I hate to do this because I know it has been covered and is written about in the tech section. I just need to know what exactly to buy if I want to run the inverter in the cargo area and have a switch for it by the instrument panel. Im not much of an electrical person so thats why I am asking this specifically. I need wire (8gauge?) switch (a certain kind?) relay(?). Thanks alot guys. I appreciate the help.

All I am looking for is the answer to the parts list. You can PM it to me if you want.

 

i dont have your answers, but if you could take pics thorughout your install process and share them with us, that would help me out a lot

thanks man.

 

It depends on how big of an inverter you're going to use.

 

400w inverter...Ill gladly take pics of the install of the inverter and the carputer I had in there and am reinstalling.

 

Having worked for an Inverter company for 6 years I may be able to help you out.

When ever working with DC voltage you want to keep the DC lines as short as possible as you lose voltage for every foot of wire that you have. If you lose too much voltage you will not be able to supply enough to the inverter so when you have a high draw on the inverter it will shut down due to low voltage.

Here is a list of questions that I have to help you define the parts list.
1. What size of inverter do you want to run?
2. How far is the battery located from the inverter (In feet)
3. Does the inverter you want have a on/off switch or is a remote switch available?

With this info I can help you out with your parts list.

 

400 w inverter. Only about 100 watts (if that)will be hooked into it.

10 feet max distance

on/off switch with fuse on the inverter...id like to leave that on at all times but have a switch put up by me.

 

To be honest with you it would be better if you mounted the inverter closer to the battery as you would be able to scale down the reqired DC Wire size. Right now you would require 4guage wire from the battery. If you could get this to around 5 feet you could move to a 6guage wire.

As for the remote, most smaller inverters do not have any sort of remote switch so there are 2 different methods of setting this up.

1. You can remove the On/Off switch from the inverter and lengthen the wires to where you want to mount it.
2. You can add a relay on the DC line running to the inverter and use a seperate switch to control the relay.

I would recommend the second method.

Parts list:
10' 4Guage wire (For positive DC)
2' 4Gurage wire (For Negative DC. From Battery to chassis.)
1 50amp fuse
1 Relay rated at at least 50 amps
1 switch.

 

I don't want to highjack the thread, but BC-4runner, could you talk a look at my thread? https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/electrical-guys-i-need-your-help-36739/

 

Been there, done that.

 

Great. I appreciate the help. Look for a PM from me when I go to put this together.

 

awesome, thanks man.

 

Be sure to fuse the +12 vdc side of the switch your going to use to energize the relay coil. 20 amps should do for that. 50 amps on the relay's contactor side sounds right for a 400 watt inverter. Be sure to put both fuses as close to the the battery as reasonably possible. Think it through, be sure to use good quality parts and take your time. You'll be running potentially lethal current a relatively long distance. This is definitely a worthwhile mod.

Here are som pics of how I did mine:

I used the bracket that the rear seat latchs to as a gound point.



This is the power relay (K3).



The fuse (F3) is here.



The switch is a stock Toyota switch (thanks, Corey) and costs about $14. Its the lower one next to the blank panel.



One last thing that I would suggest is labeling everything. It'll help when your memory fades after a few years and you've added more wires fuses, switches and relays.

PM me if you have questions.

 

Oh I have questions.

Great install. Do you have a parts list for that? That is basically how I want to do mine except I may run it to the other side of the cargo area.

Let me see if I have this straight. I run the wire from the positive terminal of the inverter to a switch. Run the switch to a relay then the relay to a fuse then on to the battery? Of course I run a ground wire to the chassis.

Someday ill understand electical schemtatics.

