Inverter Install - Where to tie in to the 12v

[Phantek]

I have a Jay Feather Micro 166FBS. I want to install an inverter, so I went into the access panel for the water heater and found the "pre-wire" (just a 120v wire indicating that the inverter should be connected there).

My problem is... Where should I connect the 12v wires for the inverter?

In the access panel, I clearly can see the negative line coming from the battery to the back of the battery shut off switch, so that's accessible. But if I connect the negative there, where should I connect the positive wire?

Attached is a picture of the wiring setup I can see in there.

[DonBr]

First I would note that the negative does not exist there, just the positive. The negative battery terminal goes to the frame below the front of the trailer. There are a lot of nuances to putting an inverter in a 166FBS, and more than one way to do it. I invite you to peruse my long post on the topic here: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...fbs-96794.html

The most important starting point is to know that the "pre-wire" will power only the popup at the head of the bed, and the outlet in the top of the TV cabinet.

[Phantek]

Hi DonBr,

Thanks for sharing that excellent post of yours. The diagrams are a huge help and answer a lot of questions.

Unfortunately, they don't help me understand what I am looking for here. Your answer also confused me, though that's easy enough in general.

So if I understand you correctly, the black wire going to the battery cutoff switch is positive? I assumed black wires = negative. And the negative is tied into the chassis, not the ground?

Either way, is there any way to connect to the 12v inside the water heater compartment, or does this "inverter pre-wire" not count for much?

[DonBr]

Don't get hung up on colors. Quite frequently, black is positive, white is negative. In some cases other colors are used. in the case of your photo, all of the wires on that bus are positive, black, red, and red/white. Whether the prewire is useful for you is only for you to say, but without any changes about the only thing it is good for (for example) is a cpap by the bed, or similar. An inverter of any significant size will need wires larger than any in the water heater compartment, so a separate run from the battery(s) is just about required.

[Phantek]

Okay, thanks for clarifying.

If I am happy with my little 1500w inverter just powering the beside stand, what would be a simple way to hook up the inverter? Do I have access to everything I need in just that small compartment?

[DonBr]

If you actually used 1500 watts, the input 12V would be well over 100 amps. Look at any wire size calculator and you will find that even the main leads coming off your batteries now are not big enough. The small gauge wiring in the heater bay would fry immediately. Your battery leads actually have a 40A circuit breaker inline, so they wouldn't fry, but they also wouldn't do the job.

[Grumpy]

As Donbr said none of those wires are large enough.

You need to run #6 or #4 wires directly to the battery and it needs to be as short a run as possible. You will also need to add a self resetting circuit breaker on the positive side.