Proper Installation of an Inverter

I want to install an inverter in my 86 M1008A1 and my 68 M35A2C but have heard that inverters can ruin alternators or the diodes inside of them. A truck driver told me horror stories of being out in the middle of nowhere and having his truck alternator shut down due to using an inverter while driving down the road. Anybody know if there is any truth to this and if so, is there a way to wire an inverter to prevent this from happening? I think the truck driver was using an inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Any info or experiences would be much appreciated! I may just wind up using separate batteries to prevent problems!

My only experience has been on my '85 Chevy Step-Van. I used a hard wired 12v DC to 2,000 watt AC inverter for over 10 years with no problems at all.
Eric
CBVET

did it the same way in my old jeep but I put a cut off switch in the DC line so that I wouldn't accidentally leave the inverter on and drain the battery.

aboonski said:

I want to install an inverter in my 86 M1008A1 and my 68 M35A2C but have heard that inverters can ruin alternators or the diodes inside of them. A truck driver told me horror stories of being out in the middle of nowhere and having his truck alternator shut down due to using an inverter while driving down the road.

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He must have had a poor quality alternator.

aboonski said:

I may just wind up using separate batteries to prevent problems!

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Those won't last long if you don't keep charging them when the inverter is in use.

I don't have any issues using my inverter in my Dodge. I will be adding a 24v one in my Deuce soon. My father in law didn't have any issues with his very, very large inverter for his locksmith van. You have to keep the the batteries charged. Inverters need a lot of current.

RE: Re: Proper Installation of an Inverter

Im sure this is gonna seem like a silly question BUT you all all say there are not dumb questions so here we go .............

If a fellow wants to used 12V things in his 24V deuce like VHS radio, CB radio, cel phone charger etc I asume I can just take leads off one battery to run this stuff ? and somehow isolate the 24 V circuit ? prolly cannot as the batteries are set up in sequence ...... electrical was never my favorite course .

If anyone can tell me how to wire things like this Id love to hear from you ........... and yes I pretty sure this will sound very dumb ! LOL

CanadaDeuce

wiring for 12 volt electrical with a 24 volt system

This one is for CanadaDeuce. There have been a lot of posts regarding this item and the only real way to run 12 volt stuff with your 24 volt system is via the use of a voltage reducer, i.e., 24 volt to 12 volt. There are a lot of these on Ebay and other web sites - I bought two of these myself from different sellers on Ebay. I have not wired mine up yet but when I do, one unit will run my headlights and the other will be for 12 volt accessories like a CB or CD player plus a cigarette lighter that I can plug practically anything into to get 12 volts. Be sure to buy one which has a high amperage output - at least 20 amps or greater. My reason for wanting to use 12 volt headlights is due to the outragious cost of the military 24 volt units - some Ebay sellers are asking over $30.00 for one bulb....plus shipping too! Another important thing to keep in mind when hooking into your electrical system is to ALWAYS run some kind of fuse as close to the positive battery post as possible in the event of a short. Once I complete my particular application I will post photos, etc. I plan to use a distribution box or panel which will allow for expanded use of 12 volt items in the cab and bed of my M35A2C; the feed from the positive post will go to one junction box and a separate junction box will be installed for the negative wire coming from the negative post of the battery. My CB will be mounted above and between the driver and passenger seat using lengths of fiberglass troop seat slats that came off of a FMTV troop seat setup. My M35A2C has the hardtop so it will be easy to install my interior light that came out of a tank plus the CB and an AM/FM CD player all on the same track with the wires running through the open spaces in the fiberglass slats. If this sounds too complicated it really isn't. Vehicular wiring is fairly easy because the body and frame of every vehicle is either wired to be negative or positive - the Britts were famous for negaitive grounds in their vehicles. For now, that's it! Hope I have not discouraged you from installing 12 volt items in your Deuce with all the detail I went into!

RE: wiring for 12 volt electrical with a 24 volt system

I want to thank the respondents for their inputs regarding the installation of an inverter; it appears the solution is to hard-wire the inverter directly to the battery and forget about using the cigarette lighter. I just wanted to see if other members had any experiences with cooked alternators from using inverters. Replacement alternators for the CUCV or M35A2 are expensive to say the least! If anyone has heard of the problems associated with use of a cigarette lighter application for their inverter please reply to this post. I tried unsuccessfully to search the internet for the info on this subject so I hope someone can prompt me to the right location for answers.

Re: RE: wiring for 12 volt electrical with a 24 volt system

aboonski said:

I want to thank the respondents for their inputs regarding the installation of an inverter; it appears the solution is to hard-wire the inverter directly to the battery and forget about using the cigarette lighter......

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Do install a switch as suggested above, that way you can keep it off while cranking the engine.

