ARB Fridge power requirements, here's the numbers for you!

[tb-av]

Can someone explain to me what the relays are doing?

2011 LE .. what I want to do is have an ARB 50 in the cargo and I figured I would have to somehow run a + / - cables back to those plastic wheel well pieces.

After seeing these switches, gauges, usb ports... and now the relay setup. I'd rather get it set up right the first time.

I'm not clear how the relay is working. Also the fuse block being up front. I've seen some YT vids where people mount remote fuse panels towards the rear. Is that not good practice.

and a couple more questions I suppose... That battery tender mentioned above.... can they be connected while everything is hot or does the battery have to be disconnected?

I wanted to run this thing daily and basically have it sit overnight. Right now I only have one battery... and it's nothing special. I've been looking at those 31M X2 from Batteries+.

I would like to start planning this out and buying parts. I've got a 20% + reward money from REI and want to buy that ARB50. I'd like to get things powered up in a fairly robust manner though.

Thanks for your help.

TB

 

[e60ral]

Can someone explain to me what the relays are doing?

2011 LE .. what I want to do is have an ARB 50 in the cargo and I figured I would have to somehow run a + / - cables back to those plastic wheel well pieces.

After seeing these switches, gauges, usb ports... and now the relay setup. I'd rather get it set up right the first time.

I'm not clear how the relay is working. Also the fuse block being up front. I've seen some YT vids where people mount remote fuse panels towards the rear. Is that not good practice.

and a couple more questions I suppose... That battery tender mentioned above.... can they be connected while everything is hot or does the battery have to be disconnected?

I wanted to run this thing daily and basically have it sit overnight. Right now I only have one battery... and it's nothing special. I've been looking at those 31M X2 from Batteries+.

I would like to start planning this out and buying parts. I've got a 20% + reward money from REI and want to buy that ARB50. I'd like to get things powered up in a fairly robust manner though.

Thanks for your help.

TB

The fridge has built in low voltage protection, you can leave it on the high setting and power the fridge direct to the battery I'd you want, nothing else needed. If you want a switch for it, that's when you need a relay. The relay is switching the power circuit.

A remote distribution panel in the rear is fine assuming it's done properly, it can be useful if you have a lot of accessories in the rear but it's not necessarily needed.

When you are connecting stuff disconnect the battery, accidentally shorting it with a wrench or something would be bad so disconnecting the battery is the safest way to do it

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[tb-av]

The fridge has built in low voltage protection, you can leave it on the high setting and power the fridge direct to the battery I'd you want, nothing else needed. If you want a switch for it, that's when you need a relay. The relay is switching the power circuit.

A remote distribution panel in the rear is fine assuming it's done properly, it can be useful if you have a lot of accessories in the rear but it's not necessarily needed.

When you are connecting stuff disconnect the battery, accidentally shorting it with a wrench or something would be bad so disconnecting the battery is the safest way to do it

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OK, thanks, good advice, I've been reading so many threads and trying to learn so many things at once from threads that are years old. I get a little carried away sometimes. I forgot the fridge has it's own switch and display. So I think I will either make my own 8-AWG cable or buy the pre-made one.

Just to touch on that relay setup again in jrandoms picture. I read the specs on that device and one side is simply fused always hot by design.

The other side is relay via signal control. In his example, his 'signal' is simply the ignition ON switch. Is that correct? Low Amp Key ON, supplies the signal to activate the relay for the High Amp devices?

Also one last thing when you say disconnect the battery. Do I just need to disconnect the NEG? ... and are there any radio codes and such I need to fire it back up. It took me 4 days to get my BMW back in order once after disconnecting the battery. But is SOP for the 4Runner just NEG or BOTH.

On a positive note I figured a way to save $75 beyond REI discounts on the fridge from one of Antman's several year old posts. So thanks Antman if you are reading this by chance.

Man there is a lot of stuff to read here but at least I don't have to invent the wheel.

 

[e60ral]

OK, thanks, good advice, I've been reading so many threads and trying to learn so many things at once from threads that are years old. I get a little carried away sometimes. I forgot the fridge has it's own switch and display. So I think I will either make my own 8-AWG cable or buy the pre-made one.

Just to touch on that relay setup again in jrandoms picture. I read the specs on that device and one side is simply fused always hot by design.

The other side is relay via signal control. In his example, his 'signal' is simply the ignition ON switch. Is that correct? Low Amp Key ON, supplies the signal to activate the relay for the High Amp devices?

Also one last thing when you say disconnect the battery. Do I just need to disconnect the NEG? ... and are there any radio codes and such I need to fire it back up. It took me 4 days to get my BMW back in order once after disconnecting the battery. But is SOP for the 4Runner just NEG or BOTH.

On a positive note I figured a way to save $75 beyond REI discounts on the fridge from one of Antman's several year old posts. So thanks Antman if you are reading this by chance.

Man there is a lot of stuff to read here but at least I don't have to invent the wheel.

