keybaud Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 As this thread already exists, I thought I'd just add that I bought and fitted the following 12v socket from ebay: 12V socket. The reason I bought this one is that it has a waterproof cover, has a screw in backing plate (not plastic locating clips) and comes with a 1.5m fused loom. The loom length was important, as I wanted a direct connection to the battery and this length allowed me to place the socket at the far left of the passenger side, yet still route the cables through the existing bulkhead penetration behind the steering wheel and reach my battery, which is lowered at the far left side of the engine bay. The entire job took about 30 minutes, including drilling and shaping the hole. Edited by - keybaud on 14 Jun 2012 11:43:03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 SevenSpeed do a nice kit for this at 15 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Cheers guys. Been inspired to have a go at this, so picked up a socket today and will get the necessary wires/connectors tomorrow. Will take some photos and post them here, along with what I did, for future reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 ...and here we are, for the sake of record, a method of splicing a 12v power socket into the fuse box: Ingredients: 1x 12v marine power socket from Maplin 1x red wire 1x black wire 1x 6mm ring connector (for connection to earth point) 2x spade connectors (for connection to 12v socket) 1x butt connector (to join the wire ends toogether) Insulation tape Method: Disconnect battery. Crimp spade connectors to one end of your red and black wires. Red (live) goes to centre spade on power socket, black (earth) goes to other one: Cut purple/green wire, strip end and crimp to butt connector then crimp other end of red wire. Crimp 6mm ring to other end of black wire and connect to earth point. General view: Then wrap insulation tape as appropriate and cable tie excess wire neatly away. Attach power socket as you see fit. I discovered that the socket I bought fits perfectly in the LHD steering column boss so fitted it in there after routing the wires the the back of the tube (and ensuring adequate insulation in place). Edited by - Dr Slotter on 15 Jun 2012 17:29:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 So what was that purple/green wire you cut? Wasn't it doing anything useful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Permanent on power socket that runs along the tunnel, terminates in spade terminals which are cable-tied near the diff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Ah, mine doesn't have that. I wired mine directly to the "switched" side of the FIA switch. Or in fact I wired a secondary fusebox to that, which has two unswitched fuses and three switched fuses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierson Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 So... One year on and I have at last managed to get around to fitting a 12v accessory socket so I can charge my 'phone, etc. It's a marine-grade socket which I've attached to a fly-lead which terminates in a plug to match the lead/plug which attaches through the bulkhead and directly to the battery terminals. This has an in-line fuse on the +ve side. The latter has been on the car for some time, used as the plug-in point for my garage battery conditioner, and has worked faultlessly for years. However, the 'phone/USB plug worked only until it blew the in-line fuse which upon inspection appears to be a 3 amp (violet in colour) blade. Is this a simple case of upgrading the in-line fuse to, for example, a 10 amp? All of the cabling is uniform, including the new fly-lead I've attached to the accessory socket. If so, will there be any potentially adverse effect to the conditioner if I upgrade the fuse? Sorry to say I really wasn't paying sufficient attention in Physics all those years ago when we studied electricity... TIA, Pierson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian B Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 The fuse is there to protect the wiring so as long as that is capable of carrying 10amps then it will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted May 27, 2013 Member Share Posted May 27, 2013 I don't understand how you've wired this. Is there another plug and socket in the lead between the socket on the bulkhead and the battery? It sounds as if you've just pulled too much current when charging the 'phone. But 3A would be enough for most devices charged using USB: what charger and 'phone (or other device) were you using? I'd have a good look at the wiring and the plug and socket. Then try again with a 5A fuse. In the thread above people use fuses rated at 10A or greater. Your conditioning charger won't be affected. Jonathan Edited by - Jonathan Kay on 27 May 2013 16:12:02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierson Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Thanks. By way of clarification: The conditioner attaches to the battery via a two-prong (+ve and -ve) plug and matching socket, which when 'broken', enables the cable to be left permanently attached to the battery but the conditioner to be disconnected. The conditioner is a Halfords own unit and came with two sets of cables, one to connect and leave (as I have done) and the other with sprung terminal clips which can be attached as required. As I don't need the second cable I cut off the plug and wired this as the fly-lead attached to the poles on the back of the accessory socket. I can hence disconnect this when I need to leave the car on the conditioner but re-connect the plugs when on the move to power the socket. This is how I know the wiring to be the same gauge. However, I don't know how to determine what the wiring is capable of carrying - will it be stamped/marked on the cable itself (I haven't as yet checked this)? Pierson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 USB sockets that plug into 12v sockets will blow fuses if the wiring to the socket is the wrong way round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted May 27, 2013 Member Share Posted May 27, 2013 Quoting Pierson: The conditioner attaches to the battery via a two-prong (+ve and -ve) plug and matching socket, which when 'broken', enables the cable to be left permanently attached to the battery but the conditioner to be disconnected. The conditioner is a Halfords own unit and came with two sets of cables, one to connect and leave (as I have done) and the other with sprung terminal clips which can be attached as required. As I don't need the second cable I cut off the plug and wired this as the fly-lead attached to the poles on the back of the accessory socket. I can hence disconnect this when I need to leave the car on the conditioner but re-connect the plugs when on the move to power the socket.Thanks. I wired my socket to the battery and put a cigar lighter plug on the lead from the charger... Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted May 27, 2013 Member Share Posted May 27, 2013 Quoting Dr Slotter: USB sockets that plug into 12v sockets will blow fuses if the wiring to the socket is the wrong way round.Do they blow the fuse as soon as connected or when a USB device is connected when you want to charge? Thanks Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 I'm afraid I can't remember (I had first hand experience of this happening last year, rather than I'm an electrical wiz...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted May 27, 2013 Member Share Posted May 27, 2013 Thanks Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Here is a 'new-forum-a-fied' version of my post about how I did this:For the sake of record, a method of splicing a 12v power socket into the fuse box:Ingredients: 1x 12v marine power socket from Maplin 1x red wire 1x black wire 1x 6mm ring connector (for connection to earth point) 2x spade connectors (for connection to 12v socket) 1x butt connector (to join the wire ends toogether)Insulation tape Method: Disconnect battery. Crimp spade connectors to one end of your red and black wires. Red (live) goes to centre spade on power socket, black (earth) goes to other one: Cut purple/green wire, strip end and crimp to butt connector then crimp other end of red wire. Crimp 6mm ring to other end of black wire and connect to earth point. Then wrap insulation tape as appropriate and cable tie excess wire neatly away. Attach power socket as you see fit. I discovered that the socket I bought fits perfectly in the LHD steering column boss so fitted it in there after routing the wires the the back of the tube (and ensuring adequate insulation in place). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 So what's the purple/green wire that you've hacked into? Are you sure that's never used for anything?Oh, hang on, that's in post 21. So you've lost the boot power feed. Might be worth doing a soldered tap into the lead (not a Scotchlock - they should be banned!) rather than just chopping it and leaving the boot feed disconnected. If there's enough slack you could put both ends of the purple/green lead into the butt connector after cutting, but there probably isn't so you would need to solder on a extension - or use another but connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Slotter Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Should I ever need a feed towards the rear of the car, that's eactly what I'll do. Couldn't be bothered at the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedCat7 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 How about a puggy backing the fuse socket so that you can have a seperate fused circuit for the dash and boot 12v supplies? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-MINI-FUSE-ADD-A-CIRCUIT-FUSE-TAP-PIGGYBACK-/230652186731?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35b3f1106bI have one ready to wire-in and it fits well. Seems like a good idea but I'm not a spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 That's rather a neat idea, though I think that one is for mini-blade fuses rather than the standard blade fuses used in a Caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now