what amp wire ?

[caaw]

Ok my surfs cigarette lighter is broke , so ia m going to fit 3 new ones with 15 amp in line fuses found this info on the site and wire them direct to the BATTERY positive terminal ,so i have 2 batterys what one do i choose and what voltage wire do i need ? And i take it i have to wire the second wire to the earth of the truck where do i do that, I take it there is only 2 wires on the back of cigareete sockets? If not what should i do.



forgot to say im a complete noob at this so in easy idiot proof steps if you can. Oh i also have all the bottom off my dash stipped down and sitting in the boot of my truck

[AndyLala]

A good place to start and a very good description.

http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2207

15amp cigaretter lighters should be cabled to take 30amps, but fused at 15amps.
The fuse is there to take the risk (cheapest component).

Earth to the body. Positive direct from the +ve terminal on the passenger side battery. Bear in mind that unless you have a split charge system, both batteries will be in parallel, so makes no major odds.

Best option, in my humble opinion is to wire them as if they were aux spot lights.
IE: only come on when the ignition is on, so you don't leave things to drain the battery.

[paulh]

[QUOTE=caaw]Ok my surfs cigarette lighter is broke , so ia m going to fit 3 new ones with 15 amp in line fuses found this info on the site and wire them direct to the BATTERY positive terminal ,so i have 2 batterys what one do i choose and what voltage wire do i need ? And i take it i have to wire the second wire to the earth of the truck where do i do that, I take it there is only 2 wires on the back of cigareete sockets? If not what should i do.

Make sure that the wire from the centre contacts goes to the + side of the battery and the other wire can be fixed to just about any of the bolts under the dash that are fixed to metal (use a crimp connector).
If you use a spanner on the battery terminal make sure that you remove the negative terminals first and disconnect BOTH batteries, a short between positive and the car body can be pretty devastating.

[caaw]

Ok thanks for the help ive bought all the stuff i need now..Next problem is how the hell do i get through the firewall bulkhead in to the engine bay only space i see is where the steering column goes through not sure if this would be safe ?

[paulh]

Ok thanks for the help ive bought all the stuff i need now..Next problem is how the hell do i get through the firewall bulkhead in to the engine bay only space i see is where the steering column goes through not sure if this would be safe ?

You can usually go through where the main wiring loom goes through, either by poking a hole in the grommet, taking care not to penetrate any of the wires or do as I did and just push the wire through along side the loom.
You should then be able to find the wire under the dashboard, if you push enough through it may well fall out right in front of you.

[caaw]

Ok the final nail in the coffin was i installed it all very nicely plugged my mobile phone charger in and i got smoke panicked yanked the wire out by hand to find the plastic casing was smoldering. The ****** idiot at the shop had given me 8 amp wire my question is upon looking at it it does say suitable for cigarette lighters so maybe hes not to much to blamem, and maybe i should have read the packaging.
So i now have no cigarette lighter and am f*****g annoyed at myself it could have been worse but why the hell did the inline fuses not blow. Oh well i guess im not meant to have power points in my truck.
Oh and in the end before the disaster i only installed one just to test i could do it so hay ho im just glad the truck did not catch alight. Thanks chris

[paulh]

Ok the final nail in the coffin was i installed it all very nicely plugged my mobile phone charger in and i got smoke panicked yanked the wire out by hand to find the plastic casing was smoldering. The ****** idiot at the shop had given me 8 amp wire my question is upon looking at it it does say suitable for cigarette lighters so maybe hes not to much to blamem, and maybe i should have read the packaging.
So i now have no cigarette lighter and am f*****g annoyed at myself it could have been worse but why the hell did the inline fuses not blow. Oh well i guess im not meant to have power points in my truck.
Oh and in the end before the disaster i only installed one just to test i could do it so hay ho im just glad the truck did not catch alight. Thanks chris

Wouldn't make any difference if it were 8 or 80 amp wire something else caused the smoke, most likely is reversed polarity you did make sure that the wire from the fuse went to the centre contact?
The reason for the fuse not blowing is that the 8 amp wiring would not carry enough current to blow the fuse which I presume was bigger than 8 amp.

[caaw]

well i think ill be getting an auto electrician to fit one im giving up on it now before my truck ends up