Auxillary Inverter Installation

[strokeZ]

I have seen some larger inverters like 1200 watt - is there a rational limit that should be held to when installing one of these? I am assuming the larger the wattage the faster it can draw down a battery if its being used (like a coffee pot) and the vehicle is not on???

[IamJEEP]

You are correct in saying that the more watts, the more draw, but it depends on the equipment you are running off of it. Say you have a 1200w inverter but you are only using 500w off of it, your amp draw is going to be lower than using the entire 1200w's.

Your battery does'nt have a "limit", but remember the more watts pulled, the quicker it'll drain. If you run you Jeep while using the inverter, you have a better chance of not killing you battery. Just make sure you are not drawing more amprage than your alternator can handle. Ex: If you are drawing 80 amps running the inverter and your alternator only charges at 65 amps, you will eventually burn up the alternator and your battery will not get full charge.

I'm no pro, so anyone feel free to correct me.

[Sal-XK]

I it was a pleasant 70 degrees today so I went home early so I could get this mod started. Here are some pics so you can see whats behind there




Ok so got the panel off like most the stuff on the XK it pops off with a little force. Next I decided to use the actual outlet from the inverter it self instead of putting another one in and connecting them some how. So I had to take the inverter apart to accomplish this.


Then I figured out the wires were not long enough to reach the panel and mount the outlet so I needed to extend them and of course I'm out of wire so to the store I go.
Extended Wiring, The blue wire you see is the wire I added. Not the best solder job but it will hold anyway.



Next I traced out the outlet on the panel and used my dremel to cut the shape out.


I screwed the outlet into the panel and mounted the inverter with velcro to the panel. This stuff is strong its actually ridiculous to try and pull apart.


Now the finished product



I ran the wires up the side of the center counsel tucking all the wires inside the counsel. I left the wires inside my dash for now it got late so I'll tie them in on the next nice day we have. It will have full time power regardless if the jeep is on or not.

[LWM]

Great Job!

[WanderingTs]

With my projects, I find I have to idiot proof things. If I can screw it up, I will.

You said that this will have full time power if the jeep is on or off. I see potential for backseat passengers feet, or my camp gear, to accidentally flip the power switch turning the invertor on. While this wouldn't cause the same drain as if you had something plugged in, I see me bumping the switch leading to a dead battery in the middle of nowhere. I would most likely attach a very visible light or LED, wired so that when the A/C side of the invertor was on I couldn't miss it.

[strokeZ]

Really nice install!!! I like the idea of using the actual front panel rather than piggy backing one but I'm sure either will work. I was actually thinking of installing the inverter in the rear panel near the rear power outlet and using that power lead (this way it's switched with the ignition). Not sure how easy that will be to get to, but worth a try.

[Sal-XK]

I leave stuff plugged in to charge over night and when I forget on Fridays they can stay plugged in all weekend. Because I charge stuff like my blue tooth head set the inverter needs power all the time. I have left this plugged in a weekend before and have had no issues at all starting. I leave it plugged in over night all the time. I'm not sure how long it would take to drain the battery if it was just left on with nothing plugged in but it would take a while. For idiot proof just get a better inverter one that has a sleep mode and could also monitor the battery condition and shut itself down before it drained beyond what was needed for start up. One of the reasons for using the inverters own outlet was to maintain the lights and switches that came with it. But my first mounting position would not fit so when I moved it the lights were now to short. I will just make sure nothings plugged in for to long and the battery will be fine. This is also why a second battery is on the mod list.