Fitting an additional 12v socket inside a jumbo box

[chr1staylor]

Ok have fitted and installed a second 12v socket , tapping into the wiring for the existing socket and running cabling back underneath the jumbo box.

Details from post 10 below: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/203322-fitting-an-additional-12v-socket-inside-a-jumbo-box/page__view__findpost__p__2440220

Original thread:

Hi all,

(apols if this is in wrong section)

As part of a jumbo box installation (which i'll save for another thread) I'm intending on fitting a second 12v socket inside the storage compartment, by tapping into the standard existing socket wiring, using scotchlok connectors, and prob an inline fuse.

The replacement centre section I've picked up has the standard socket in it, with 3 short wires going into a connector block.

The wires are red, light grey and brown. I'm assuming red is the perma-live, brown the switched with the lights to illuminate the green ring, and the grey is the negative. That sound right?

I'll only need the perma-live and neg for the secondary socket.

Will try to remember to get a pic tomorrow.

C.

[ExAudiSi]

Brown is generally earth.

[chr1staylor]

Hmmm, might have to wait til I get the original centre section out then, to test the loom-side connections. Ta.

[RADIOTWO]

Hi all,

(apols if this is in wrong section)

As part of a jumbo box installation (which i'll save for another thread) I'm intending on fitting a second 12v socket inside the storage compartment, by tapping into the standard existing socket wiring, using scotchlok connectors, and prob an inline fuse.

The replacement centre section I've picked up has the standard socket in it, with 3 short wires going into a connector block.

The wires are red, light grey and brown. I'm assuming red is the perma-live, brown the switched with the lights to illuminate the green ring, and the grey is the negative. That sound right?

I'll only need the perma-live and neg for the secondary socket.

Will try to remember to get a pic tomorrow.

C.

Hi C

I assume by Jumbo box you mean a chiller, if this is the case I would not tap into the existing wiring, as a chiller normally draws a bit of

current, so I would run a wire direct from the battery, with a fuse close to the battery, but use cable that is thick enough to cope with

the current drawn for the box !

Another quick point, try not to use Scotch locks, as they can damage the conductors and cause problems, the best way to connect wires, is

strip some insulation back, and solder the wires, the tape up !

Radiotwo

[chr1staylor]

Hi C

I assume by Jumbo box you mean a chiller, if this is the case I would not tap into the existing wiring, as a chiller normally draws a bit of

current, so I would run a wire direct from the battery, with a fuse close to the battery, but use cable that is thick enough to cope with

the current drawn for the box !

Another quick point, try not to use Scotch locks, as they can damage the conductors and cause problems, the best way to connect wires, is

strip some insulation back, and solder the wires, the tape up !

Radiotwo

Hiya,

No, the "jumbo box" is just a rather ironic name referring to the centre armrest with the small storage compartment in that is now standard fit on most Octys, but wasn't on mine. The 12v socket will just be for powering low amp stuff, primarily the PSP I've got set up as a media player for my Son in the back, and mp3 players etc, so it should be fine, thanks.

So, the brown wire is likely to be the earth then, which bright spark decided that it should be the opposite from house wiring?!

[chr1staylor]

Uploaded pic here for ref:

IMAG0295 by chr1staylor, on Flickr

[skodacarman]

Good project. Why not get a cheap voltmeter off e-bay? For £5 you will get something good enough to tell you which wires are live and when. If you intend to go anywhere near the car's wiring, it's an investment that will pay for itself many many times over.

Or for a real quick and cheap solution, just solder a couple of bits of wire to a low wattage bulb. Touch one wire on the chassis and use the other as a 'probe'.

[chr1staylor]

Good project. Why not get a cheap voltmeter off e-bay? For £5 you will get something good enough to tell you which wires are live and when. If you intend to go anywhere near the car's wiring, it's an investment that will pay for itself many many times over.

Or for a real quick and cheap solution, just solder a couple of bits of wire to a low wattage bulb. Touch one wire on the chassis and use the other as a 'probe'.

My dad's got a decent multimeter, I'll nab that off him. The issue is that until I get the original centre section out I can't get access to the live wiring to test it. I was hoping to be able to get all the wiring sorted on the new centre section before I had to strip anything out of the car, just for ease.

Also, after having a good read around I'm thinking I'll probably solder the connections on now, instead of using scotchlok connectors, may as well do it properly.

[countryboy]

...or you could use a chocolate block for the connections.

Ian

[chr1staylor]

Ok have sorted this now, so am updating the thread to reflect.

Went with a combination of solder and scotchlok in the end, as soldering inbetween the 3 wires near the plug would've been extremely fiddly for me, so was much easier to use scotchloks there. Every join was tested at each stage for good continuity before continuing the job.

I added a 15A inline fuse just at the socket end, so it would be possible to reach this from the back of the jumbo box, without having to remove the whole centre section if required in the future.

IMG_1128 by chr1staylor, on Flickr

You can see the socket in situ here:

IMG_1131 by chr1staylor, on Flickr

and how the cabling runs under here:

IMG_1135 by chr1staylor, on Flickr

Fitted it yesterday and it's all tested and working great. Will add a link to the jumbo box fitting guide when I've created it. Edit: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/206316-retro-fitting-a-jumbo-box-centre-armrest/

C.

Few more pics on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51707969@N04/sets/72157626903385879/with/5863073826/

As an aside, when I was checking out my existing socket I noticed that the green ring surrounding it doesn't actually light up at all, so I'm assuming that the smaller gauge grey wire (which incidentally on the car loom is grey+blue stripe) is actually related to the safety feature that prevents the cigarette lighter staying down if you try to use it without the ignition on.