RE: Re: RE: wiring for 12 volt electrical with a 24 volt sys

Thanks for that reminder Bjorn as I surely would have forgotten to do that! The switch would go on the dash with an indicator light too. I already have one switch on my dash to shut off that obnoxious sounding low-air warning buzzer right now; I do turn it back on once the air pressure reaches 80 pounds!

RE: Re: RE: wiring for 12 volt electrical with a 24 volt sys

My inverter has an on/off switch built in. With it off, doesn't drain battery.
I would surely add a switch if it didn't have one.
Eric
CBVET

Re: RE: Re: Proper Installation of an Inverter

CanadaDeuce said:

Im sure this is gonna seem like a silly question BUT you all all say there are not dumb questions so here we go .............

If a fellow wants to used 12V things in his 24V deuce like VHS radio, CB radio, cel phone charger etc I asume I can just take leads off one battery to run this stuff ? and somehow isolate the 24 V circuit ? prolly cannot as the batteries are set up in sequence ...... electrical was never my favorite course .

If anyone can tell me how to wire things like this Id love to hear from you ........... and yes I pretty sure this will sound very dumb ! LOL

CanadaDeuce

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Sure, no problem at all. Just power across the "low" side battery (the one connected directly to ground) and you don't have to isolate the DC- wiring from ground. I would put in a switch to disconnect the 12v power when not in use. Be sure to get a switch that wiill handle at least 20 amps at 12 vdc.

Mine is similar to this one and works great

I have a charger/ Inverter in my duece and I love it. I can plug it in the night before I want to use the duece and it has the batteries all topped off and ready to go. If I had enough outlets in the carport I could leave it plugged in as it float charges as well. I also bought the remote control for it and it is mounted on the dash and shows voltage and charge ratio when I turn the remote on. It gives a nice digital read out of those numbers while driving too.

It is hardwired into the batteries

RE: Mine is similar to this one and works great

Another reminder ( I think we covered most everything already at one time or another on this forum), when you draw from one battery only, you need to recharge each battery separately so that the vehicle charging system can do its job, charging both in series.
I highly recommend the Chargetek 500 dual battery "maintainer". Keeping your batts charged will also keep sulfation from setting in.

RE: Mine is similar to this one and works great

I have used a low power (600 watt) inverter plugged into my cig lighter for 10 plus years and haven't lost an alternator yet. I use it to power a laptop computer which is a low power drain. I have fried a computer screen by starting the car with the laptop running.

It might be more what the trucker had hooked up to the inverter than the inverter itself. I would think it would be possible for some high power ac motor or microwave to feedback some type of electrical spike that could fry the alternator diodes esp if the inverter is of low quality or not big enough for the job. A lot of people don't take into account the startup power of some devices can be several multiples of the rated power consumption.

RE: Mine is similar to this one and works great

for those of you want to run inverters in your MV's if you talk with your local marine supply/repair place you will likely find that many commercial boats run a 24v electrical and they make 24v inverters and they are the same as the standard automotive inverters just ment for marine use instead of auotmotive uyse *whioch if you use your MV like i use mine it is handy to have an inverter that is designed to be in wet enviroments just some info for you guys.
as for inverters killing alternators well i been running minimum 1000w inverters in every vehicle i have owned and never once lost an alternator. my m1009 currently sports 2 3000w inverters (one on each rear wheel well) to run tools and stuff from

There are inverters and converters and also voltage reducers. This is rule of thumb, so if you get a wire crossed with these comments no flames please. Inverters are generally used to describe a device that changes a source from one frequency to another and most often output voltages, such as DC to AC and AC to DC. Converters are devices that will change a voltage to another voltage within a set frequency. DC to DC converters can either increase or decrease an input voltage to another regulated voltage. For instance you can have a converter change 12 (actually 13. volts to 24 (actually around 27.5) volts or vice versa, folks often refer to converters that regulate a reduction in voltage as a voltage reducer so either term is correct. A simple voltage reducer is just a resistor. No regulation so variations in loading must be understood and accounted for. A transformer could be considered a converter as often they change one voltage to another with out affecting frequency, a bit crude but you get the idea.The military used to have a really neat rotary inverter in that it converted 24 Volts DC to 110 VAC using a motor. As I recall it only put out about 300 or 400 watts. I used to have one, it was by Wind something, I can't recall now. I use a solid state inverter in my Cummins to power some Motorola radio chargers that are powered by 120 VAC and sometimes a television that has a built in dvd player but wasn't designed to be powered by 12 VDC. The truck's charging system has never even hiccupped when I plug in or use the inverter.

Regards,
M376X6

I have a bunch of NEW Newmar 24v to 12v DC-DC power converters. 35 amp capacity. Have sold a bunch to SS members and to the boating crowd. Work great. PM for prices / shipping if interested.

Don