{"id":8095,"date":"2021-06-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.4wdsupacentre.com.au\/news\/?p=8095"},"modified":"2021-06-07T09:20:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-06T23:20:58","slug":"setting-up-your-camping-12v-system-to-ensure-your-camping-fridge-runs-smoothly-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/setting-up-your-camping-12v-system-to-ensure-your-camping-fridge-runs-smoothly-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting Up Your Camping 12v System To Ensure Your Camping Fridge Runs Smoothly Pt 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome back to Adventure Kings\u2019 guide to ensuring your portable fridge for camping<\/a><\/strong> always has plenty of electrical power to offer you years of faithful service! If you haven\u2019t seen part 1 then we recommend having a read \u2013 it\u2019s full of excellent information. Let\u2019s get straight into it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. UNDERSTANDING RELAYS<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    While it\u2019s not often used in the case of a portable camping fridge<\/a><\/strong> installation, a relay is an important part of many custom electrical installations. A relay is best thought of as a remote control switch. They basically use magnetism from a low-power circuit to move an armature which controls a much larger circuit. For our trucks, they\u2019re great for minimising the length of wire used in high current circuits such as driving lights or winches, which helps keep voltage drop under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To help make them last longer, mount them in a secure location, and use marine style plugs to connect the wires to the relay\u2019s pins which offer far better protection from the elements. Make sure water can drain out easily if they get wet, and use either diode or resistor protected relays to protect against high voltage spikes to avoid damaging any sensitive electronics. You may want to use a relay as part of your camping fridge<\/a><\/strong> installation if you want to fit a remote power switch that turns your 12v fridge<\/a><\/strong> on or off from the driver\u2019s seat, for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. TRUST YOUR EARTHS<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      A large majority of electrical gremlins that prevent your camping fridge <\/a><\/strong>from running properly can be put down to poor earths, either from poor installation or from allowing the elements to obstruct the connection. For high current accessories such as driving lights, you really need to run an earth cable directly back to battery negative. However, for low current device such as a UHF radio, direct connection to the vehicle body will usually suffice. It\u2019s a good idea to use existing earth points as you know they are already trustworthy in most cases. To avoid electrical problems down the track, give your main earth contact points a good going over with a wire brush to make sure they\u2019re metal-to-metal, and don\u2019t forget to clean the battery earth terminal too. If you need to make a new earth point, make sure you scrape the paint off before you make the join, then give it a few coats of paint to protect the new connection from corrosion. If you\u2019re getting an E1 low-voltage error light on your 12v fridge<\/a><\/strong> and you\u2019re certain your battery is full, first look at the earths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. WIRE PROTECTION<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        There\u2019s no doubt about it, auto wiring has a hard life, especially in exposed areas like the undercarriage or in the engine bay. One of the most popular ways of protecting the wiring from abrasions and other mechanical damage while running it from an under-bonnet battery to your Kings camping fridge<\/a><\/strong> it is to enclose it in split conduit. To enhance the protection the conduit offers, use electrical tape to wrap the wires in a bundle, then run the tape out and around the conduit a few times. This will help stop the wires from vibrating and moving around inside the conduit itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Make sure you terminate the ends of the conduit with quality electrical tape or heat shrink to block water and dust from entering the conduit and prevent the wires escaping back through the split. It\u2019s also a good idea to wrap a cable tie around the conduit at regular intervals, which won\u2019t loosen up over time unlike electrical tape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. TIDY WIRING <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          There\u2019s nothing worse than messy wiring. Not only does it look downright ugly, it can make it super difficult to diagnose a problem, especially when you\u2019re knee deep in mud and can\u2019t find one of 30 in-line fuses that are scattered all over the place. That\u2019s not what you want on the side of the track when you\u2019re trying to figure out why there\u2019s no power getting to your 12v dual zone fridge<\/a>!<\/strong> One of the easiest ways to keep your wiring neat, tidy and organised is to use a fused distribution block. This allows you to bundle and route all the wires to a central location and keep all the fuses in one easy to reach location. When choosing a distribution block, take note of the maximum amps the unit can take overall, as well as the maximum amps each individual circuit can handle to make sure it\u2019s suitable for all of your accessories. If you\u2019ve got the feeling there are still plenty more electrical upgrades to come, it\u2019s wise to use a distribution block with a few extra circuits spare to cut the work out down the track. Neat wiring makes for a better-running camping fridge<\/a><\/strong>, it\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. RUBBER GROMMETS <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Believe it or not, something as simple as a rubber grommet can be an absolute life saver when running cabling through to your canopy or the rear of your vehicle to power your portable fridge for camping<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Auto wiring often needs to pass through metal like the firewall or floor pan of your 4WD. The problem is this metal surface is often sharp, which means all those constant vibrations out on the tracks will inevitably chaff and wear the wires insulation away causing a short circuit. At best this situation will blow a fuse, while at worst, it can start a fire. Your best bet to avoid damage is to de-burr the hole with a file, paint any exposed metal to prevent rust and fit an appropriately sized rubber or plastic grommet to the hole to protect the wiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. DON\u2019T ASK FOR TROUBLE <\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              Camping gear like a 12v fridge<\/a><\/strong> is subject to some pretty harsh treatment, which means poor quality parts, and more specifically connections simply won\u2019t last long at all. Scotch locks are a solder free, insulation displacement wire-tap device used to join two wires together without cutting or stripping off any insulation. while they have their place, they\u2019re generally not recommended in any electrical installation that needs to last any great length of time, especially if they\u2019re subject to Australia\u2019s often harsh elements. Poor mechanical strain relief is the main reason they tend to fail over time, and they don\u2019t have any way of preventing moisture from entering the joint. In short, if you want the join to last, and don\u2019t fancy chasing electric dramas down the track, opt for a reliable joining method right from the get go. That\u2019ll ensure you get plenty of power always flowing through to your 12v fridge<\/a><\/strong> to keep it running on even the hottest days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Welcome back to Adventure Kings\u2019 guide to ensuring your portable fridge for camping always has plenty of electrical power to offer you years of faithful service! If you haven\u2019t seen part 1 then we recommend having a read \u2013 it\u2019s full of excellent information. Let\u2019s get straight into it! UNDERSTANDING RELAYS While it\u2019s not often…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123456,"featured_media":8096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8095"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8097,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8095\/revisions\/8097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}