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Wiring up a 12v cigarette lighter plug in the bed

11K views 28 replies 9 participants last post by  Lito 
#1 ·
I am installing a custom bed storage solution and want two cigarette lighters in the back for running a fridge/ other auxilliary items when needed.

Apart from running wires (is 10 gauge enough?) directly from the battery to the rear of the truck, is there another way of doing this?

Level of skill: noob.

Wondering if I can tap into the cigarette lighter plugs in the cab - anyone know what wire colours are the ones, and if they are easily accessible in a discrete location?

MUCH appreciated.
 
#3 ·
The ARB 12v wiring kit has 4awg wire and an inline fuse and is designed to be wired straight to the battery. Most fridge/freezers have an integrated battery protection system that prevents them from draining your battery.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I would not tap into the cig plug, that wire is on 20 ga wire maybe 18..... If you are going to run 10ga... Is you fridge like one of those Colman that is a 12v? I have one too, but don't leave it running very long with the truck off, if it is 10ga will be fine, run it to your battery with an inline fuse, the plug on the Colman has one but double the protection is good...:D
 
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#5 ·
Turns out that the ARB is 10 or 8 gauge - see this:

ARB fridge wiring harness review - Expedition Portal

and this:

http://www.arbusa.com/uploads/PDF/newProductAdvice/2014/FridgePWR_Acc.pdf


Appreciate the heads up.

If the in cab lighter socket is on 18/ 20 gauge wire, then surely 14 gauge will be enough to power up an additional 12v socket wired direct to the battery with an inline fuse?

Can I place a blade fuse block in the back of the truck or does it have to be near the battery up front?

Thanks
 
#6 ·
If the in cab lighter socket is on 18/ 20 gauge wire, then surely 14 gauge will be enough to power up an additional 12v socket wired direct to the battery with an inline fuse?

Can I place a blade fuse block in the back of the truck or does it have to be near the battery up front?

Thanks
Either, that is easier to get too if you have too. :D

Show off your pic too, that way some one else will know how too :D
 
#7 · (Edited)
What wiring path do you use? Wire out of the engine bay with a wiring loom along the frame, up in to the bed and tucked away somewhere to the fridge? Is there a wiring pass thru in the bed?

I was thinking about a similar setup for a CM where I would run a 12v direct to a rear mounted fridge slider for my ARB50. If that was going to be a pain, I was going to fab a marine battery box with a charger kind of like an Arkpak battery box. Then I would just charge the battery and run the fridge off of it until I get to a campsite. All of it I could hide under a Bakflip or permanently mount it in a toolbox with 110v charging port and a couple of 12v plugs mounted on the outside of the box. I am just questioning the better alternative....direct wire or second battery.

As another option, I was thinking about a direct wire to the rear of the center console. Then build a removable fridge platform for the rear floor. Just flip up the seat, drop in the fridge and cool down via 110 the night before a trip, then plug in to 12v and hit the road. It would be more theft proof but not as convenient as having it in the rear.
 
#8 ·
What wiring path do you use? Wire out of the engine bay with a wiring loom along the frame, up in to the bed and tucked away somewhere to the fridge?

I was thinking about a similar setup for a CM where I would run a 12v direct to a rear mounted fridge slider for my ARB50. If that was going to be a pain, I was going to fab a marine battery box with a charger. Then I would just charge the battery and run the fridge off of it until I get to a campsite. All of it I could hide under a Bakflip. I am just questioning the better alternative....direct wire or second battery.
Dual battery is always the better choice.
 
#11 ·
Great responses there Gents. Thanks.

Quick question as I consider my next move:


Getting AWG8 is pretty expensive here in Canuckistan. I did find a source for some affordable 8AWG cable used to power car amps/ ground them here in Canada - here it is: New 15 Feet Premium 8 Gauge Car Audio Power Ground Cable Wire 8 AWG Red 4 57M | eBay


Question: Can I use this cabling as my 8AWG wire to power up the 12v socket in the truck bed?



Much appreciated!
 
