DC Power Outlet Relocation

[ElDuderino]

I posted this over in the overlanding section of the forum, but I figured it would be more appropriate here.

I recently got a fridge slide, a dometic fridge, and a Anker Power Station. My plan is to run the power station to the DC power outlet in the rear of the vehicle, and have the fridge plugged into the power station. My only issue is the fridge/slide/power station sit on the driver side of the vehicle, and the power outlet is on the passenger side of the vehicle. I considered moving the slide and everything to the passenger side, but the fridge gets caught on the tailgate area.

I'm looking to relocate that outlet, or maybe add the Dometic Hardwire Kit so I can have a DC plug on the drivers side. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm a novice when it comes to electrical work and have no idea where I could even tap into power or run the wires.

If anyone has any knowledge they could share I would appreciate it!

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[flip]

The rear power point is on a 20A circuit 16ga wire from the battery junction box, uninterrupted, to the socket. If you're going to jump it off to the other side I would cut the wires and splice directly into them with the same size wire over. You can either pull some wire back and jump across behind the rear seat/cargo area trim or across under the trim strip along the rear. My choice is behind the rear seats.

What is the total amp draw of your accessories? If you don't have trailer tow, there's a couple heavy 12ga wires on a 40A circuit already on the driver side you could tap into and hot at all time so you'd either need to unplug your stuff or wire in a relay if you don't want to kill the battery.

 

[ElDuderino]

The rear power point is on a 20A circuit 16ga wire from the battery junction box, uninterrupted, to the socket. If you're going to jump it off to the other side I would cut the wires and splice directly into them with the same size wire over. You can either pull some wire back and jump across behind the rear seat/cargo area trim or across under the trim strip along the rear. My choice is behind the rear seats.

What is the total amp draw of your accessories? If you don't have trailer tow, there's a couple heavy 12ga wires on a 40A circuit already on the driver side you could tap into and hot at all time so you'd either need to unplug your stuff or wire in a relay if you don't want to kill the battery.

I do have trailer tow. Also would prefer not to have it always hot. Don’t want to accidentally forget and kill my battery.

So I can pull the passenger rear panel back, cut the wires that are already ran to the current 12v outlet, splice in new wire of the same ga, run it under the trim to the passenger side, then wire in the hardwire kit?

I do not know my current amp draw. It will have a power station plugged into it at all times. Fridge, phone, cameras, lights whatever will be plugged into the power station. When driving the power station will charge, when parked the power station will kick in and run the fridge.

 

[j_marinelli]

One option you might look into is this pre-made harness. This would go inline to the existing DC plug in the back and give you a new point to tie into for a new DC or hardwire on the other side.

https://www.4dtech.com/12v-pnp-power-accessory-harness/

Idea came from this thread where they were looking to hardwire in some added lights and add some usb ports to the rear.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/additional-cargo-area-lighting-diy-done-✅.43003/#post-1379411

 

[flip]

I do have trailer tow. Also would prefer not to have it always hot. Don’t want to accidentally forget and kill my battery.

So I can pull the passenger rear panel back, cut the wires that are already ran to the current 12v outlet, splice in new wire of the same ga, run it under the trim to the passenger side, then wire in the hardwire kit?

I do not know my current amp draw. It will have a power station plugged into it at all times. Fridge, phone, cameras, lights whatever will be plugged into the power station. When driving the power station will charge, when parked the power station will kick in and run the fridge.

Sound correct. The fewer connections you have to any end device is always preferable. I'm a big fan of using non insulated butt connectors and adhesive heat shrink.

https://www.amazon.com/Wirefy-100-I...x=non+insulated+butt+connector,aps,104&sr=8-4

This style crimper.
https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

This type of heat shrink (glue lined). Some will say the glue is not needed since this the connection is inside the cab but anything that helps keep moisture and air out, reduces the risk if oxidation in the splice.
https://www.amazon.com/Wirefy-180-H...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

[ElDuderino]

One option you might look into is this pre-made harness. This would go inline to the existing DC plug in the back and give you a new point to tie into for a new DC or hardwire on the other side.

https://www.4dtech.com/12v-pnp-power-accessory-harness/

Idea came from this thread where they were looking to hardwire in some added lights and add some usb ports to the rear.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/additional-cargo-area-lighting-diy-done-.43003/#post-1379411

Sound correct. The fewer connections you have to any end device is always preferable. I'm a big fan of using non insulated butt connectors and adhesive heat shrink.

https://www.amazon.com/Wirefy-100-Insulated-Butt-Connectors/dp/B08BYY3KDB/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3A1I4SGTO7S0H&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VVF0C6DZSzk3led47ab5v4rIlnV-WoqYuQd84ETFOkAO4uzsCRTR67ha_ClvDhFysSSgkgbyfg7LhguNddjEIO7tAsUb7Yn9AQvrre42gRAUbNaYMyHerloQ65XZuAsT0x0bCbxhYzM13xWLx8IJlZhALpqscFqFuGyxF29BMPH5SrLh1YQ-2rTGt7nl3fNr3jnMqxPknMAYESJs2P_-DbHgYM5nNyaDXQSvFNExp04.6o7tIduixSB9J7BgjTXiklmP1tOMAnCo8tdchWx8zBs&dib_tag=se&keywords=non+insulated+butt+connectors+kit&qid=1714561812&sprefix=non+insulated+butt+connector,aps,104&sr=8-4

