Hard wiring CFX28

[Amarillo]

Had a spare 45 minutes this afternoon and I fitted the cable from the boot tool box and into the awning casing.


Fitting the cable through the loom and behind the trim to the tool box was easier than expected. I have now cut two small incisions in the underside of the boot loom, one for solar and one for the 30 amp feed from the leisure battery.
I had to drill two adjoining 6.5mm holes in the plastic end cap and plastic inner end to run the feed into the awning casing. I looks rather neat and I'm happy.


I decided to run the feed along the drainage channel under the top of the tailgate. The concern here is that the feed will cause a blockage and water ingress. Only time will tell.

Nearly there. I just need to put Anderson connectors on each end of the cable and I'll have a 30 amp feed to the awning. Because I have a Thule G3 residence room, the awning canopy support arms have been moved and are at the extreme far ends of the awning canopy; from the VW factory the front arm is set back about 30 cm. This means that when wound in I have a 30cm long cavity in the middle of the awning casing - plenty of room for the Anderson connectors to be fitted in place.

 

[Amarillo]

I feel like I'm finished for the time being.

In the end I ran the feed to just inside the plastic end cap of the awning casing.

There is a small void at each end of the awning casing, just large enough for an Anderson connector, but not with the rubber end cap attached.

It is now trivial to fit lights to the awning or awning room if panels are fitted.

The LED lights are held in place by velcro.

With a 2 way connector I can also drop an extension lead vertically down for keeping the fridge in the awning room.

So this is a summary of what I have.
Battery to Anderson connector fused with a 50 Amp fuse (to be replaced by a 30 Amp fuse).
Anderson to two Anderson connectors, one unfused and one fitted with a 7.5 Amp fuse for the fridge, located behind the front passenger seat.
Anderson to Waeco power plug lead.
Anderson to Anderson extension lead, from front passenger seat to boot tool box, cable pushed under the trim at floor level.
Anderson to Anderson extension lead, from boot tool box to inside the awning casing, routed behind trim to the tailgate loom, out of the loom through a small incision, across the rear of the van below the top of the tailgate in a drainage channel, and through a hole drilled in the plastic outer cap of the awning and inner plastic bracket.
A 1.5m Anderson to Anderson extension lead.
Anderson to Vango Sunbeam power plug.
A 2.0m Anderson to Anderson extension lead.

The fridge can be powered from behind the front passenger seat, in the boot, in an awning room or in a driveaway awning.

 

[Borris]

I feel like I'm finished for the time being.

In the end I ran the feed to just inside the plastic end cap of the awning casing.
View attachment 38972
There is a small void at each end of the awning casing, just large enough for an Anderson connector, but not with the rubber end cap attached.

It is now trivial to fit lights to the awning or awning room if panels are fitted.
View attachment 38973
The LED lights are held in place by velcro.

With a 2 way connector I can also drop an extension lead vertically down for keeping the fridge in the awning room.

So this is a summary of what I have.
Battery to Anderson connector fused with a 50 Amp fuse (to be replaced by a 30 Amp fuse).
Anderson to two Anderson connectors, one unfused and one fitted with a 7.5 Amp fuse for the fridge, located behind the front passenger seat.
Anderson to Waeco power plug lead.
Anderson to Anderson extension lead, from front passenger seat to boot tool box, cable pushed under the trim at floor level.
Anderson to Anderson extension lead, from boot tool box to inside the awning casing, routed behind trim to the tailgate loom, out of the loom through a small incision, across the rear of the van below the top of the tailgate in a drainage channel, and through a hole drilled in the plastic outer cap of the awning and inner plastic bracket.
A 1.5m Anderson to Anderson extension lead.
Anderson to Vango Sunbeam power plug.
A 2.0m Anderson to Anderson extension lead.

The fridge can be powered from behind the front passenger seat, in the boot, in an awning room or in a driveaway awning.

An excellent explanation.

When we have our black Comfortz awning room attached with the window flaps closed it's like being in the coal hole. Your LEDs look very slick and would make things a lot brighter out there. We just use head torches at present.

