Power Inverter hookup 1998 Ford F150

May 29, 2026 Last reply: 1 month ago 4 Replies
U

Bought a 1KW power inverter for the truck a while back, had to buy a pair of



2 gauge power cables as well and ran them from the battery directly to the inverter power input. Seemed to work however the power button on the inverter , when off still means its drawing standby power from the battery so it killed the battery one day.

Solution was a seperate 50A power relay which I am hooking up. One end is on the battery, other will go to inverter but the relay needs 12V to activate and make that connection.



I found a ground nearby but I will need a tap into the eng compartment fusebox to a feed thats hot with 12V only when engine is running and or in ACC position on the ignition key.



I have seen some diagrams online but not 100% sure the best location to tap into?


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A

Should be taps open at the fusebox for switched or unswitched 12v ( you want 'switched' power). Use one of those. Fuses are nice to have in the circuit.

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U

About a yr ago was looking into stuff on fuse-box.info site so relocated the page here:

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I printed a paper copy of the eng compartment diagram and highlited fuse No.

6 which it says is 15A and used for :

"Radio, Premium Sound Amplifier, CD Changer"

This is my eng compartment box with the door open:

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Since I'd like for the ACC ignition mode to put it hot, thought the feed to the stereo would be ideal....the relay only draws perhaps 100mA at best....so probably could go right on that fuse somehow?

I was thinking of tinning the end of the stranded copper wire , removing the fuse and pressing it against the fused side blade of the fuse. Otherwise it means opening up that birds nest and trying to splice it in permanently.

Else I could feed it thru the firewall grommet which already has a hole for the + side off the switched relay going under the dash. Would have to I guess locate the stereo power feed and splice into the wire....

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U

Well I pulled loc 6 fuse and the 2 sides read 12V hot all the time, so I dont think thats a good spot.

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A

I don't know but similar Ford inverter installation comments here:

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More detailed here:

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One man's installation with photos and comments:

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