 

The parts that you'll need to set up a cargo-area inverter like I did include:

1) Grommet for firewall pass-thru (I found a plug in the firewall of my '98 that is located near the centerline and measures 30mm in diameter. I think I used a 7/8" grommet there.)
2) Enough red 6 gauge wire to reach from the battery to the inverter via the 50 amp fuse and contactor side of the power relay. Get more than you think you'll need. A couple of feet of black 6 gauge wire to run from the inverter to a solid ground close by.
3) Enough red 18 gauge wire to reach from the battery to the coil side of the power relay via the 20 amp fuse and switch. A couple of feet of black 18 gauge wire to run from the coil of the power relay to a solid ground close by. (The red wire will have to go through the firewall to the switch and back out again to the relay.)
4) One 75 amp SPST power relay similar to the ones marked K2 and K3 in my previous post. You can probably find one for less than $20 at a local shop that does car stereos. If they don't have one in stock don't let them try to pass off a 30 or 40 amp Bosch type on you. You want the fuse to be the weakest link, not the relay. Get a couple of sheet metal screws to mount the relay on the firewall. Stainless steel is probably the best choice.
5) One in-line maxi-fuse holder with 6 gauge pig tails. A couple of 50 amp maxi-fuses. (The first one will suffice but only if you have a couple of spares you won't need. )
6) One in-line blade fuse holder with 18 or 16 guage pigtails. A couple of 20 amp blade fuses (same logic as in #5).
7) One switch from Toyota. The part number is 00550-35976.
8) Enough miscellaneous piece parts (butt connectors, terminals, etc.) of the appropriate sizes. Be sure to use ring terminals throughout because they won't slip like spade terminals will if the fastener vibrates loose.

I got all of my stuff from www.waytekwire.com. They have a pretty high minimum purchase so if this is all you have planned just shop locally.

Here is the scematic for this setup:


A couple of things that may make this easier to do and more reliable in operation:
1) Lay out your wires loosely along their intended routes and feed them through the firewall so as to minimize the amount of wire you have to pull.
2) Be sure to leave a bit of slack at both ends of each wire to provide stress relef against vibration.
3) Don't go cheap on the quality and don't skip the fuses or relay. They are safety items that can prevent an electrical fire.
4) Take your time.
5) Have a beer when you're done.

As always, let me know if there are any questions.

I've got an inverter mounted in the front, as well. This is some of the stuff I have run on it. (Remember that a laptop should never be set where the driver can look at the screen. Safety first!)

 

Dude, what are you running there, an Active Directory forest?

 

The stuff on the seat is a satphone test rig and a laptop running a QOS/performance logger. When I go on road trips I try to get one to take along. The more area that gets covered the better the data collected. This trip was last November and ran from CA to Chicago to DC and back home. (As an aside, Veterans' Day at The Wall was really something to experience.) The Dell on the deck is running MS Streets & Trips tied into my GPS. I was using the GPS so that I would know the exact location when the test rig registered an event of interest. I'm hoping that my company will let me have a carkit for the satphone so I can do a permanent install. I've already got that mod planned with a schematic and all the parts in hand. Just have to convince the Head Shed that it would really be in the company's best interest.

 

Grumpy, good posts..... is this like the relay you recommend?

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/p...=46&sizeinfo=2

I am having trouble finding one. Got my inverter in last week but gotta do something about a switch.

 

That 80 relay looks good for the inverter setup. Any 12v switch should would I would check with radio shack they have some pretty nice ones that have LED's in them instead of light bulbs they have no heat build up in the switch which is nice.
If was doing dual batteries I would get this:
http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/p...ory&product=id
and a high amp iso relay. If I ever do dual batteries it will likely have a auto sensing setup to switch batteries.

 

Phoenix:

That one looks like it is a bit too big (size-wise) for this application. It also has the high current terminals sticking way out there where you can get bitten even if the relay isn't energized. I'd suggest something more like this one:

http://waytekwire.com/

Select products and search for item number 75251.

It's a bit smaller than a pack of Camel straights (that's an ancient unit of measure from pre-PC times), is industrial grade, and the terminals are well out of the way for safety. I haven't tried NAPA, etc. for these but they might be able to get one for you. Waytek has a pretty high minimum order but if you ask for one of their catalogs you'll find more than enough stuff to meet the minimum and bust your budget. Good luck with this.

 

Thanks dude.... Napa was a bust, as was Checker, but found one on jcwhitney.com for pretty cheap. Now I'm trying to decide what switch to get. Will probably go with OEM fog light switch, but might try a blue or green led switch and cut it into the knockout to make it fit. That way, if I mess it up, I can just ditch the knockout and go with the Toyota switch anyway.