12v Power Inverter

[es_fact]

When i first joined the forums i noticed there was a member who had incorporated a power inverter into his vehicle. After taking a couple of electrical courses in College, I know I'm more than prepared to do the job myself, I just wish I remembered who this member was and I could ask him/her a couple of questions regarding the install.

I have come across this inverter which happen to be fairly good and cheap:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

I'm looking to wire it directly to the source of power on the 12V cigarette lighter.

Does anyone have any experience with this? are there any tutorials laying around that i failed to find? I just wanna find the optimal location for simplicity purposes without compromising aesthetics.

Thanks in advanced.

[w/oarctic7g]

What will you be powering with it? I believe they are rated as the peak available not necessarily continuous. The old saying you get what you pay for applies here. Things like cordless tool batteries or an item with a higher amp draw will not work right unless you spend the money and get a better unit.

[es_fact]

Interesting point, I plan on charging my laptop. and using it while plugged it. i think it uses 100 wats

[w/oarctic7g]

It will probably run it continuously just fine but I wouldn't count on it to give the rechargeable battery a full clean charge. If it was mine and didn't want it visible I would probably put it under the passenger seat and run a short extension cord into the armrest glove box.

[mrg7243]

i have one just havent installed it, i plan on putting it uner the passenger seat, most cords will rech under there with plenty of slack. Another spot to install it would be on the pass side of the console under neath it if that makes sense

[twisted_galant]

I have one my in my car, the unit itself is actually completely hidden under my center console cup holders, the outlets are mounted on the rear of the console at floor level. If you want some pics of the install let me know and I can get some when I get back to Pittsburgh on tuesday.

[es_fact]

i have one just havent installed it, i plan on putting it uner the passenger seat, most cords will rech under there with plenty of slack. Another spot to install it would be on the pass side of the console under neath it if that makes sense

That's exactly where i wanted it, the image i saw previously was located there as well.

I have one my in my car, the unit itself is actually completely hidden under my center console cup holders, the outlets are mounted on the rear of the console at floor level. If you want some pics of the install let me know and I can get some when I get back to Pittsburgh on tuesday.

that be great! thanks

[twisted_galant]

I will take some with the cupholders out and where I ran the wiring to the plugs, they had to be seperated from the inverter assembly and put them on this thread once I get back home.

[twisted_galant]

Here are the pics of my install



This is the outlet plate from the inverter separated from the body and mounted on my center console. The wires needed extended but not a difficult task to complete.



This where the body is mounted. It is right underneath the cupholders and completely hidden from sight.



The power indicater LEDs on the inverter were soldered dirrectly to the board so I ran a wire to an indicator light mounted above the outlets and grounded the light to the center console support bracket.



This is the power input and fuse access.

Not a difficult task to mount an inverter here as long as the body itself is the right size. I have two 1x3x5/8 sheets of MDF underneath the inverter to give it a solid mounting base over top of the brake cables.

[es_fact]

Nice! very helpful

[BronxBlur23]

Here are the pics of my install



This is the outlet plate from the inverter separated from the body and mounted on my center console. The wires needed extended but not a difficult task to complete.



This where the body is mounted. It is right underneath the cupholders and completely hidden from sight.



The power indicater LEDs on the inverter were soldered dirrectly to the board so I ran a wire to an indicator light mounted above the outlets and grounded the light to the center console support bracket.



This is the power input and fuse access.

Not a difficult task to mount an inverter here as long as the body itself is the right size. I have two 1x3x5/8 sheets of MDF underneath the inverter to give it a solid mounting base over top of the brake cables.

I need this in my life like yesterday...

[Studly]

Dunno if this helps but a friend of mine used to have a honda accord and he wired it in to the cig lighter. He then ran the inverter into the back of the glovebox where he had a compact pc tower, then in the dash an 8" touch screen monitor... It looked amazing and meant he could play his iTunes library through the car stereo

[es_fact]

Dunno if this helps but a friend of mine used to have a honda accord and he wired it in to the cig lighter. He then ran the inverter into the back of the glovebox where he had a compact pc tower, then in the dash an 8" touch screen monitor... It looked amazing and meant he could play his iTunes library through the car stereo

that the idea, but not nearly as practical lol, I'm not in a any economical shape to be purchasing a desktop for my car :p im gonna use my laptop lol

[twisted_galant]

Computers use a 12v system anyway so you really wouldn't need the inverter to power a pc, you just need to make sure you wire the computer in correctly