Reddit reviews Nilight GA0004 5Pack 12AWG Inline Wiring Harness 12 Gauge ATC/ATO Automotive Holder with 30A Fuse Blade Standard Plug Socket-5 Pack, 2 Years Warranty

Hey dude!

1. Yep that's precisely what you need to do.
   
   
2. An inline ATC fuse holder is easiest. Something like this:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Water-Resistant-Fuse-Holder/dp/B0002KR88A
   
   Just make sure that's crimped/spliced somewhere between the positive lead of the battery and your fishfinder. Very Bad Things can happen should your fishfinder get dunked without it in place.

Regular car batteries are made to have a lot of cranking power, and then stay on a trickle charge once the alternator gets going. Running the battery voltage down each night and charging it daily will kill the life of your battery (if it's not deep cycle).

Honestly, charging a phone (5w), running some small LED lighting (8w), and a couple 12VDC fans (6w) can all be done through your cigarette lighter port and won't be drawing more than 20watts. If you ran that all night, you would only be using 15amp/hrs or so of your battery; and if you get 8 hours of sunlight, you only need a 30watt solar panel to charge it back up. Whenever you are talking about solar though, you should plan on doubling your capacity to account for non-optimal performance, cloudy days, long winter nights, etc.

kieranmullen gives a pretty good rundown of what you would need to setup a separate 12v system but seems like overkill for what you are asking (and would run you about $300-400).

Personally, I would get a 100 watt panel, 7 amp charge controller, the cheapest 12v deep cycle marine battery from walmart, and maybe a 3-400w inverter (for a laptop charger or any other AC devices). Also, I'd put an inline fuse between my charge controller and load, and maybe another between the battery and charge controller.

If that blade fuse is blown, I'd suggest replacing it with a newer fuse holder with some ring connectors crimped on. Way easier and cheaper than finding a new blade fuse.

Fuse Holder

Ring Connectors

Remove the dash piece under the steering column and then the metal plate behind it to gain access to the main ignition harness that goes up to the steering wheel. Cut back the wire loom and look for a heavier guage solid pink or pink with black stripe wire. Make sure to test it with a dmm that it goes from 0 to 12v with the key turning on and off. You will need to get an inline fuse holder like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002KR88A/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1452992553&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=inline+fuse&dpPl=1&dpID=41xeCvxvLdL&ref=plSrch and a 10 amp fuse to go in the fuse holder. Solder one side of the inline fuse holder into the pink or pink/black wire and wire an extension wire to go from the other side of the fuse holder up to the radio. Wire the extension to the red ignition wire of the aftermarket deck harness and test that it turns on and off with the key. Once that's done bolt the metal plate back up then the under dash and put the rest back together.

Hey, thanks!

I'm going to go into detail on the equipment I bought with my next video (and I've got a really fascinating powerpoint presentation where I try to explain a little electrical theory without putting everyone to sleep). I'll answer your question here though:

I started with a kit that came with the wires you're asking about. The solar panels have those short (2 or 3 feet) wires that end with what's called an MC4 connector. The wires have the MC4 connector on one end, and a bare wire on the other. The MC4 is a weatherproof, snap-on connector.

For the second panel, I had to get the MC4-tipped cables separately. From browsing YouTube, it looks like you can save some money by buying the connectors alone and splicing them onto a wire. I didn't feel like messing with this.

I got all my stuff on Amazon. Here's the list:

• Here's a link to the starter kit I got. It comes with a pair of MC4 cables
  
• A second 100w solar panel, identical to the one that comes with the starter kit
  
• These are the extension cables. MC4 on one end. The other end has nothing - you just strip it and screw it into the terminal on the solar controller
  
• Had to get another set of z-brackets for the second panel too
  
• This is the in-line fuse holder. It takes any automotive fuse. The solar controller specifies a 15A fuse.
  
  The parts for my installation came out to a little over $400.
  
  Hope that helps! :)

I'll be using inline fuse holders like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Water-resistant-Fuse-Holder/dp/B0002KR88A/ref=pd_sim_263_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41xeCvxvLdL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=15HM852D3AFHRX18VJ0X

Friend, "super confused" and a 72W battery stack start to make me nervous about advising you. Here's a pic about how to connect a BMS. https://imgur.com/a/eeh7C4h

Short circuit fault currents can be really high. I highly advise you to fuse your battery as close to the + terminal of your holder as you can. I like this automotive type: https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Harness-Automotive-Standard-Warranty/dp/B0002KR88A

The 7.5A fuse would be a good starting choice.

be safe.

Ok, so if I want to switch them all with one switch I should ideally have a switch that can handle 15a+?


 

So run the 5v and ground cables to all the strips in parallel from the power supply to get even illumination? I'm assuming the reason to do this has to do with voltage drop across 5m of LED's.

 

So something like this fuse box holder with a 15a fuse on the wires powering the LED would do it?

Pops are caused by slight differences in timing of +/- power supplies reaching their design voltages. Better amplifiers should have muting circuits/output relays to prevent this. The only time that changing input volumes will have an effect is when the pop originates from outside the amp (mixer, xover, EQs, etc.). If your Bryston pops with nothing connected in to it, have it checked out.

Also, make sure to add in-line fuses when testing, if not permanently. NS-10s can be pricey to repair.

I had a studio client replace many NS-10 drivers because some client complained "the fuses corrupt the sound." I added internal fuses and they charge the complainer for a repair every time a speaker stopped working. Funny how complainer never noticed the corrupt sound. I got paid every time I had to open speakers to replace fuses.

Edits: typos

The way I setup my LEDs is I wired the lights directly to the battery with an inline 5A (I believe....might be way too high, could be around 2A, I don't remember, just calculate what your lights will draw) fuse on the ground.

Here is what I used (not the same brand etc etc, I got mine at a PepBoys for double that price because I was impatient), and it worked great!

EDIT: this will provide you with constant power, which is what I wanted because I can switch the lights on without having to turn the key. Great ambient lighting for relaxing in a lot at night.