Electrical question for refrigerator wiring

[Beetle Bailey]

I am installing a Dometic refrigerator In my 2019 JLUR. I purchased the “hardwiring kit” at the same time. The kit is 10ga wire and comes with ring terminals to connect to the battery.

I want the refrigerator installed with a switch. I have the “aux wires“ in the passenger footwell, and thought about connecting the 10 ga hot wire to the “blue wire/pink stripe” (aux switch #4) which is 40 amps And is more than enough amp wise. this wire is a much smaller gauge. will this work? Safe?

Any other ideas/suggestions?

Thanks is advance...Joe

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[ToolMan514]

Aux switches 3 and 4 are only 15A. 1 and 2 are 40A (unless that has changed since 2018). Not sure how much draw there is on the fridge, but you could always run a heavier wire direct from the battery and switch it with a relay.

 

[Russ Chung]

Joe,

The current draw when the compressor starts is less than 10 amps and the steady draw when the compressor is running is 1-2 amps, so SW#4 can handle the load. The reason the kit has such heavy wiring is to reduce the voltage drop between the battery and the fridge when the compressor starts.

Why do you need to wire the fridge to the aux switch? I just wired mine to the battery and use the on-off button on the fridge. If you’re worried that the low voltage cutoff may fail and might drain your battery, you can unplug the 12v power cable at the fridge.

Russ

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Aux switches 3 and 4 are only 15A. 1 and 2 are 40A (unless that has changed since 2018). Not sure how much draw there is on the fridge, but you could always run a heavier wire direct from the battery and switch it with a relay.

@ToolMan514 you are correct regarding the switch amperage. And, thanks for your suggestion.

joe

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Joe,

The current draw when the compressor starts is less than 10 amps and the steady draw when the compressor is running is 1-2 amps, so SW#4 can handle the load. The reason the kit has such heavy wiring is to reduce the voltage drop between the battery and the fridge when the compressor starts.

Why do you need to wire the fridge to the aux switch? I just wired mine to the battery and use the on-off button on the fridge. If you’re worried that the low voltage cutoff may fail and might drain your battery, you can unplug the 12v power cable at the fridge.

Russ

Hi Russ,

Thanks for your response and suggestion. What you say makes a lot of sense and saves a switch for something else. I will give that a try...I am sure it will work for me. Thanks again for the good advice.

Joe

 

[ToolMan514]

Now for the kicker, there may be two additional 20A circuits available to you at the back of the Jeep already. If you don't have the 1-touch roof, there are two unused power circuits that go to the hardtop connector at the back of the Jeep that are used for the sliding roof motors. They are fuses F73 Orange/Red wire and F74 Green/Red wire. I am using them for additional power needs in the rear, instead of tapping into the existing power outlet.

Of course, there may be a warranty issue to consider, but at least you'll know about it.

And if you did not already know, the 12V socket in the back can be switched between always on (battery) and ACC/ignition by moving the fuse...

 

[WashingtonWetWheeler]

Now for the kicker, there may be two additional 20A circuits available to you at the back of the Jeep already. If you don't have the 1-touch roof, there are two unused power circuits that go to the hardtop connector at the back of the Jeep that are used for the sliding roof motors. They are fuses F73 Orange/Red wire and F74 Green/Red wire. I am using them for additional power needs in the rear, instead of tapping into the existing power outlet.

Of course, there may be a warranty issue to consider, but at least you'll know about it.

And if you did not already know, the 12V socket in the back can be switched between always on (battery) and ACC/ignition by moving the fuse...

Hey bud,
Any chance you could snap some pics of what you did with this tap into the power roof wires? Would love to replicate. Thanks!

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