You won't lose any of your settings. You don't have to disconnect it, it's just the safest thing depending on what you are doing. Disconnect the negative then if you accidentally touch anything grounded it won't short because there is no path to the battery. I just ran an 8 gauge to the back and have a fuse by the battery, I used a bolt under the tray in the rear for the ground.



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[tb-av]

A remote distribution panel in the rear is fine assuming it's done properly, it can be useful if you have a lot of accessories in the rear but it's not necessarily needed.

Thanks again for the followups and pointers.

I have decided I want to do just that. I want to run a bomb-proof distro panel to the cargo area. I figured the cost of doing the one at a time runs and considered the things I want or might want in future and I might as well just run a distro back there now and do it right the first time.

This I know i want...
Fridge
Connection for Inverter.. the one I have now is 16A 300W sine wave.
Ability to run battery chargers like the Ryobi One+ line. They seem to be low amps.. like under 1-amp.

Trailer lights /Brakes -- That's already there and looks to never have been used.

Things I may want or intend for future.
Lighting ( possibly on rack / bumper, etc. )
Boat winch

So does anyone know of specific thread that might come close to covering this. I assume I want big fuse + fat wire under hood at battery then a panel in rear but I don;t know what size and if I would need a separate run for boat winch.

I've tried a few different search terms but not hitting on a specific that addresses all this. If anyone know a really good thread that may cover at least most of these concerns I would really appreciate a link. Could be here or another forum. Or even a good book on automotive wiring procedures.

Thanks again,

TB

 

[Zackthecoroner]

Good timing with this thread.
So, I am a complete dunce when it comes to electrical. Its over my head by a mile. So, hopefully this hasnt already been covered in here, i didnt see it but who knows.

Can I run an ARB Fridge with stock (or stock type/spec) battery?
I am going out to California and back via Mojave, and Moab, from Illinois here in two weeks, and my boss just now offered to let me borrow his ARB fridge, which would be awesome...just dont want to be stuck out in the middle of no where with no power. I know i have to run a constant power back there, thats no problem. Just, in laymans terms, can I get away with running a fridge on the stock battery, for a two week trip. The truck will be up and running everyday if that helps...

Thanks, sorry im such a dumbass when i comes to electrical, and all these posts look like arabic to me. :frusty::frusty::frusty:

 

[Engineer]

Good timing with this thread.
So, I am a complete dunce when it comes to electrical. Its over my head by a mile. So, hopefully this hasnt already been covered in here, i didnt see it but who knows.

Can I run an ARB Fridge with stock (or stock type/spec) battery?
I am going out to California and back via Mojave, and Moab, from Illinois here in two weeks, and my boss just now offered to let me borrow his ARB fridge, which would be awesome...just dont want to be stuck out in the middle of no where with no power. I know i have to run a constant power back there, thats no problem. Just, in laymans terms, can I get away with running a fridge on the stock battery, for a two week trip. The truck will be up and running everyday if that helps...

Thanks, sorry im such a dumbass when i comes to electrical, and all these posts look like arabic to me. :frusty::frusty::frusty:

You will be fine, I am running the stock battery in Moab as we speak and not having any issues with draining the battery over night (granted it does cool down a bit at night and I always drop a few windows a bit to help not turn the truck into a oven in the sun). I would pick up a small jump starter just in case though. Instead of doing a dual battery set up i picked up an anti gravity jump started and have not regretted it.

 

[e60ral]

Good timing with this thread.
So, I am a complete dunce when it comes to electrical. Its over my head by a mile. So, hopefully this hasnt already been covered in here, i didnt see it but who knows.

Can I run an ARB Fridge with stock (or stock type/spec) battery?
I am going out to California and back via Mojave, and Moab, from Illinois here in two weeks, and my boss just now offered to let me borrow his ARB fridge, which would be awesome...just dont want to be stuck out in the middle of no where with no power. I know i have to run a constant power back there, thats no problem. Just, in laymans terms, can I get away with running a fridge on the stock battery, for a two week trip. The truck will be up and running everyday if that helps...

Thanks, sorry im such a dumbass when i comes to electrical, and all these posts look like arabic to me. :frusty::frusty::frusty:

My stock battery only lasted about 4 months with using the fridge daily with the automatic shutoff on the highest setting. After 4 months the voltage would get low enough that the fridge shutoff each night even in mild temps and the battery was not happy starting 4he vehicle.

You could use it short term on stock battery but make sure you are running your vehicle a lot and keep the automatic shutoff on high

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[Zackthecoroner]

Thanks! It will only be running 2....2.5 weeks max. And I will have a small jumper box, and jumper cables with me worse comes to worse I guess.

 

[tb-av]

On a slightly side note, can anyone tell me how long the ARB50 might keep cold with something like a block or two of YETI Ice in it, unopened?

Do they stay as cold as YETI T45 or similar style cooler? Or do they tend to thaw when not running. As efficient as people say they run, I would expect they would stay cold but was wondering.