This style crimper.
https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-1005-Connectors-Non-Insulated/dp/B0006M6Y5M/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=22D56VUFHHO7M&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LLz07fP57mGh4klFBbqnHKmPMC8Cp6hdPCnkgfV8f7vRVH2BtYY2LqKJVvol-xIbxtmhHTdbnKqWZyYkl-Jm9zggUa7iD3NPRN8CthfnrtE4CeFpetMYn7J9m2Z1lPQEdQ-Zeg_lq3tjXRA7Nn9xugxEqnOfjWpstZbqBoGVhpVzIXLn5F0zJU_O05L6Kyj8cziesacNO4jNx9iXEU_igwTcH-QaooT6wbKmzJzG-Af1NKQXxQyT5Vw-EZ-WqkXwApR-2NpVZNgeeg7ENi6uShU9FCOgRHMKcRETzuq66Q.8riuNn4wJ2K_M-jRs69DXJzVGJELkslO4lpL-Vf3z1I&dib_tag=se&keywords=non+insulated+crimp+tool+klein&qid=1714561901&sprefix=non+insulated+crimp+,aps,107&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

This type of heat shrink (glue lined). Some will say the glue is not needed since this the connection is inside the cab but anything that helps keep moisture and air out, reduces the risk if oxidation in the splice.
https://www.amazon.com/Wirefy-180-Heat-Shrink-Tubing/dp/B084GDLSCK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=ITX6OKNU12G0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aeWHYtergaaSeEKpveVHYtVjoy6XVv6hjD6g-zy6mQUHsRJ1vQz6VMsfo45yX79y7ApuVLNsyrQAKLhjfg38Ws0kiM14wHrB1slPNUI3TwEWNQywRDFUAWNzyFSGiZ9TbypRJR9Em7akmKEpN0da8Bx2CXnmBx0ZEoVdIISfBUy0UvBZLSREXT1VuRu9WE_aFV67hN3MjlJk86AfJVgTX68ld_McEF2xc73WSZagVhc.s3D1OeL9WAw0H0MPcgcXVkPXz_nFkkmRq_KRULzqm0A&dib_tag=se&keywords=glue+lined+heat+shrink+tubing&qid=1714562007&sprefix=glue+lined+he,aps,92&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

I ended up buying that harness. Instead of cutting the lines and making the current 12v socket useless, I’ll have one on both sides. I’ll post some pics once all of the parts come in. Thanks for the help.

 

[ElDuderino]

Maybe a dumb question, am I able to splice together different gauge wires?

 

[cr117]

Maybe a dumb question, am I able to splice together different gauge wires?

As long as the wire you're splicing in is thicker, and not the other way around, you'll be fine.

 

[ElDuderino]

As long as the wire you're splicing in is thicker, and not the other way around, you'll be fine.

How do I go about splicing this in? On the left is the wire harness adapter coming from the current 12 v socket, on the right is the wire harness for the new outlet.

 

[cr117]

How do I go about splicing this in? On the left is the wire harness adapter coming from the current 12 v socket, on the right is the wire harness for the new outlet.

Dang, that's a big jump. Do you have any yellow-sized butt connectors around? If it were me, I think I'd...

1. Cut off both wires' terminals
2. Strip the smaller gauge wire a normal amount for the butt connector
3. Strip the larger gauge wire enough so it pokes through to the other side of the butt connector and the threads are meshed with the smaller gauge wire
4. Crimp them together

 

[Brian_B]

They do make step-down butt splice connectors --- just guessing that's #16 to #8 (not really sure), but just for example:
https://www.sherco-auto.com/vinyl-i...ector-12-10-gauge-to-22-18-gauge-10-pack.html

Just pick the right gauge wires you have and do a quick search.

That would be the easiest method.

I'd recommend solder, but only if you're comfortable with it. Strip back both wires, slide some heatshrink that fits easily over the larger wire -- hook the stripped copper on both wires into a J and hook and squish together, and solder the joint up - just don't let the solder go up under the insulation. Then heatshrink the final result. It will probably last longer than the rest of your Bronco.

 

[ElDuderino]

I was able to relocate the outlet to the driver side and I didn’t burn my vehicle down. I used the non insulated butt connectors to splice the 12 volt adapter to the wiring for the domestic outlet kit and just used heat shrink to insulate it.

Pulling the trim to get to the 12 volt outlet was a pain, I ended up breaking one of the pins so the trim is a little loose.

Thanks for all the help! Overall a pretty easy job.

 

[ElDuderino]

Reporting in again with an issue. I went on a one night shake down trip to make sure everything was working. I'm very glad I did.

When I was on my way back, I noticed my power station was not charging. The dometic outlet I ran was not getting power. I plugged my fridge into the 12 volt outlet that comes with the vehicle, and it was working fine. When I got home I pulled apart the dometic outlet and the fuse was fine on both ends. When I got to the adapter that tapped into the 12volt outlet, I found that the fuse was blown.

I don't think there's a short, I think the power station overloaded it, but I'm a novice at this stuff. Attached is the input draw specs for the power station itself.

Any idea what I can do to make this work? Should I just run the dometic outlet to the car battery and just disconnect it when I'm parked/sleeping?

 

[Brian_B]

Attached is the input draw specs for the power station itself.

Hmm it doesn’t actually list the specs you’d need to be looking at. Just “recharge time” which doesn’t mean much

It also wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a report of a power station either popping a fuse or melting a connector that is rated higher than its supposed DC charging rating. I think a lot of these units are not respecting the DC charge rating.

The other thing to look at would be those butt splices and anywhere else you make a connection - it looks like you used bare splices, which is fine, but it just takes a fraction of a second of contact somewhere where it missed with heat shrink or electrical tape to short and arc - worth taking a peek at and making darn sure the shrink didn’t pull back or start strand of copper poking out or wire pull through or just missed a backside or something. That heat shrink does look a bit short…

 

[cr117]

What size fuse came with that harness?

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