How Can I Keep Rear 115v Outlet Hot?

[rcadden]

See title. I'm specifically talking about the 115V "normal" outlet in the back seat, NOT the 12v outlet in the cargo area.

Is this possible via moving a fuse or something, or would it be a bigger wiring job?

Could I even wire it up to one of my AUX switches to keep it hot when the Jeep is off? Do the AUX switches work when the Jeep is off?

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[OSCAR II]

Shouldn't be to hard to figure out, but I wouldn't recommend it. The inverter is a large draw item and will run your battery down quickly. Even with no load on it unless you have a manual switch on it (and remember to turn it off) look forward to constant dead batteries.

You could cover your roof with solar panels to keep the battery charged up.. but really. There are better lunchbox size inverter gen sets that would be a better option.

 

[OSCAR II]

See title. I'm specifically talking about the 115V "normal" outlet in the back seat, NOT the 12v outlet in the cargo area.

Is this possible via moving a fuse or something, or would it be a bigger wiring job?

Could I even wire it up to one of my AUX switches to keep it hot when the Jeep is off? Do the AUX switches work when the Jeep is off?

I see you rewrote/edited your post. I'm not sure if you realize that 110 outlet is coming from an inverter and that inverter is powered by your 12v system. Its only rated for about an amp on the 110 side and that's about 10 amps on the 12v side. That's a heavy load and why it shuts off when the engine is off.

Can it be wired hot all the time, sure easily but expect constant dead batteries. And through a switch you'll have to remember to turn it off.

Its not a very powerful inverter, and as an electrician what are you trying to do? What do you want to accomplish?

 

[Carolina Jeeper]

The inverter will drain your battery even if nothing is plugged into the outlet. Besides it's designed to work only while the engine is running to avoid the weak or dead battery scenario.

Years ago I installed an inverter systems on semi truck trailers that had deep cycle batteries. The batteries recharged through the trailer pigtail when the truck connected and was running. I installed a 110V rated light switch inside the trailer that enabled the inverter when needed and a 110V outlet. Huge pain in the butt to set up since I built and attached a custom metal compartment underneath the trailers and wired up to hide wiring. Trailers are 53 feet long so it took a lot of wire.

If you create and wire up a separate battery to your inverter to not drain the vehicles cranking battery, you could do it. I say you're going to spend alot if time and money on it to make it useful and reliable.

One more thing, these inverters in our Jeeps are weak so don't expect much out of it.

 

[rcadden]

Thanks for the insights everyone. I'm not an electrician in the slightest, so definitely trust you guys more than myself.

As to what I was hoping to do, it would be pretty minimal - keep a crockpot with its glorious queso hot during a tailgate, or this evening we're doing a "trunk-or-treat" at our church and wanted to wire up a bubble machine. I also WFH, and the Jeep has been awesome to be able to take to a park or something to work out of the back, so I could keep my laptop powered up for a few hours that way.

I did buy a little inverter off Amazon that has both 12v and direct battery connectors, so I can just use that for now. Just seemed a bit silly to have to use this when I have a perfectly capable plug already in the Jeep, but I clearly hadn't considered all of the factors. I know that the 12v plug in the cargo bay stays hot all the time, so I didn't see a reason that the 110v plug wouldn't, either.

 

[OSCAR II]

Exactly why I asked. The intent of that outlet is more for a mobile office,.. power a laptop, portable printer things that don't draw much. I doubt it would run either of the items you mentioned even with the engine running.

To keep it simple, a watt is a watt is a watt. Watts are equal to volts x amps. The factory inverter is 150 watts so it can handle a load of 1.25 amps. (in theory) That's not much. Look on your crock pot, there has to be a rating on it somewhere. It might be listed as watts or just amps and volts. Multiply those two together and you'll have the wattage. Don't skimp on the wattage, bigger is better. The one you bought might not be big enough... and these cheepy little inverters have funny ratings on them too... but thats a whole nother story.

That brings you back to, if the little inverter is going to kill the battery what do you think a bigger one is going to do? The engine should be running with those too. If you're wanting to tailgate like you are saying, you're better off with one of the little suitcase generators.

 

[rcadden]

@OSCAR II that's helpful, thank you.

This is the inverter I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F13X9SN/

Specifically went with this one because it has the option to connect directly to the battery - am I correct in assuming that doing so would eliminate any strain on the built-in inverter in the vehicle? I understand that obviously it can still kill my battery (duh) but that seems like an acceptable risk to me. Also since it's more of a hassle to setup, I'm less likely to forget I have it set up.

I do have the tow package with the HD alternator - does that come into play here at all?

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