Battery box

[wookie1965]

I have the usb one cig socket and the volt meter on 5 amps and 1 cig lighter on 10 amps Looking at this picture if I swap the cables around and then add a negative on the free terminal that will illuminate the led.

[symmetal]

1 minute ago, wookie1965 said:

I have the usb one cig socket and the volt meter on 5 amps and 1 cig lighter on 10 amps Looking at this picture if I swap the cables around and then add a negative on the free terminal that will illuminate the led.

Yes that's what you need to do, to get the led to work.

Alan

[wookie1965]

2 minutes ago, symmetal said:

Yes that's what you need to do, to get the led to work.

Alan

Brilliant thank you.

 

[RayD]

Yes as Alan notes, you'll need the -ve for the LED.

If you have enough wire and another fuse I would put the cigs on their own fuses separate to the USB and VM (these 2 on one 5A fuse). 

[wookie1965]

3 minutes ago, RayD said:

Yes as Alan notes, you'll need the -ve for the LED.

If you have enough wire and another fuse I would put the cigs on their own fuses separate to the USB and VM (these 2 on one 5A fuse). 

They are on the fuse board separately fused. 

[RayD]

Just now, wookie1965 said:

They are on the fuse board separately fused. 

Ah sorry I read it wrong.  Perfect 

[wookie1965]

Just tried swapping cables around and attaching a negative I must of blown it before.

[symmetal]

Oh, that's a pity wookie. I'd have thought it would have survived the reverse polarity on the led as the series resistor would have limited the current. A led connected in reverse becomes a zener diode of around 5-6V. Maybe blue leds are more sensitive than red and green ones.

Alan

[wookie1965]

I have a new switch coming I ordered it by mistake turns out it wasn't I will swap it over when it comes. 

[symmetal]

8 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

I am a bit dubious about the cable i got for the auxiliary's I got this it is working but seems a bit thin.

  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOMOTIVE-12V-24V-2-CORE-TWIN-THINWALL-RED-BLACK-AUTO-CABLE-WIRE-WIRING-LOOM/201950989367?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=501958593606&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Wookie, the 11A quoted cable you bought is actually listed as only 16/0.2, which is 16 strands 0f 0.2mm diameter wire, or 0.5mm^2 area. The 10A cable I linked to earlier in the thread is actually 32/0.2 which is 1.0mm^2 area. Current ratings for wire is very dependant on where it's used and regulations on what size to use only refers to sizes above 1.0mm^2, in buildings etc.

Maximum current refers to what temperature rise is acceptable, which varies greatly depending whether the wire is bundled with other wires, in conduits or in open air. 16/0.2 cable is quoted (CPC/Maplins) at 3A capacity with 32/0.2 (1.0mm^2) quoted at 10A. These are conservative ratings I would say. 1.0mm^2 twin and earth is rated between 8 and 16A depending on where it's used. 

For 3 core mains flex 0.5mm^2 cable is listed as 3A, 0.75mm^2 at 6A and 1.0mm^2 cable at 10A.

As your cable is used effectively in the open it will cope with higher currents. The main concern is voltage drop so it's worth measuring the voltage at your equipment when in use and check the voltage drop isn't excessive. I would go for 32/0.2 (1.0mm^2) as a minimum size if you're doing any more wiring.

Alan

[wookie1965]

Right as you said Alan I have not checked the voltage drop but I want to make sure this installation is right. I have just sent for the 1.0 mm cable and new connectors coming Tuesday at the latest. I will redo the lot then as the main cables from the battery are very stiff (2.5 mm twin and earth) I have cable I have used to make a extension lead I will use that.

[symmetal]

Good move Wookie. It's always best to check the specification of the wire CSA (cross sectional area) and not rely on quoted current which can be quite arbitrary figures. If you only have the stranded specification like 16/0.2 to get the CSA just take the area of 1 strand and multiply by the number of strands.

For 16/0.2 wire, CSA (mm squared) = 16 * pi * r squared = 16 * 3.14 * 0.1 * 0.1 = 0.5

You've also found that twin and earth is awful to use for general hook-up wiring. 

Alan

[RayD]

I have a rather large amount of 2.5 single so if you need any I'm more than happy to send you some 

[wookie1965]

9 minutes ago, RayD said:

I have a rather large amount of 2.5 single so if you need any I'm more than happy to send you some 

That is very kind of you but I have sent off for the 1.0 mm Dave suggested and I have cable here I have previously bought to make a extension lead, I have just stripped about 2 metres so I can use the blue and brown cores for the main cable from the battery, but I really appreciate your offer. 

