heavy duty external 12v?
 

I have some high drawing gear that would make some kind of external 12v connection point useful, up to a max of around 60 amps / 720W. Wondering if this would be feasible? I've got a couple of good spots in the rear bar to house a connector, this would be ideal location but would involve a decent cable run, I suppose of 2 or 4 gauge. Maybe I could come out under the engine bay somewhere for a shorter run, but can't think of a nice spot. I'll go off and calculate for gauge and voltage drop but just wondering if this is a good / bad idea, what type of connector would be used, and what 'standard' applications for a heavy duty cable run / connector, if any, might be so I can find examples. I had my stereo amp in mind which reckons it's a million watts, but I'm not sure how similar it is to a constant high current load.

I'm basically looking to remove the need for hood open and croc clips on the battery, will be running some cables here and there anyway so hoping I can add some future convenience for a little extra effort, just not too familiar with this big power stuff.

I have an Anderson plug in the rear of mine (at the bar) that runs my Thumper compressor, it's supposed to draw a max of 60A but has blown the circuit breaker several times at 60A so upgraded the breaker to to 80A. Mine runs off my second battery setup under the rear floor, which goes through a dual battery isolator to the main battery. I also use the same anderson plug to plug in my external solar panels in camp, but they only put in 4A or 5A.

Cheers
Steve

Like Steve, I installed an Anderson plug in the rear to run my fridge with a on/off switch mounted in the A pillar. My Thumper compressor used it as well until I went with an onboard compressor.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...6/DSC_0138.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2...6/DSC_0133.jpg

I installed my Anderson plug inside my ARB bar hi lift jack receptacle.
It is supplied by short cables directly from the main winch circuit. This minimizes extra cabling and allows it to be isolated along with the winch circuit. This maintains a dead circuit up front when not in use.
I lose the use of the recepticle for the jack but there are plenty of other options if the need arises.
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/...3f8d35d773.jpg

Awesome guys exactly what I was looking for, that front hi lift location will work for me and those anderson connectors look real easy to work with

That's a good idea - I think I am going to do the same with some of the electrical parts I have laying around.

4G will have too much voltage drop so it will have to be 2G amp power cable, run in cable sheathing along the passenger side chassis rail, clear of the exhaust and out of harm's way.

The common 50A Anderson plug is too small for 2G cable so I will use a 120A plug, even though I will have to make adaptor plugs for my gear that already have 50A plugs. I will probably mount it to the underside of my plastic rear bar with a chassis/trailer mount plug bracket to keep water and mud out.

I despise auto-reset circuit breakers and I always forget to carry spare fuses so I will use a manual-reset 80A marine/waterproof circuit breaker which can double as a makeshift isolator switch. 2G cable can handle 150% the breaker's rated ampacity so it satisfies my rule of thumb. If you are going to be connecting an auxilliary battery, consider putting a circuit breaker at each end.

Anyone have an idea where I can find a good negative/ground connection point on the chassis at the rear?

Just sprung to mind that my equipment takes pretty small wires / connectors 10 or 11g. Do I have any problems running 2g from battery to the ext connector, and coming out of that with a short run of smaller gauge to the machine?