Installing 12v Accessory Panel
Submitted: Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 18:25
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Sporto
I want to install a 12v accessory panel in my caravan. I have included a picture of the wiring in my van which has three free terminals. What I’m really unsure of is where to connect the two earth wires. I’ll install a switch to isolate the panel as
well. Any ideas of the best way to do this?

12v wiring

12v panel
Reply By: RMD - Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 20:32
Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 20:32
Sporto
Do you know what the two
orange wires connect to in that box and elsewhere? ie, the other ends of them.
Seeing they are similar gauge to the Red FEED wire, they may be earth wiring. Hard to tell, but if 12v is present at the red and a multimeter
test to the
orange wires. might reveal they are negative side of the battery. It is strange the
orange ones seem to have a fuse between them.
Can you
test them to confirm their polarity?
The devices/system running off the current fuse panel appear to have/likely to have, their negative connections at or near the units they feed. You may know that already!
For general accessories, the additional outlets will be handy but really not suited to running a fridge, IF that is what you intend.
Pull that yellow fuse out and see if one OR both sides of that fuse link is negative side of battery.
AnswerID:
644574
Follow Up By: IvanTheTerrible - Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 21:43
Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 21:43
"Pull that yellow fuse out and see if one OR both sides of that fuse link is negative side of battery."
There is a high probability the he will see the earth through whatever that fuse is powering. YOU CANT USE THAT EARTH!
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924714
Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 23:39
Saturday, Oct 07, 2023 at 23:39
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That extra fuse in the box is rated 20A (yellow body) and is a circuit unconnected to the main 12v system wiring. It is likely to be a separate feed from the tow vehicle to a 3-way fridge. In any case, it surely is not a negative circuit and therefore has no part in the search to connect the negative for the new accessory panel.
Sporto, you need to locate where the negatives associated with those visible positives are. Most likely they are all terminated to a bus or stud close to the van battery. (I assume the van does have a battery) As the visible positives are mostly red I would assume that the associated negatives will be black or maybe white. You will just have to search for them. Connect your accessory panel negatives to that same point.
AnswerID:
644576
Reply By: Sporto - Sunday, Oct 08, 2023 at 16:48
Sunday, Oct 08, 2023 at 16:48
Thanks everyone for the responses, it would appear that there isn’t a negative here. The
orange cable is as someone suggested a fuse for the cable to the fridge.
There’s another cable that I can use for the panel which has a positive and a negative. I’m pretty sure it’s attached to the above fuse panel, so I shouldn’t need to add another fuse. I’ll
check this and remove the fuse as I install the panel.
AnswerID:
644583
Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Oct 08, 2023 at 17:13
Sunday, Oct 08, 2023 at 17:13
.
Sporto, that's good news. As all the negatives in your van are commoned together, it is OK to pick up a negative source from any one of them…. provided that the cable you choose is capable of carrying the additional current load, which would be pretty small in your case.
However, the cable that you are running to your new panel should be large enough to suit the existing fuse.
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