78 bus 2.o fuel injected (inverter, cig. lighter ?)

[khargis]

hello folks.i have 400 watt inverter that i have hooked up running thru my deep cell battery thru a ford solenoid to my starter battery. make sense? good. couple questions? do i need to isolate this and install a toggle switch for a, b, ab? also, i want to hook up my stereo and cig. lighter directly to my aux. batery. can i hook up cig lighter directly to my inverter? the cig. lighter has a male end coming off the back and what appears to be a male ground, how does this goes to inverter? pos. to pos. and then ground to ground? dont want to get shocked! sincerely, sparky...

[RSorak 71Westy]

Cig lighter is 12 volts, does not need inverter.

[khargis]

understand. my inverter is hooked directly to my deep cell. and sits mid bus mounted to book shelf on driver side behind driver seat. should i run my cig. lighter directly to my deep cell (that way anything i run thru cig. lighter will not pull from my starter battery) or can i just run thru my inverter (half the distance of my bus as opposed to the whole distance (front to back)? i hope this makes sense, i had the cig running thru a dbl. fuse insert, inserted into single fuse holder, but kept blowing that 10amp fuse, plus all that comes from starting battery. any thoughts? thanks in advance. kh

[RSorak 71Westy]

nope makes no sense. But hook your cig lighter where ever you want....

[khargis]

thanks for the constructive words rick, big help.

[Amskeptic]

thanks for the constructive words rick, big help.

i had the cig running thru a dbl. fuse insert, inserted into single fuse holder, but kept blowing that 10amp fuse, plus all that comes from starting battery. any thoughts? thanks in advance. kh

I think it may be the abbreviated post above that makes it difficult to figure out.

I will devote whatever the care and time it takes to write in full sentences correctly spelled. Then I earn a timely and careful reply, too (well .... sometimes).

If you feel the demands upon the 12 volt socket over a camping weekend would drain the primary battery, then by all means hook it up to the secondary battery supply circuit only. (Personally, I would leave the front cigarette lighter hooked to the primary battery and vehicle harness "as is", and put a power station lighter in the passenger cabin running off the secondary.

Do make sure that the two batteries are fully isolated from each other except when the alternator is putting out. Yes, you can share the ground metal all over the car between the two batteries, but the (+) sides must be independent. I have seen some efforts at doubling up the batteries for start, but I find them horrendously complicated and messy.
Colin

[khargis]

yes teach, full sentences from here on out. if i do keep the cigarette lighter up in front, would i have to then run a hot and neutral all the way to the starting battery (from front to back) or can i tap into something up front under the dash? is the double fuse holder, plugged into a single fuse holder a bad idea? (sounds kinda not right, just writing it) anywho, thanks colin

[RSorak 71Westy]

ould i have to then run a hot and neutral all the way to the starting battery (from front to back) or can i tap into something up front under the dash?

No need for a ground wire, just ground it to the metal of the bus in front.

[Amskeptic]

yes teach, full sentences from here on out. if i do keep the cigarette lighter up in front, would i have to then run a hot and neutral all the way to the starting battery (from front to back) or can i tap into something up front under the dash? is the double fuse holder, plugged into a single fuse holder a bad idea? (sounds kinda not right, just writing it) anywho, thanks colin

The front lighter is normally run off of accessory fuse #7 (hot all the time) with a ground at the ground spade tree on the intake plenum near the left ebrake bracket. Good clean tight connections are helpful. Check for heat build up over time if you are charging a laptop or something, the lighter circuit was designed for intermittent high-amperage service.

The fuse situation sounds pretty bad, like a vacuum running off a plug multipliers plugged into an extension cord running off a trouble light plugged into the bathroom outlet sharing a portable heater.
Colin

[khargis]

Got it, thanks everyone!