Additional 12v socket or alternatives?

[Cush]

Hi
Plan is to add another 12v socket to near the 12v TV. It's on the other side of the to wall to where the Sargent EC200 PSU 2003 is located. Anyone done this or have any advice? I understand there may be a spare fuse / output on the PSU.

Any advice gratefully received.
Cush

 

[Cush]

I found a post from 2004 where the Op asked a very similar question for an identical reason in the same era and make of van. They were recommended to run something direct to a new socket from the hab/leisure batteries.

Is this a complicated job.?

TIA, stay safe
Cush

 

[autorouter]

I can't find any info on the EC200, so this is guesswork. If there is an unpopulated fuse location, maybe it's a spare fuse/circuit. If you can open the box and get a meter on the connectors, you could see which of the spare unused pins goes on and off when you insert and remove a fuse.

Then if you can get a suitable crimp pin you could crimp it on a wire and push it into the connector. The manufacturers Sargent will tell you what type of pin is required, and will probably sell you some. According to their website they reopen today (June 1st).

Alternatively you can go direct to the leisure battery. It's fairly straightforward, if you stick to the standard vehicle wiring pinciples.

Use stranded wire (not solid core like house wiring) for better resistance to vibration. Minimum 1.5mm2 for mechanical strength, and this will easily carry the current you are likely to draw from the socket.

Use a crimp eyelet with a suitable hole for the bolt on the battery terminal. 6mm or 8mm is typical. The insulated crimps are colour coded according to the wire thickness. Red = thin, blue = medium, yellow = thick. The blue type is OK for 1.5mm2 wire.

Wire in an inline fuse near the battery, to protect the wire if it gets shorted somehow. A 15A or 20A fuse will be OK.

Support the wire with cable clips or run it inside trunking to support and protect it.

If the wire is routed through a hole in metal, protect the wire with a rubber grommet or cable gland.

 

[AXO66]

Videos on u tube about using fuse box ( of base vehicle) as source of supply . And the fittings available .

 

[Cush]

I can't find any info on the EC200, so this is guesswork. If there is an unpopulated fuse location, maybe it's a spare fuse/circuit. If you can open the box and get a meter on the connectors, you could see which of the spare unused pins goes on and off when you insert and remove a fuse.

Then if you can get a suitable crimp pin you could crimp it on a wire and push it into the connector. The manufacturers Sargent will tell you what type of pin is required, and will probably sell you some. According to their website they reopen today (June 1st).

Alternatively you can go direct to the leisure battery. It's fairly straightforward, if you stick to the standard vehicle wiring pinciples.

Use stranded wire (not solid core like house wiring) for better resistance to vibration. Minimum 1.5mm2 for mechanical strength, and this will easily carry the current you are likely to draw from the socket.

Use a crimp eyelet with a suitable hole for the bolt on the battery terminal. 6mm or 8mm is typical. The insulated crimps are colour coded according to the wire thickness. Red = thin, blue = medium, yellow = thick. The blue type is OK for 1.5mm2 wire.

Wire in an inline fuse near the battery, to protect the wire if it gets shorted somehow. A 15A or 20A fuse will be OK.

Support the wire with cable clips or run it inside trunking to support and protect it.

If the wire is routed through a hole in metal, protect the wire with a rubber grommet or cable gland.

Thank you so much for your clear guidance. Im pretty sure I'll be able to do all that.

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[Cush]

Videos on u tube about using fuse box ( of base vehicle) as source of supply . And the fittings available .

Thank you. I wouldn't want to flatten the engine battery but could a piggy back fuse be used on the main charger unit.?

 

[tonyidle]

The EC200 is simply a control panel. Which model of Sargent charger do you have?

 

[Cush]

The EC200 is simply a control panel. Which model of Sargent charger do you have?

Now you're asking! The only other code on the Sargent s schematics is PSU 2007.not sure about the charger. Sounds like the best option will be to run a feed from the leisure battery so as not to overload the feed wire of another circuit by using the piggy back system.

 

[AXO66]

Thank you. I wouldn't want to flatten the engine battery but could a piggy back fuse be used on the main charger unit.?

i don’tknow.about the main charger unit.

But might be worth seeing if a piggyback would fit in your hab side fuse box.
i think the fuses are much the same , and there may be an auxillary spare slot.
there are in my cbe unit.

if piggy backing it seems you choose a slot where the existing fuse is of more amps than the piggy back fuse and that the original circuit is not a critical one. to avoid serious failure if the circuit blows. ( (PresumablyIn a motorhome a fridge or water pump circuit)


i must add i have gleaned the above from watching videos and reading and have no electrical qualifications at all. So the points i make need a secound informed view.
cant be too hard many must have done it.

 

[tonyidle]

Now you're asking! The only other code on the Sargent s schematics is PSU 2007.not sure about the charger. Sounds like the best option will be to run a feed from the leisure battery so as not to overload the feed wire of another circuit by using the piggy back system.

The PSU 2007 is the charger / fuse distribution / mains control unit.

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[MisterB]

if its an additional socket, cant you run your wiring from an existing leisure battery fed 12v socket, so long as one is available of course?

 

[XxAnthxX]

if its an additional socket, cant you run your wiring from an existing leisure battery fed 12v socket, so long as one is available of course?

That would require the cable to the first socket being of a high enough rating/diameter to supply both sockets running at their maximum amperage or you could run into trouble if both sockets are used at once with high demand appliances.

 

[autorouter]

if its an additional socket, cant you run your wiring from an existing leisure battery fed 12v socket, so long as one is available of course?

It depends on why you want the extra socket. If the existing sockets are in inconvenient locations and you never use them, you can just wire from an existing socket. If you use all the sockets and want more to use even more devices, then wiring an extra circuit direct from the leisure battery is better.

From the info doc posted by tonyidle, I'd say there are no spare fused circuits on the PSU2007 that you can use.

 

[tonyidle]

The existing 12v supply from the PSU is fused at 10 amps. This is sufficient to run a 120W load whether connected to the existing 12v socket(s), or to a new socket, or to all combined. Decide what you're likely to connect all at once and if it's less than 120W simply connect to an existing socket or the the wire feeding it if more convenient. If you need a higher output the leisure battery is connected, via a 20A fuse, to the Battery terminal on the PSU. Connect to that, or the brown/blue wire, via an additional 15A fuse. There's little point connecting directly to the leisure battery itself unless your new socket will be used to power a large tyre compressor. In which case crocodile clips are probably a better option.

 

[Cush]

Thank you all.
After some advice from the local auto sparks guys I have decided to use a piggy back from one of the existing blade fuse sockets on the Sargent. It's to solve a small problem with the 12v TV power feed that had to run across the hab area from the original socket on the other side of the van. As the TV is now on the other side of the bulkhead to the Sargent unit it should be a fairly simple process. He suggested one of the interior light circuits where the tubes have been changed for Led strips so their will be enough spare load for a 5 amp tv. Going to use a cigar socket style so I can put in a usb adaptor when not in use.

I was also considering changing the little hab spot lights for ones with USB ports but have started using portable power banks to charge phones and tech during the day.

Thanks again everyone
Take care
Cush

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