I still feel it's a shame that VW haven't offered a waterproof 12v socket of some description high up on the O/S B post beneath the awning. The cable run would quite simple, being across the floor from beneath the passenger seat (under the carpet) and then up inside the B post to the water proof socket. The lighting system could plug straight in and be attached by velcro to the awning as you have done. Unfortunately I haven't the will to start drilling holes in my van.

 

[Max-Felix]

If it's just for low wattage (ie led, 5v USB) then maybe much easier just to tap into the existing 12v socket on the OS of the trim, very easy then to run up the RH inner trim and out at the top. As here (SE shown but same idea on the Beach):

To those who have fitted LED ribbon lighting under the awning...

I'd pop a length of heat shrink over the red/black cables as they come out of the tailgate - you could even do this in yellow to blend in better rather than black.

 

[Amarillo]

I thought I had a foolproof system to bring 12 volt electrics from the leisure battery to three locations:
- Behind the front passenger seat
- The Beach toolbox on the left side of the boot
- Under the awning casing

I had under estimated my own foolishness.

On setting up camp for our holiday on the bank of the Creuse I unplugged the fridge from behind the front passenger seat and removed the two way adaptor.

Using an extension lead from awning casing to driveaway awning, I set up the fridge in the kitchen area of the driveaway. No power.

I quickly diagnosed the fault to be in the extension lead which takes power from the boot toolbox to the awning casing. Feeling unable to identify where in the extension lead the fault lay without spares or crimping tools etc I rigged up a temporary fix by using a spare extension lead to bypass the fitted extension lead. All worked perfectly and we had awning lights and a working fridge. But it was messy. We lived with this mess for eleven nights and ten days.

After unpacking back home I decided to investigate the problem with the failed Anderson extension lead, mostly concealed behind trim between the boot tool box and awning casing.

My suspicion was a failed crimp, so first I disassembled the Anderson connector under the awning casing. All was fine. Now I feared broken wire in the lead itself, possibly where the lead gets trapped in the boot. But before investigating the cable itself I decided to look at the Anderson connector in the boot toolbox as this would be somewhat easier to investigate.

After unpacking the toolbox of various lengths of 12 volt extension leads I found a second 2-way 12 volt adaptor that I had forgotten existed.

Using an LED light I tested the 12 volt feed to the tool box. All fine. Now I plugged in the extension lead to the awning casing. Using the bare terminals at the awning casing I tested the LED light and it worked. There had never been anything wrong with the 12 volt lead from the toolbox to awning casing. In my foolishness at the campsite I had simply plugged the live feed into the two way splitter, doh!

But that is not the end of my incompetence.

I now went to refit the Anderson connector at the awning casing, which I did easily.

Next job was to remove the fridge from behind the front passenger seat to the boot where it stays when the van is in MPV mode. It’s used to transport frozen foods from the supermarket to home.

My heart sank - the fridge was off. Immediately the cause dawned on me. In refitting the Anderson connector at the awning casing I had forgotten to disconnect the 12 volt electrics - I had shorted the battery. My mind raced along the cable from the awning casing towards the battery, and stopped just short of the battery terminals. I had fitted a 50 amp fuse just before my 12 volt system hit the battery terminals.

After some considerable effort pulling off the rubber battery cover I revealed the fuse and yes it had blown. I have now replaced it with a 30 amp fuse.

So two acts of gross foolishness each with a saving grace.
1. Plugging the live feed in the boot into a two way adaptor instead of the feed to the awning casing, and so believing the feed to the awning casing had failed, saved by carrying a spare extension lead.
2. Shorting the battery by not disconnecting the power before refitting an Anderson connector to live terminals, saved by a 50 amp fuse fitted as close to the battery as possible.

So I just thought I’d share this tale of woe as a reminder to myself never to underestimate my own stupidity.

 

[Nolan]

Thanks for the extra information, quite a coincidence as I was only reading this thread yesterday as I'm going to hard wire my newly purchased Dometic CDF-11 to the battery under the passenger seat via a fuse and an Anderson connector. I'm going to buy a pack of 10 Anderson connectors as then I can also make an extension so the fridge can be used elsewhere as you have. Short term I might just wire the original 12v plug from the fridge lead to an Anderson so I can power it from the boot etc via the usual socket or from another vehicle that just has regular 12v sockets.

