Hi guys,

 

I have a little 300w Inverter i've bought so i can charge my laptop while at work. I have a 2.0 TDi SE.

 

I can use the cigarette lighter, and it works fine from it, although i do have 2 devices plugged into a 2 way adaptor, phone and satnav, so it's not always possible to use the socket for the inverter.

 

My car didn't come with a center armrest so have fitted some cheap thing that does the job well enough but it does mean there is no space for an extra socket there.

 

My issue would be wiring the inverter into the car, fixing it somewhere, likely in the side of the boot, and having the ability to have it switch on when the ignition is on rather than permanently on and draining the battery over a few days at weekends or on holiday etc. I'd be happy with a switch in the car somewhere to isolate it, but i don't think there's anything small enough to fit any of the spare points on the dash anywhere? 

 

My other thought is to install some extra USB points, maybe in the center where the fan controls are, which could be used for the phone and then hide the lighter adaptor wiring under the plastics and pop out next to the socket. Has anyone installed a USB port into a spare button blank on a Mk3? There's a row of 5 switches and the outer 2 are blanks with the dual zone temp displays either side. I have the Aux/USB socket above the ashtray but it doesn't put out enough to charge wile using the navigation so it just has a flash drive plugged in for music.

 

It's a strange spec....Dual Zone climate, no center armrest, no builtin navigation, no MFSW, 150bhp 6sp Tdi in Modra Race Blue...

Can the Inverter plug into the 12V socket in the boot, if that's where you are looking to mount it.

Not seen anyone put USB ports there, that is where the buttons for the heated seats go but there was a thread where people added the USB sockets to the back of the centre arm rest for the rear passengers

51 minutes ago, lway said:

Can the Inverter plug into the 12V socket in the boot, if that's where you are looking to mount it.

Not seen anyone put USB ports there, that is where the buttons for the heated seats go but there was a thread where people added the USB sockets to the back of the centre arm rest for the rear passengers

I could use the rear socket but it's permanently on so I'd have to remember to turn it off which I know I wouldn't do!

 

I also don't have a factory arm rest, but I'd want them for front use and the closer to the devices the better really...I'd also thought of securing the inverter into the glovebox and using a switched output on the fusebox to power it but with the glovebox being connected to the heating system it may get a bit too toasty in the winter!

One fuse spur in the glovebox fusebox is ignition switched, so you could use that with a piggyback fuse holder to power the inverter, as for placement of the inverter, perhaps in the boot or under the passenger seat, but that's quite a distance. Having fitted a warning light system to my Octy for my work, I positioned the controller, which is a similar size to an inverter, underneath the blower motor behind the glovebox with a couple of brackets.

 

On 10/10/2022 at 16:17, SpaceWalrus said:

One fuse spur in the glovebox fusebox is ignition switched, so you could use that with a piggyback fuse holder to power the inverter, as for placement of the inverter, perhaps in the boot or under the passenger seat, but that's quite a distance. Having fitted a warning light system to my Octy for my work, I positioned the controller, which is a similar size to an inverter, underneath the blower motor behind the glovebox with a couple of brackets.

 

 

I had thought of a piggyback as i used one in my old octy for an amp that worked well, but didn't know if there was some form of relay to allow a bigger draw to be available. My inverters limited to 150w via the lighter adaptor and i'm not sure i'd want to chance more than that through the fusebox tbh...

1 minute ago, TalibanTed said:

 

I had thought of a piggyback as i used one in my old octy for an amp that worked well, but didn't know if there was some form of relay to allow a bigger draw to be available. My inverters limited to 150w via the lighter adaptor and i'm not sure i'd want to chance more than that through the fusebox tbh...

A 30A fuse at 12v will allow 360W of power, so it should be fine, otherwise, you could have a relay powered by the ignition switching fuse, and then have multiple piggybacks with smaller fuses feeding into it, but that’s unnecessary as a single piggyback should be fine

I've got an additional 12v which is hidden in the passenger footwell and is wired up to the fuse box with a piggyback fuse (can't remember which fuse I used).

 

I use that for an inverter for charging my laptop as well. It's only a simple 200w inverter, nothing too powerful.

 

I went for that option because it was a pain to drive and have the thick cable in the way.