Hard Wire power inverter to fuse box???

Question

Hi,

I wan't to hard wire my converter to the fuse box in my car so it can power my Xbox 360. I have a 400 Watt Converter but the 12V Cigarette lighter cannot supply enough power so I need to hard wire it and I need to know what I need to get. I have an empty fuse socket that I can use.

What do I need to buy and how do I hook everything up. I don't need it to look pretty...just make the cord go under the floor mat to put under the drivers seat so my kids can plug in the xbox.

any help is appriciated.

Thanks

Answer 1

400 watts at 12 volts is about 35 amps.  Add a bit for inverter losses and you'll need a 40 amp fuse.  Don't use the empty space in the fuse box.  I'm sure it won't be able to handle 40 amps.  You'll need an 8 gage wire directly to the battery.  Install the fuse as close to the battery as you can.  Within 18 inches at most.  Use 8 gage for the ground as well and pick a good ground point or use the battery negative terminal.  Then run the wire to the inverter.  Do a neat job to avoid problems.  There's a wire chase on the driver's side of the car at the edge of the carpet just below the doors.  Take the trim off and move the carpet back to expose the chase and run the wires.  Make sure the wires aren't in the middle of where people put their feet.  Run along the sides where it's hard to step on.  Also use the plastic loom that's available in truck stops or Radio Shack and probably even WalMart.