Three wiring questions...

[Boreal]

1. I'm thinking white and red/black. Is it true that LED lights need to be connected int eh correct polarity? (These are the standard cheapie plastic reading lamps from Vintage.)



2. I have this nifty thing. Each of the three devices has two leads. Questions: the two outside ones on a single circuit are fine, I am quite sure. But do I run the voltage meter on the same circuit as the USB and Ciggie plug, or do I run a separate 2-conductor back to the battery somehow?



3. I'm running two-conductor wire for 12V (12 Ga - overkill, I know, but it's how I roll) from my lights, USB chargers, Cig Plugs, etc back to my panel. The panel is the Progressive http://www.progressivedyn.com/all_in_one_pd4000.html Inteli-Power type. How do I ground these circuits?

4.What's the max number of items that I could/should put on a 20A circuit? I'm going way overkill here, but hgere's the plan so far:

Circuit 1 - cig Plugin for DC Cooler
2 - 3 interior cabin lights + 1 USB charger
3 - 2 interior reading lights + 1 USB chRger
4 - 3 Galley lights + 1 USB charger + 1 cig plugin

I'm also running a few lines (one to the main cabin and one to the galley "for future consideration", but they won't, of course, be hooked up.

So that's six of ten 20A circuits accounted for. Sound about right?

OK, four questions.

[Padilen]

LED do have to be correct polarity.
Are those 12 volt DC ?


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[Boreal]

Are those 12 volt DC ?

Yes, those are 12V DC.

[Dale M.]

1. Yes LED polarity has to be correct and the WHITE wire is ground (or negative)...

2. Both items can be on same source and it should be same voltage through out system...

3. Works for me.... But suggest using smaller size fuses for low drain circuits...

Dale

[Boreal]

Alrighty, now... I bought myselkf a battery and tested some of the circuits I already installed. And it's GLORIOUS! (It's great when things work the first time).

I still have a few questions. The most important being:

1. How do I ground? From each circuit, and sometimes from an individual device (I have my DC cooler and Vent/Fan each on a dedicated circuit, prolly overkill) I have two wires. I used 12 Ga because that's what I could get cheaply. Red goes to the positive terminal of the battery, and white goes to negative. Which is ground. Red wires go into my Progressive distribution box, but where do the white wires go? Should I wire the negative terminal to my metal chassis? It is extensively painted, so do I sand that shite off and try to attach wires with bolts, or are the grounding blocks, or what?

2. I have one instance where I have "exposed" wires up against the EPS foam interior of a wall. By exposed I mean that I've attached, using the appropriate clips, a USB charger, and it's shoved into some evacuated wall space, which I will then fill with expanding foam.. Is there any chance that this is a fire hazard? (It will be attached to a 15 A fuse in teh Progressive control center).

[beezerboy]

you can ground to the chassis, but everything else will have to also ground to chassis as well. in something like a fiberglass boat there is a ground bus.... basically a strip of copper with screws or linked terminals and all user items terminate there. there would also be a heavier wire that runs back to the battery minus post. boat stores have them as well as fuseboxes set up with both.... a fused plus side and a ground terminal strip. fuse sizes are generally selected by the wire gauge, to protect the wire. the wire size is selected based on the load (user), then if the user unit shorts out... its gone, now the wire needs to be protected. obviously if the insulation rubs through to a grounded frame the remaining wire needs to be disabled to prevent fire

[Dale M.]

You can get ground bar at local big box store.... Just run large gauge wire from ground buss to negative side of battery... Wire gauge from ground bar to battery has to be large enough to have amperage capacity for total system load, just like with from positive side of battery to fuse panel... Locate it near where your fuse panel is...





Choose your flavor both styles will work... Yes you can put multiple connections under "any screw"

Look in electrical section of big box store or local hardware store...

Might also consider fuse panel with Ground buss already installed....



The one above would be simplest and least expensive ... Capacity and quality (price) go up from there...

Dale

[Boreal]

I jury rigged a ground bus for now, still looking for the right piece of hardware. Surprisingly difficult to find, actually... not in *our* big box stores in Calgary.

As for the fuse box... that's covered already by the PD unit. No need for multiple fuses on one circuit.

[Dano-Mich]

I jury rigged a ground bus for now, still looking for the right piece of hardware. Surprisingly difficult to find, actually... not in *our* big box stores in Calgary.

As for the fuse box... that's covered already by the PD unit. No need for multiple fuses on one circuit.

I used one of these on my last popup when I re-did the wiring, worked great for all the white wires:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003175XJW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The ground from the converter was also connected to this and one larger wire connected to the existing ground on the frame.

Used it in conjunction with this (for red wires):
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DJJGSK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I simply connected the red wires from the converter into this and then each circuit connected into the opposing side.

[Camp4Life]

I've got one of those things except with 4 spots; 12v cig lighter, dual usb, voltmeter and toggle switch. I wired the voltmeter to be on all the time, and wired the cig lighter and USB to the toggle switch. The voltmeter being on all the time doesn't affect my battery at all, but I also have solar. Nice to be able to peek in anytime and see the battery voltage.

[NorthEGPhoto]

Maybe O/T but I used to amuse myself by pirating leds from thrown away electronics and then attaching them to the AC side of my test transformer when I was a kid.

Good times..

also, wear eye protection.

[noseoil]

I used a ground buss from Home Delay, but check with an electrical supply house in your area for the same thing. It's a cheap & reliable way to deal with grounding on a wood build. I used 2 wires to each device, but still grounded the battery & PD4045 to the frame, just in case...