PDA

View Full Version : household electrical outlet



jewbaru
09-12-2010, 11:28 AM
ok.. so this is basically pretty easy

required tools: (what i used)

10mm socket
12mm socket
ratchet
small extension
exacto knife
wizzer wheel
wire strippers/crimpers
drill
drill bit
phillips screw driver

items needed:

power inverter (i used a 400watt)
electrical box with adjustable depth (see pictures)
male end extension cord plug
black power outlet
black power outlet cover
relay
couple machine screws (i used 10-24x1")
sheet metal screw
piece of velcro
piece of cardboard or paper

as far as the wire goes, i used an old 14 guage extenstion cord so i could run three live wires to the trunk. its 14x3 cuz its grounded, nice neat way to run three wires wrapped in one sleave.(obviously i have two left over for furture projects, mine as well run it if im in there already)


ok, for starters. to make this easier on me, i removed the back seat

two 12mm bolts hold the bottom seat in place

once the bottom half is out, there are three more 12mm bolts that hold the back of the seat in place. remove those

this is what it should look like with the seat removed

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/0c93e027-1.jpg

now to make it even easier, i completely removed the arm rest section of the back of the seat, simply four 10mm nuts and the arm rest will slide right out

once the arm rest is out, fold it down to reveal the back trap door that gives you access to your trunk (is there an actual name for that door? idk)

i took a piece of cardboard and traced the outline of the blue electrical box and cut it out so i had a small template. i then traced the outline onto the trap door in the area that i wanted the plug. i then took an exacto knife and cut the material away that i had outlined. once done with that, i lined the template up on the back side and repeated so that i would have the cloth removed on either side.

next comes the fun part.. cutting out the hole

now, idk if anyone was ever messed with that arm rest before, but did you know the internals of that trap door is sheet metal ! :shock:

and to boot its not flat.. its ridged and has holes punched out in it.. thankfully where i had lined up my template and cut the material worked out perfectly. i really dont think there would be a problem where you cut out the hole, cuz the metal is thin enough to work with if you had to flatten out the section you were working with.

i used my wizzer wheel to cut out the rectangle. it was kinda tricky for me to get it close to perfect because my wizzer wheel disk was bigger than the hole i was cutting it with. any kind of dremil or jig saw etc would do a really good job because the cuts are a little more controlled, but hey, its not a perfect world haha

once the hole is cut, line up your box and make sure it fits nice and snug. once youve got it where you want it, mark the two dots where the mounting plate will bolt to

your going to be drilling from the back (trunk) side of the door

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/bracket-1.jpg

once those two hole are marked, you can simply drill them out. now to stop the drill bit from going all the way through the metal AND the cloth material, i took the piece of metal that i had cut out, and slipped it between the front side and the material so when the bit passed through, it would stop before damaging the cloth

now slip your two machine screws throuh the holes, from the seat side of the door, its nice because theyre hidden under the materical (theres enough room to pull the fabric off the door to slip the bolts in)

once the box is bolted in snuggly, you can begin the wiring process. i took a two foot section of extension cord, put a male plug on one end and stuck the other end into one of the holes on the back of the blue box. (make sure u make the cord long enough comming out of the box so you can still fold down that trap door if you need to without pulling on the inverter) once through the hole, strip the wires and connect to your electrical outlet. install the outlet into the box, and place your cover on.

i believe its important to have one of those adjustable boxes because once i put the outlet cover on, it wasnt on tight enough against the trap door for my likings, so i moved it backwards a hair (simple twist of a screw driver)

so, now you have the hard part done, this is what it should look like

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/71bc6b13-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/aec280e7-1.jpg
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/393b6ca4-1.jpg

put the seat all back together and back into the car
(i ran the wire out of the trunk and down the back seat passenger side before i put the seat back in, just to make it a little easier)

time to wire

i ran my cord into the firewall above the brake pedal, under the dash, and then down the passenger side of the car under the kick plates next to the doors.

once i had my power to the trunk, i ran it into a relay. (which you can secure to the back of the trunk with a simple sheet metal screw). now, i was lazy and didnt really feel like putting a switch in, and i wanted the unit to power up and shut off when i got in and out of the car. so my solution was to use a relay and hook it up to the preamp for my subs amp. (smart idea huh)

