G'day all,

Having returned from my first camping trip in the kombi yesterday i have found its missing a few things... the main one being a cigarette lighter? I need to charge the ipod, phone and cooler/warmer thing!

Has anyone put one in before? Truth be told ive got no experience in electricals but i want to give it a go? How much would it cost for an AutoElec to do it? Is there any guides on how to do it? Or kits i can buy from places like jaycar? Cheers

You can buy a socket from most auto parts stores. Personally, if you just want a socket and don't want a lighter, I find that four wheel drive stores sell much better quality ones. They are really easy to install, so don't waste your money on an auto elec. If you don't already have them you will also need to buy a test light, some wire, terminals and a crimper. These can all be bought very cheaply at any auto parts retailer (or Dick Smith). I reckon you can buy all these items for less than an auto elec would charge you, and have them for next time.

Find a good spot to mount your socket. Most are for mounting in a hole. You may need to fab up some kind of mounting arrangement.
Pull out you fuse box, where ever it lives in a kombi. Now connect one ned of the test light to a good ground (any bare body metal), now test each fuse to see which is live with the ignition off. This is the one to connect your lighter/socket to. (Unless you want it to only work when the ignition is on) Now disconnect the battery ground strap as a safety precaution. Cut a length of wire and crimp terminals onto the ends. Attach one end to the fuse and the other to the socket. Now make up an earth wire and connect to any suitable earth point. Reconnect the battery earth strap. Plug your ipod, phone in and check that it charges. Reattach the fuse box.

Keep in mind that your cooler/warmer may consume alot of power and drain the battery fairly quickly. For that matter a phone or ipod coul drain the battery if left on too long or if the battery/charging system is in poor condition

What he said ^^^^

You might also want to look at:
http://www.aussiekombicampers.com/projects_sbtl.shtml 

I did this a while back, $5 for the 12v socket. It was one that could bolt to the bottom of the dash. There large gauge wire running from the starter motor (12v) to the fuse box. I think it was number 12 or something. Anyway its use free at the fuse box. Just connect a spade connector and jump on, and a spade connector for an earth. A real easy job... definantly not worth going to auto electrician, just disconnect ya battery wen ur playing around the fuse box. heres a pic of mine, hard to see... but thats what i wanted i guess :-)

close up

Golden Rule Of Vehicle Electrics:

Fuse it! Make sure the rating of the fuse is LESS than the rating of the smallest wire being used. For example, if the smallest wire in the circuit is 10A you should use an 8A or 5A fuse. This will ensure that if ever a short circuit occurs the fuse will blow before the wire catches fire.

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Here is another good project for a kombi camper: a dual battery system so your iPod doesn't drain the main battery! Go with option 3 on this page, it's cheap and easy to do:
http://www.aussiekombicampers.com/projects_cebm.shtml 

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

Just a quick question about the test light.. is it basically a multimeter? Or am i going down the wrong track?

Because if it is, i wont have to buy anything except the socket itself which would be great.

Cheers

A test light is just a lamp with two long wires you can connect to things... if there is a voltage difference the lamp will light up.

Multimeters can measure voltage or resistance or current, and they are so cheap these days you may as well get one instead of a test light. Multimeters are surprisingly useful, I've used mine heaps as I gradually fit out my kombi camper with more and more goodies (I've also used it for working on the Beetle! ).

I actually fitted a double socket from a caravan/4WD shop to the front of the seat base in my 1982 camper. I plug all sorts of things in including a Waeco fridge, laptop, phone charger, battery charger for camera and GPS. One thing you may want to keep in mind is that Waeco recommend using some fairly heavy guage wire to the socket for the fridge and to solder the joints not crimp them. I have done this as I am only too aware of issues I have seen in the past when wiring is poorly done you can drop enough voltage across the crimps and light weight wire for a fridge to think the battery is low. Naturally the sockets are wired through a small fuse box.