hi, i got a power inverter that plugs into the cigeratte lighter...the thing is...the cigeratte lighter is already used by something else...what wires do i tap into or splice to get power for my power inverter? can anyone guide me?

 

You can take off the console where the cigarette plug now resides and from their tap into the wires.

 

ohh no..i can't tap into the cigarette lighter...im using that for my gtech...if i add or change power to it... the reading will be off...thats why im looking for another power source

 

could you use a fuse tap from an auto parts store?

 

You can tap into the wires for the lighter. It won't change your readings/settings of the G-Tech. Just cut the lighter adapter off, then tap into the power and ground wires. There should be only three wires: power, ground, and a headlight input to light the surround. And, because you'll be adding another branch to the parallel circuit, there will actually be a little less resistance to both the inverter and G-tech. Believe me, it's fine to tap into those wires.

 

if that power inverter pulls anything over 20 amps, you should really run a 10 gauge power wire from the battery. the 20 gauge or so wires that run the lighter are good for the lighter because it doesn't pull much current, but can't support much more. if the inverter is tiny, you can tap it in, but make sure that you fuse the power. if you are hooking them up in parallel, you will divide the resistence of the circuit (depends on the resistence of each unit), but the current will increase because voltage will stay the same. voltage=current*resistence. i personally would just run a dedicated wire and then use a relay to trigger it as well so it won't drain when the car is off. run the battery to terminal 87. run accessory to 85. run ground to 86. and then run 30 to the positive wire on the inverter. you can also tap the the ground for the inverter to the ground you are using for 86. just pull out terminal 87a. its not needed. if you need anymore help just pm me. i'm a first class certified mobile electronics installer so i can help you out with proper installation help.