and live just outside of it.)

Does the switch have to 25A or 30A?

**mykolJay** · 06-23-2004, 04:39 PM

luncho -
are you doing what icet is..with the headunit controlling the on/off of the inverter?
The blue remote wire you speak off, is that the 'amp out' wire coming out of the back of the headunit? So when you turn off your headunit (or your car)..the inverter turns off? Thanks.