I've not had any issues with the fridge yet but it's more to keep things neat as I know the kids will end up kicking the 12v plug that's behind the passenger seat and I like to keep the cabling neat.

Is there an earth point under the passenger seat or are people wiring direct to the negative terminal? I'm wary of my fridge becoming the path to ground if something gets shorted, even with a fuse in place.

 

[kp64zl]

I've hard wired my CFX-28 as per @Amarillo -- but only to behind the passenger seat and has mostly worked fine (a bad crimp meant that the lead disconnected but that was easily fixed).

One tip (if you've not already got the kit) -- get a ratchet style crimper or even better get one that goes in a vice because I found the anderson connectors super tough to crimp.

Fridge has worked perfectly. Thanks @Amarillo

 

[Amarillo]

Thanks for the extra information, quite a coincidence as I was only reading this thread yesterday as I'm going to hard wire my newly purchased Dometic CDF-11 to the battery under the passenger seat via a fuse and an Anderson connector. I'm going to buy a pack of 10 Anderson connectors as then I can also make an extension so the fridge can be used elsewhere as you have. Short term I might just wire the original 12v plug from the fridge lead to an Anderson so I can power it from the boot etc via the usual socket or from another vehicle that just has regular 12v sockets.

I've not had any issues with the fridge yet but it's more to keep things neat as I know the kids will end up kicking the 12v plug that's behind the passenger seat and I like to keep the cabling neat.

Is there an earth point under the passenger seat or are people wiring direct to the negative terminal? I'm wary of my fridge becoming the path to ground if something gets shorted, even with a fuse in place.

I wired direct using this:

Leads & Looms – The UK experts in bespoke cable harness assembly. 100% supplied and assembled in the UK

atleadsandlooms.co.uk

 

[Loz]

I prefer to solder my Anderson connectors instead of crimping.

@Amarillo Tom, can you explain how you shorted out the connector as the Anderson connectors are polarised and isolated?

 

[Amarillo]

@Amarillo Tom, can you explain how you shorted out the connector as the Anderson connectors are polarised and isolated?

I'd removed the Anderson connector from the terminals to check my crimping (which was fine), then plugged the other end into a live connector. I checked the cable using the live terminals and all worked. At some point between then and refitting the Anderson connector the positive and negative terminals must have made contact.

 

[Loz]

I'd removed the Anderson connector from the terminals to check my crimping (which was fine), then plugged the other end into a live connector. I checked the cable using the live terminals and all worked. At some point between then and refitting the Anderson connector the positive and negative terminals must have made contact.

I understand, and a testament to you installing an appropriate fuse to protect cables.

 

[HowieDog]

I'm looking to do the same but with an Ocean. I have a new Dometic CDF36 which (just) fits on the slide out drawer and plan to connect to the rear leisure battery.

Can you see any issues if I fit a flush mounted Anderson socket to the little door where you access the rear battery - it would only require a hole to be drilled into the removable panel and then the fridge could just connect to this socket when required?

 

[WelshGas]

I'm looking to do the same but with an Ocean. I have a new Dometic CDF36 which (just) fits on the slide out drawer and plan to connect to the rear leisure battery.

Can you see any issues if I fit a flush mounted Anderson socket to the little door where you access the rear battery - it would only require a hole to be drilled into the removable panel and then the fridge could just connect to this socket when required?

Shouldn't be a problem. Make sure the wire is fused and long enough so that the panel can be moved out of the way to get the battery out. You will have to remove the battery to make the connection. Beware of the 50amp cube fuse on the +tve terminal.
Use a paint scraper or similar to get the battery over the lip of the compartment and tie some para cord or a strap around the battery to help if you need to remove it in future.
Also the red lead remains live if detached as it is connected to the 2nd Leisure Battery.
The rear battery has long leads so that it can be lifted out without disconnecting first.

 

[Amarillo]

Shouldn't be a problem. Make sure the wire is fused and long enough so that the panel can be moved out of the way to get the battery out. You will have to remove the battery to make the connection. Beware of the 50amp cube fuse on the +tve terminal.
Use a paint scraper or similar to get the battery over the lip of the compartment and tie some para cord or a strap around the battery to help if you need to remove it in future.
Also the red lead remains live if detached as it is connected to the 2nd Leisure Battery.
The rear battery has long leads so that it can be lifted out without disconnecting first.

