This project was a really simple one that took only about 15 minutes. I had a small 150 watt power inverter (it takes 12VDC and turns it into 115VAC) that had been designed to plug into the cigarette lighter outlet. I had purchased this inverter a number of years ago (before they got cheap) and decided I would like to have a low wattage 115VAC source in my Jeep. So began this simple project.
When I installed the QuickAir2 compressor, I had to run 12 VDC to the back of the Jeep to power the compressor. The power inverter draws well under 20 amps at full load, so I decided to tap into the power leads that were hooked to the compressor. I soldered in a pigtail to the existing power leads and terminated it in a 20 amp Molex connector (these are available at Radio Shack for 99 cents). The cigarette lighter plug was removed from the power inverter’s power leads and a mating Molex connector was installed. (Having it with a connector still allows me to easily remove it should the need arise.) Total cost was $2.
A couple of heavy duty cable ties snugged real tight holds the power inverter in place on the roll bar. You could probably mount it on the fender well, but this space was taken in my Jeep by the 706’s antenna coupler.
End result….I have a nice little 115 VAC power source for powering a soldering iron, recharging my laptop PC, digital camera battery, or any other low wattage device.