I want to put 2 plugs into my car so I am going to get an inverter. My problem is I don't want to deal with flipping any switches I want to hard wire it to the car so when I turn off the ignition no power is being pulled from my batter and when I turn the ignition on the power comes back. Any good diagrams or DIY's you guys know about?

 

I think the best way is to tap power from the cigarette lighter. Just be aware of how much juice the inverter pulls and the fuse on the lighter cuz it might blow if it pulls too much.

The ideal/safest way is to use a relay. Run power directly from the battery through the relay to the inverter. Use an ignition source - like the cig lighter - to trigger the relay. Just be aware that auto relays are rated to I think 30A (40A?) so the max power inverter you can run is 360W (480W?).

 

i have a 2002 tl and when i turn the car off my invertor shuts off. i just have it plugged in the cig lighter located in the center console.

 

This is what I would do. Get an add-a-circuit and tap the instrumental panel to trigger a relay which will supply power directly from the battery to your invertor. I ran a power cable to the invertor via a relay and hardwired it that way just because I didnt want to burn any wires in the car.

I used like a 35A fuse as well just incase the invertor took too much power. I was running a PC off this as well as a Touch Screen LCD.

t0ast suggested the cir lighter... that didnt work for me because once i crank, the invertor would power off meaning my PC and LCD. This should survive the crank.

 

What I would do is use a relay off of the Accessory circuit and wire the inverter straight to the battery like an amp (with a fuse at the battery).

Take a 40A automotive relay.

Take 85 to ground, 86 to ACC, 30 to the power INPUT of the inverter, and 87 to the power OUTPUT from the battery. (You can find ACC in the DIY page on the TSX steering column harness wiring for the alarm wire clorls).

Then the relay will disconnect your inverter whenever the key is off.

 

and when cranking, the relay will no longer be active so it'll lose power for those few seconds.



btw partsexpress.com, great site. get a harness for it as well.

 

Most inverters that draw from cig lighters have auto offs, when you kick the ignition off.

 

Hello,
I just bought a 500W inverter and i plugged it into the cigarette lighter and it works fine. However when I plug in my laptop, the light flashes like there is excessive load. The inverter works perfectly with the laptop when it is directly clamped on the battery so it is an issue with power coming through the lighter adapter. Also, when the inverter is plugged into the cigarette lighter I noticed the radio stays on for a couple seconds after the key is off, the DC input of the inverter is still supplying voltage back up (the accessory circuit?) to the radio. I want the inverter to turn off when the key is off but I have a few questions. If I get the power at the acc wire on the fuse box would that solve my problem or do I need to run a direct line from the battery? And if that is the case, would anyone be able to send step by step directions for wiring up a relay? Any help would be very appreciated.
thanks

 

If you use Ignition as your trigger wire it will stay on during cranking, Accessory always shuts off during crank to deliver the most cranking amps during a start. Most inverters use a 12v switch for their power buttons. Instead of using a relay I will sometimes run a fused power wire from the battery and hook it to the mains of the inverter, then take it apart and hook up switched ignition, with a fuse of course, to the cold side of the switch on the inside of the inverter. I would not recommend doing that if there are any heavy gauge leads coming off the switch (lots of cheap inverters do that). Just test the current with a DMM with the inverter in normal operation if you are unsure - it's pretty obvious if it's a mains switch when you're dealing with the inverters.

 

thanks,
that is clever. however, I think that I would rather use a relay triggered by the acc, I do not want to take apart the inverter. any suggestions?