Just to add to @WelshGas post, I’d recommend two fuses, about 50 Amp between battery and socket to protect the battery and 5 Amp between socket and fridge to protect the fridge’s internal fuse.

 

[Melanie Day]

We have just hard wired our Dometic CFX35 to the leisure battery as had problems with it cutting out when running on leisure battery.

Next question how can I get power lead into the awning - probably for a 3 way extension lead - we are usually connected to electric hook up on a site so wanted a cable splitting option or similar - any ideas?

Thanks

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[HowieDog]

We run long cable to Y splitter. Short cable to hookup on van and then use one of these to go to the awning.
Awning fused plug
Works really well as you still have power to the awning if you decide to head off for the day in the van.

 

[Melanie Day]

Thanks - we have the same extension lead but find it is bulky - wonder if there are any more compact versions ?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[HowieDog]

Thanks - we have the same extension lead but find it is bulky - wonder if there are any more compact versions ?

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Yes agree. A smaller vest ion would be a great improvement.

 

[Amarillo]

We have just hard wired our Dometic CFX35 to the leisure battery as had problems with it cutting out when running on leisure battery.

Next question how can I get power lead into the awning - probably for a 3 way extension lead - we are usually connected to electric hook up on a site so wanted a cable splitting option or similar - any ideas?

Thanks

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

When we were in Spain over Easter, we ran one of these:

To the awning, then from that to the van.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

We have just hard wired our Dometic CFX35 to the leisure battery as had problems with it cutting out when running on leisure battery.

Next question how can I get power lead into the awning - probably for a 3 way extension lead - we are usually connected to electric hook up on a site so wanted a cable splitting option or similar - any ideas?

Thanks

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

..Our Dometic CFX35 did the same until we did the same and hard wired direct to leisure batt. Our old fridge may might well have cut out but we would have been none the wiser as it didnt have the Bluetooth monitoring like the Dometic.

Hook the van up as normal, and then plug a household extension lead (with thermal cutout) / reel into the van socket & run the exention out to the awning thru driver/passenger window (Heko wind deflectors are good for this.):

SMJ 15m 13A Reel Pro 4 Socket Cable Reel | Halfords UK

Shop the latest SMJ 15m 13A Reel Pro 4 Socket Cable Reel at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

Its easy to have an additonal 240v socket added to the boot compartment in a Beach, then you can just run the extension lead out the boot, so its out the way.

 

[Amarillo]

..Our Dometic CFX35 did the same until we did the same and hard wired direct to leisure batt. Our old fridge may might well have cut out but we would have been none the wiser as it didnt have the Bluetooth monitoring like the Dometic.

Hook the van up as normal, and then plug a household extension lead (with thermal cutout) / reel into the van socket & run the exention out to the awning thru driver/passenger window (Heko wind deflectors are good for this.):

SMJ 15m 13A Reel Pro 4 Socket Cable Reel | Halfords UK

Shop the latest SMJ 15m 13A Reel Pro 4 Socket Cable Reel at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

Its easy to have an additonal 240v socket added to the boot compartment in a Beach, then you can just run the extension lead out the boot, so its out the way.

Is this one of those jam first or cream first arguments?

The correct way must surely be EHU to awning then van... No messy cables draped out of windows.

 

[Melanie Day]

I don't really want cables coming from the van to awning via windows or door seals.

Looking for an external solution such as the splitter with extension lead that was shown earlier in the thread but more compact version for traveling.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[Amarillo]

I don't really want cables coming from the van to awning via windows or door seals.

Looking for an external solution such as the splitter with extension lead that was shown earlier in the thread but more compact version for traveling.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

You are right, it is very bulky. There are more compact ones available.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BH74VVW/?tag=vwcalifornia-21

From the awning to van we ran the lead over the top rear of the van to the van hookup point to avoid a trip hazard.

For external 12v power we have the 12v cable permanently wired in terminating with an Anderson connector housed in the awning casing. Within the van the 12v cable comes from the front passenger seat battery, under the trim to the Beach tool compartment where there is an Anderson connector. From there the lead exits the van at the tailgate loom, then across the rear to the awning casing where a small hole has been drilled.

It is neat and tidy, and 12v available externally.