Need 25amp connection- suggestions?

[tgrich]

Hi All,
I'm looking for a way to power some communications equipment in my LEAF and need an unused 25 amp connection. Ideally, I would connect straight to the accessory battery, but in looking for a suitable pass through in the firewall, I didn't find anything. Instead, I believe my best option now is to find an unused 25amp connection at the fuse panel to the left of the steering wheel.

Can anyone tell me which position on this panel might be suitable?

Thanks,

Tim

 

[GlennD]

For 25A you should go straight to the battery. For my FT-8800R I use a Bosch relay controlled by a fuse tap at the drivers side fuse block. This gives me accessory turn on.

I would never trust the light gauge wire for a heavy load.

 

[Ingineer]

Just remember to always fuse and positive connections to the battery within a few inches of said connection, and NEVER connect ANYTHING directly to the negative post. (Always use the Chassis, best point is the big black wire connected to the top of the DC/DC converter behind the drive inverter.)

That said, there is high-current 12V wiring under the dash for feeding the 12v power steering motor. This is a good pickup point for adding 12v accessories without penetrating the firewall. Again, just be sure to properly fuse everything unless you want a fire.

-Phil

 

[tgrich]

Would this wiring to the power steering support up to an additional 25 amps draw? I want to install a Yaesu 857 wiring harness that terminates in power poles. Then, I would have the ability to either use my 857 or 8800. One thing that I found odd is the 857 wiring harness is fused for 25amps, but in reality, I can't get it to draw more than ~12 amps on any mode/power setting. What I've been doing so far is using the cigarette lighter adapter and just turning the power down to 75 watts so as not to draw more than 10 amps.
Maybe I could get away with a 15 amp total connection and change out the fuses from 25 to 15?

Tim

 

[CWO4Mann]

Hi All,
I'm looking for a way to power some communications equipment in my LEAF and need an unused 25 amp connection. Ideally, I would connect straight to the accessory battery, but in looking for a suitable pass through in the firewall, I didn't find anything. Instead, I believe my best option now is to find an unused 25amp connection at the fuse panel to the left of the steering wheel.

Can anyone tell me which position on this panel might be suitable?

Thanks,

Tim

Take a look at this thread. I've posted a bunch of photos of my installation.

Post subject: Re: Amateur (Ham) Radio in a Leaf

73

Dave

 

[tgrich]

For 25A you should go straight to the battery. For my FT-8800R I use a Bosch relay controlled by a fuse tap at the drivers side fuse block. This gives me accessory turn on.

I would never trust the light gauge wire for a heavy load.

Do you have a part number/source for the relay?

 

[Ingineer]

Yes, the Power steering feed wiring looks to be around 6AWG, and fused for 60A. Good for high-power stereo amps, and ham gear.

-Phil

 

[GlennD]

The power steering would have been a good spot. It was easy to go through the firewall at the large cable grommet.

The relay is a dirt common automotive 30A 12V relay from a number of vendors. I do not have the number. It is also used in auto alarms for ign disable and door locks.

 

[CWO4Mann]

As you can see from my photos, I took the long way around I ran conduit from the motor room under the car to the rear and into the trunk. Had to put the car up on jack stands (garage car lift where are you now that I need you! -- I sold it when my Porsche 928 went away). Removed the under panels, breaking most of the plastic buttons during removal - got spares from local dealer for a couple of bucks -- and then put everything back together again. I decided to run #8 low voltage high amp wire since I have the distribution bus in the trunk (Power Pole 40Amps) and everything connects with 40Amp Power Pole connectors. Also, I have an HF transceiver mounted with the remote head on top of the VHF/UHF head on the stalk which is fastened to the bottom of the passenger seat bracket bolt. All antennas are at the rear to keep RF away,from the front, althrough what I have seen is that the Leaf is fairly impervious to RF/EMF, etc. EMP is a different story but that's when the Zombies come out anyway. I use a separate grounded "signal ground" bolted to the frame which aids in pattern distribution of the transmitted RF from the Antenna. The GPS and APRS transponder is always on and tranceives my location 24/7 so the wife can make sure I am not at the Nashville Titty Bars in Printer's Alley. You can see the APRS info if you click on my signature.

