Simple questions for some of you.
I purchased a 12V DC Power Socket and I'm installing in the cuddy. It seems to be a decent quality item that I hope will last for a while.
It has two wires out the back. One is white and one is gray. I assume it doesn't matter which one you make positive and which one you make negative, but is there a preference?
I have size 12 wiring going all the way to it. Any worries of installing a 20 amp fuse? I have a small electric heater that is nice to run once in a while to take the chill off up front. It is quite a drain on the batteries so I have to be careful with it, but the females of the family occasionally like to take a nap up there while running somewhere on a cold morning.
If it is the "cigarette lighter" type, I usually use the wire that is connected to the center contact as positive.
ej, From the power sockets that I have seen they are not mint to run much more than a cell phone charger or Ipod. As for your 20 amp fuse,the 12ga wire is only rated at 9,3 amps for power transmission . IMHO you are setting yourself up for a wire meltdown and a dead battery.
Hydro-Therapy
20 amp fuse is way too big. 5 or 10 amp is more appropriate. I recently installed two new outlets on my boat, and used 5 amp fuses. The most I will be running off mine are cell phone chargers.
Thanks guys. I confirmed that positive is supposed to go to the center and negative to the side, but you can't be sure which is which on this one....the wires are molded into the back and both come out the center. :bigshock: White and gray.... no instructions about the wire installation...
So I went out and played with the voltage meter. 50% chance of installing right... 100% chance of being wrong. Of course they were opposite.
I do see that this one is rated to 15 Amps. That's why I chose it. I have 10 gauge wire going from the battery to the fuse and then the wire on the power socket appears to be 12 gauge. I'll install a 10 amp fuse and see if the electric heater blows it. It isn't something that runs very long or runs without someone right there. It would drain a battery in fairly short order if I tried to run it without monitoring the battery.