Switch wiring

[Jeff]

Im installing a lead direct from the battery to the rear seat area to run my camp fridge instead of using a lighter socket.
I want to install a switch on the dash so I can turn it off when I want to.
I have a basic push-pull switch which has 2 terminals but cant remember whether I attach the positive lead to one terminal and negative to the other or just one lead both sides and the other straight through to the fridge wire.
Dont want to stuff it up or blow fuses in the process. I have an inline fuse to attach to positive wire at the battery.

Thanks

Jeff.

 

[simonk8]

See attached image. make sure your fuse, cabling and switch are all rated to the loads demand

 

[tanz]

Jeff,

I would run the wiring through a relay. I'd think that the fridge may draw a bit too much current for the switch alone.

Battery positive through a fuse to pin 30, output to the fridge pin 87, battery positive to pin 85, and the switch is wired in between pin 86 and earth. You can run the earth either directly back to the battery or just to the body somewhere. This will allow you to run the fridge without the key on, with the switch on the low current circuit.

Cheers.

 

[Leprechaun]

just the + onto the switch.
The best install would be to run the earth off the battery as well, but if not, try and find a good bolt to fix too and scrape away the paint.

 

[Jeff]

Thanks for your quick replies.

We are going bush for 4 weeks, mainly constant travelling with the odd rest day for washing etc.(CSR)

My intention was to just run wires direct to and from the cars battery to a separate lighter socket for the fridge use only, then I found a switch in the shed and thought Id put that in.

The idea is only to run the fridge off the cars battery whilst on the go and as soon as we stop for the day plug it into my Waeco battery which will be charging off the normal cig' lighter all day. (Waeco battery will give 2 days use between charges, Ive tested it to 3+ days))

The separate lighter socket I have has some LED lights inbuilt so I thought that plugging the fridge in through that might act as a reminder to me to disconnect when stopped - hence the switch is really just to turn off the LEDs

We used the fridge off the cars normal lighter socket last year without any hassells but Im thinking that the rougher roads/tracks may give me some concerns.

Might just forget the switch, the little LEDs wont pull much power.

Ill sleep on it.

Thanks

Jeff.

 

[Old.Tony]

Positive wire should be on both sides of the switch, just like in the drawing Simon provided. The fuse shown should be as close as possible to the battery (read "within a hand span").

The wire itself needs to cope with the load, too. Over the several metres you'll find that a fridge drawing 6-7 amps will cause the normal 20A auto cabling to heat up (because of the length). Don't skimp on the cable, if it's heating up then not only is power being wasted, but the fridge is going to suffer.

If you don't bother, have heart in this: LEDs consume such a small amount of power, you can solder an LED onto a AA battery and come back to see it still going a month later. Your vehicle battery will not even know it's there.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

Just leave the fridge hooked up to the waeco battery all the time, then when the Key is turned off automatically the fridge starts using waeco batt power, and you won't forget to charge the waeco unit

 

[Jeff]

OK all done now - have wired up through the switch and all is working 100%.

Had thought of running the fridge through the Waeco but wanted to be sure that the Waeco was fully charged up at the end of each day as Im not too sure just what the charging rate into the Waeco is.

I did try this for a while last year with one of those jumpstart battery packs from Supercheap but discovered that it only charged at 1 amp so with the fridge at 4-5amps, when running, there wasn't much charge going into the jumper.

Thanks to all for your assistance.

Jeff.