HTH, YMMV, LSMFT

Dave

 

[richard]

Question: If one taps the LEAF battery and draws power from it while the LEAF is off (not in accessory mode), will the DC-DC recharge it?

Thanks

 

[Ingineer]

Question: If one taps the LEAF battery and draws power from it while the LEAF is off (not in accessory mode), will the DC-DC recharge it?

Thanks

No. The Leaf must either be in "Ready" (Green car icon lit) or be actively charging before the DC-DC will maintain the 12v battery/bus.

-Phil

 

[richard]

Question: If one taps the LEAF battery and draws power from it while the LEAF is off (not in accessory mode), will the DC-DC recharge it?

Thanks

No. The Leaf must either be in "Ready" (Green car icon lit) or be actively charging before the DC-DC will maintain the 12v battery/bus.

-Phil

Thanks, Phil,

I don't want to hijack this thread, but we had a power outage last night, and so I plugged a 300W inverter into the LEAF power outlet to power a few items in the house.

Had to:
1. Put the car into accessory mode, which is a bit wasteful, because the nav screen lights up, and of course you don't need that when you're leaving the car.
2. Leave a key in the car, because it started beeping about not having a key nearby.

It'd be nice if there were a more straightforward way of accessing the DC-DC 12V bus.

But Phil, you'd probably just tap into the traction pack, right

Is there another thread around here for people wanting to get some of that juice out? Like a poor man's "LEAF to Home"?

 

[planet4ever]

we had a power outage last night, and so I plugged a 300W inverter into the LEAF power outlet to power a few items in the house.

From the Owner's Manual:

CAUTION

• Do not use with accessories that exceed a 12-volt, 120W (10A) power draw. Do not use double adapters or more than one electrical accessory.

The power outlet apparently has a 20A, rather than 10A, fuse but you were really pushing even that. Didn't happen to smell any hot insulation, did you?

Ray

 

[davewill]

From the Owner's Manual:

CAUTION

• Do not use with accessories that exceed a 12-volt, 120W (10A) power draw. Do not use double adapters or more than one electrical accessory.

The power outlet apparently has a 20A, rather than 10A, fuse but you were really pushing even that. Didn't happen to smell any hot insulation, did you?

Just because the inverter was rated for 300w doesn't mean he was actually drawing that much. It depends on what he was running off it. But you do want to be careful about the load.

 

[tgrich]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but ...

Too late

 

[richard]

From the Owner's Manual:

CAUTION

• Do not use with accessories that exceed a 12-volt, 120W (10A) power draw. Do not use double adapters or more than one electrical accessory.

The power outlet apparently has a 20A, rather than 10A, fuse but you were really pushing even that. Didn't happen to smell any hot insulation, did you?

Just because the inverter was rated for 300w doesn't mean he was actually drawing that much. It depends on what he was running off it. But you do want to be careful about the load.

I was pulling less than 120W. Monitoring with a Kill-A-Watt.

 

[ebill3]

1. Put the car into accessory mode, which is a bit wasteful, because the nav screen lights up, and of course you don't need that when you're leaving the car.

Go to settings and turn the display off.

 

[TonyWilliams]

1. Put the car into accessory mode, which is a bit wasteful, because the nav screen lights up, and of course you don't need that when you're leaving the car.

Go to settings and turn the display off.

Just hold the Nav screen bottom left dimmer button for about 2 seconds, and the display will go off.

 

[Ingineer]

Note that putting the Leaf into accessory mode WILL NOT enable the DC-DC converter, and will draw all power from the 12v battery.

You MUST be either in ready mode (green car icon lit) or actively charging for the DC-DC to be active.*

*(yes, a couple of minor exceptions exist)

-Phil

 

[JimSouCal]

Note that putting the Leaf into accessory mode WILL NOT enable the DC-DC converter, and will draw all power from the 12v battery.

You MUST be either in ready mode (green car icon lit) or actively charging for the DC-DC to be active.*

*(yes, a couple of minor exceptions exist)

-Phil

I was just lurking on this thread, but one does learn a lot about the LEAF here for just in case scenarios... Thanks.