[RayD]

Just now, wookie1965 said:

That is very kind of you but I have sent off for the 1.0 mm Dave suggested and I have cable here I have previously bought to make a extension lead, I have just stripped about 2 metres so I can use the blue and brown cores for the main cable from the battery, but I really appreciate your offer. 

Perfect.  I will get rid of this cable somewhere 

[wookie1965]

12 minutes ago, RayD said:

Perfect.  I will get rid of this cable somewhere 

I'm a hoarder my lads and my wife say why you keeping that and I say you never know when it will come in handy. 

Paul 

[RayD]

6 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

I'm a hoarder my lads and my wife say why you keeping that and I say you never know when it will come in handy. 

Paul 

Oh I wish I had £1 for every time I've said that when told to throw very useful stuff away.  Reality is we all know it will probably never be used, but we also know the very day after we threw it out we will need it 

[Davey-T]

2 hours ago, RayD said:

I have a rather large amount of 2.5 single so if you need any I'm more than happy to send you some 

Keep it long enough it will rise in scrap value, you can even buy a proper tool know for stripping off the plastic to scrap it

Reminds me of days spent dragging singles up metal conduit, kept some for years but it was red and black so scrapped it eventually.

Dave

[RayD]

29 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Keep it long enough it will rise in scrap value, you can even buy a proper tool know for stripping off the plastic to scrap it

Reminds me of days spent dragging singles up metal conduit, kept some for years but it was red and black so scrapped it eventually.

Dave

Yes it is a huge difference in dirty and clean Dave.  We used to sit and strip SWA as it was well worthwhile.  Ah the days of stripping singles inside conduit having squeezed 20 of them inside a single 25mm with the aid of tons of tallow and blowing fuses when turning on 

Almost makes this sign seem reasonable 

[Davey-T]

Quote:
Ah the days of stripping singles inside conduit having squeezed 20 of them inside a single 25mm with the aid of tons of tallow and blowing fuses when turning on 

Always supposing the fuse blew and not the conduit come live 

Dave

[RayD]

1 minute ago, Davey-T said:

Quote:
Ah the days of stripping singles inside conduit having squeezed 20 of them inside a single 25mm with the aid of tons of tallow and blowing fuses when turning on 

Always supposing the fuse blew and not the conduit come live 

Dave

Lol you've done that as well 

[Davey-T]

Had a few near death experiences

"Funniest" thing I saw was a guy doing a rewire in a loft, we turned off the power and we went to lunch, came back, he got hold of a bunch of earths wound them round his hand, go hold of the live and neutral in the other hand to strip them back and his mate had turned the power back on, "luckily" he fell back through the ceiling which freed him from the cables, the 30amp rewireable didn't even get warm, he didn't see the funny side of it, seemed to think somebody had done it deliberately 

Dave

 

 

[RayD]

4 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Had a few near death experiences

"Funniest" thing I saw was a guy doing a rewire in a loft, we turned off the power and we went to lunch, came back, he got hold of a bunch of earths wound them round his hand, go hold of the live and neutral in the other hand to strip them back and his mate had turned the power back on, "luckily" he fell back through the ceiling which freed him from the cables, the 30amp rewireable didn't even get warm, he didn't see the funny side of it, seemed to think somebody had done it deliberately 

Dave

 

 

We shouldn't laugh, and I have had a few quite bad ones so should know better, but it is difficult not to laugh when seeing someone getting a non lethal electric shock, like static for example (safety notice....don't try this at home people).

I ended up in hospital for 5 days with severe burns on my hand and chest and hourly monitoring of my internal organs following a 185VDC wallop 20 odd years ago, which was not pleasant at all, but I do laugh about it now thinking that I was sure my bottom lip at some point actually covered my eyelids 

[Davey-T]

Funny thing, I once sat on a kitchen worktop wiring up a bit of 6mm T&E for a cooker feed and went to turn on the power and it had been on all the time 

I did dob my finger on the live to check before I started

Apologies to Paul for thread drift

Dave

[wookie1965]

No problem I trained to become electrician 8 years ago I think got my 17th edition but could not get anyone take me on to be fully qualified. It wasn't long after that though I was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension 17 lumber punctures later and on several meds Im still suffering. I blame the lumber punctures on my collapsed discs, I cannot blame that on the arthritis in the spine  I have asked my doctor to shoot me.