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/1844a2f7-1.jpg

that little blackish gray wire running up the side goes to the relay, now the preamp is a 12 volt signal, so all you have to do is ground the other side of the relay, and bam, you have your switch.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/4a1c2055-1.jpg

i used a piece of velcro (the hook side) and stuck it to the inverter. the hook side will latch right onto your carpet and keep the unit stationary

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/1124ac3d-1.jpg

now all you gotta do, is plug in the outlet and you've got power and not to mention a great topic of conversation next time someone gets into your back seat haha

anothernord
09-12-2010, 12:59 PM
This is cool. You can probably use a laptop and charge something at the same time.

jewbaru
09-12-2010, 06:05 PM
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/09/eaf75cf2-1.jpg

My new air freshner

Airgne
09-12-2010, 06:08 PM
thats funny as hell.

subyfreak619
12-05-2010, 02:05 PM
AHAH :smt007 HAHA! i love the new air freshener!

xoSubieLegacyxo
02-15-2011, 11:43 PM
this is really cool. do you remember how much you paid for materials??

LGT Kirby
03-11-2011, 03:32 PM
Awesome DIY.

jewbaru
03-11-2011, 09:39 PM
sorry xoSubieLegacyxo, i havent been on here in a month or two and didnt see your post. considering i already had the converter and wire, i think the whole project cost me under 20 bucks. i got a electrical outlet, black plastic faceplate for it, outlet box, and relay at lowes for dirt cheap.
far as the wire extension cord works great, i had a black one lying around so i used that, gave me three 14g wires for power in one niced wrapped cord.

look around your garage and house for odds and ends before you go out and buy everything

now if you dont already have a converter, you can pick them up pretty cheap, i have a 1000watt converter that im waiting for some warm weather to switch in, you can pick up a 1100watt converter at lowes for 98 bucks. you can def. down size two a smaller converter around 400watts for 39 bucks. i have the 400watt one in there right now and it powers basically anything you want

all depends what your going to end up power, TV, playstation, Microwave lmao

its great if you go camping, bring lights etc.

so total build cost if you have nothing

400watt system-estimated at less than 70 bucks

1000watt and up - estimated around 150 plus depending how large of a converter you get. you have to remember tho, the larger the watt, the larger the wire guage has to be, im going to use an amp wireing kit to power the larger inverter

let me kno if you have any more questions man

and thanks LGT Kirby

xoSubieLegacyxo
03-11-2011, 11:34 PM
Wow thanks for the info! I'll look around and see what I can find in some closets and cut some of the build cost down. I just think that this is a very handy feature for camping or on the go! Plus if somebody wants to charge their cell phone in the car they can without a cigarette adapter!! Might even make a cup holder in the center too!! Hahahaha

jewbaru
03-12-2011, 12:28 AM
cup holder would b cool

legacyrookie87
03-17-2011, 10:43 PM
omg i love the air freshener that is sick is a great idea

jewbaru
03-18-2011, 08:44 PM
last longer then any air freshener you can buy in the parts store. specially the fabreeze duel cent lmao, whole 60 days!

edit: probably longer then 60 days cuz the car isnt always on so its not always powered up, and you gotta keep it on the lowest setting cuz our back seats are a little smaller then our living rooms haha

jewbaru
02-05-2012, 09:40 PM
bump bump, anyone try this??

MarkSubi
02-06-2012, 12:31 AM
I may try this but with my sedan at some point.

Kansei
02-06-2012, 03:02 AM
i wanna try it too. sounds like a great idea. i'm just curious how much thicker the sedan seat back is....

amgarrety
02-07-2012, 01:13 AM
This is probably the greatest thing i've ever seen in my life. I might put a night light back there. I'm afraid of the dark.

MarkSubi
02-07-2012, 10:14 AM
This is probably the greatest thing i've ever seen in my life. I might put a night light back there. I'm afraid of the dark.

:smt082

jewbaru
02-20-2012, 05:07 PM
Haha. And what do you mean about the thickness of the seat? I have a sedan

Kansei
02-21-2012, 05:04 PM
oh i thought you did it on a wagon for some reason... i know its metal and thought it might be thicker than a wagon for some reason... idk . i just get stupid sometimes...