#12 · (Edited)
i ran 12 gauge wire from the battery with a 20amp fuse with in 18" of the battery. i run a mobicool cooler off mine for hours at a time (truck running). i ran my wire along the factory harness in its own wire loom, came up the drivers side tailight. there is a gap where you can pass through the wiring and loom without drilling any holes. i also made a custom abs mount to hold the 12 socket that then mounts to the factory rail system.the weatherproof 12volt plug faces down and cant be seen in the photos sorry.



 
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#13 ·
i ran 12 gauge wire from the battery with a 20amp fuse with in 18" of the battery. i run a mobicool cooler off mine for hours at a time (truck running). i ran my wire along the factory harness in its own wire loom, came up the drivers side tailight. there is a gap where you can pass through the wiring and loom without drilling any holes. i also made a custom abs mount to hold the 12 socket that then mounts to the factory rail system.the weatherproof 12volt plug faces down and cant be seen in the photos sorry.
Very slick. Makes sense. Many thanks for posting.
 
#14 ·
Tacoblack - thanks for posting that. Very nice and smart looking setup - the custom ABS housing, where did you source that? I imagine you used some smarts to convert something made for a different use, into this use. I like that.


Any answer on the 8 gauge AMP wire being suitable for powering these things in the back of the truck? Tx (total draw probably 20-25 AMP at MOST)
 
#15 ·
 
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#16 ·
Thanks OKSlim

Kinda like those expedition portal charts - weird that every chart show something different.

Makes me pretty pleased though, I reckon I'll be fine with 10 AWG.


Question: 8/10AWG cable that powers up an amp is the same sort of thing as regular cable that may be 8/10AWG?
 
#17 ·
Yes. I can't remember where I got that guide. It was a Reputable site.
 
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#20 ·
the housing is simply 1/8 abs plastic cut and glued together, then cut holes for mounting. abs sheets can be bought from most hobby shops with good ca glue and accelerator. make sure you sand all the shine out of the abs and clean it well with some surface prep for paint then glue it together. quick coat of sems color coat and your done.
 
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#21 ·
bigger the wire the better, just fuse accordingly and always upgrade your battery ground to match what ever after market stuff you add. if you add 8awg power cable add a 8awg ground from battery to body shorter the better. path of power is only as good as its weekest link.
 
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#22 ·
Taco: all was well until that last statement. Let me see if I understand:

Setup:

a) I have a regular Tundra battery setup up front: positive/red and a negative/black set of terminals. The black is also ground to the body, a very short wire.

b) I ran one 8AWG and one 10AWG from the positive battery terminal to the back of the truck. I planned to use the 8 for the future inverter/brake controller. I will use the 10AWG to power up the truck bed leds + 12v cigarette lighter socket (x2) + two small USB outlets.


Plans:

a) Set up as short a ground as possible to the body (8AWG + a seperate 10AWG) and share those grounds with their respective wires (for the negative connections of course).



Sound all good?
 
#23 ·
yep all looks good. always add the same size ground to battery as you do to the positive side this keeps the flow of power to minimal loss. or you could just use one ground wire, by adding all your aftermarket acc full load amps together then size your ground wire to handel that load.
 
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#24 ·
Tx Taco -

so to sum up: not good to share the positive lead side with varying amounts of amperage/watt demand (eg: small led bed lights + power inverter).................... but it is OK to share the ground with varying amounts of "amperage/watt demand"? (use wire that can handle total max ameperage draw)
 
#25 ·
you can share positive with multi circuits as long as the main line can handle all the max loads at the same time. and each branch is individually fused.
 
#26 ·
I'm keeping my eye on this thread. On vacation soon, I plan on running a 12v plug into the bed/cap for camping reasons
 
#27 ·
THanks Taco, seems to be differing opinions on this thread then. Some say its not ok, some say its ok.


One thing I have thought of is joining 2-3 sections of 2 foot long 14 gauge at the ends (so imagine each end joining with another end, and another to form a "3x" thick 14 gauge wire to form a ground big enough to handle most anything I throw at it. This will then ground all the auxilliary items I am planning, through a distribution box.
 
#28 ·
think of it as your trucks fuse box. there is a large gauge wire (positive) running to the fuse box then individual branches of ciruits with smaller wire, but all branches are fused to protect the wire and component. as long as your main feed can handle the full amp load of all the sub citcuits your fine.
 
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