Maxxair + Goal Zero Yeti 400 Wiring

thewein

New member
Recently purchased a 2007 Sprinter and are in the process of making it our weekend warrior. The thought was since we technically don't have a tent to fit the five of us (including three children under 5 for a few months), why spend $500-600 on a tent when you can spend $20K on a van??

So far the vanventure has been very good thus far as we're only doing a very basic platform bed + upgrading some of the other essentials (adding insulation, upgrading speaker/stereo, installing carpet) - but now we are to the electrical part and I have some questions. We have installed a Maxxair ventilation fan in the rear of our van, but instead of hooking up the power to the starting battery I left the wires coiled up in the ceiling for the time being and used it only as a vent. Well now summer is around the corner and it's time to connect them to somewhere and we have settled on starting our process with a Goal Zero Yeti 400 as we don't intend on living out of the van, but still would like to use the fan, some LED lighting, and charge some USB electronics overnight or while we are out and about.

Could anyone comment on the best way to run/extend the Maxxair cables to the Goal Zero unit? I was thinking of either running them down to one of the 12V cigarette lighters in the rear and then running another cable from there to the Yeti 400 when we wanted to use it, but was also thinking it might be easier/better to just run directly to a new mounting hole near the existing 12V cigarette outlet by using something like:
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-5-5mmx.../dp/B01ERPCV1Y
https://www.amazon.com/outstanding-S.../dp/B073W4V9VB

Some of the basic questions I have would be:
1. What gauge wire would i need to run?
2. Is there any need to use a fuse at all since I will be using the Yeti as my source?
3. Anyone have pictures/examples/details of how they are using a Maxxair fan (or other type) and powering it using only a Goal Zero or other power supply would be helpful.
 

Flagster

Active member
I ran a 12v bus panel from my yeti 1250 (blue sea) with custom connectors from powerwerx. Then I was able to wire up any 12v accessories including my Fantastic fan.
I can get pictures but yes all fused...
 

mtncrawler

Active member
Timely post. i can't help the OP, but have just installed the Maxxair fan in mine as well. Full blown electrical/solar is a bit down the road, but id like to wire up the fan temporarily for weekend excursions. :popcorn:
 

thewein

New member
@Flagster - Thanks for the quick reply - any pics and links to products you used would be super helpful. I've poked around on the blue sea and powerwerx sites (and similar ones) for quite a while, but getting "inspired" by someone else who is already doing something similar will ease my rookie anxiety.
 

Wrinkledpants

2017 144WB 4x4
Recently purchased a 2007 Sprinter and are in the process of making it our weekend warrior. The thought was since we technically don't have a tent to fit the five of us (including three children under 5 for a few months), why spend $500-600 on a tent when you can spend $20K on a van??

So far the vanventure has been very good thus far as we're only doing a very basic platform bed + upgrading some of the other essentials (adding insulation, upgrading speaker/stereo, installing carpet) - but now we are to the electrical part and I have some questions. We have installed a Maxxair ventilation fan in the rear of our van, but instead of hooking up the power to the starting battery I left the wires coiled up in the ceiling for the time being and used it only as a vent. Well now summer is around the corner and it's time to connect them to somewhere and we have settled on starting our process with a Goal Zero Yeti 400 as we don't intend on living out of the van, but still would like to use the fan, some LED lighting, and charge some USB electronics overnight or while we are out and about.

Could anyone comment on the best way to run/extend the Maxxair cables to the Goal Zero unit? I was thinking of either running them down to one of the 12V cigarette lighters in the rear and then running another cable from there to the Yeti 400 when we wanted to use it, but was also thinking it might be easier/better to just run directly to a new mounting hole near the existing 12V cigarette outlet by using something like:
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-5-5mmx.../dp/B01ERPCV1Y
https://www.amazon.com/outstanding-S.../dp/B073W4V9VB

Some of the basic questions I have would be:
1. What gauge wire would i need to run?
2. Is there any need to use a fuse at all since I will be using the Yeti as my source?
3. Anyone have pictures/examples/details of how they are using a Maxxair fan (or other type) and powering it using only a Goal Zero or other power supply would be helpful.
We have the same setup. Both fans are wired into a single 12v plug that goes into the Yeti. We have the Yeti charging from a 150W inverter that's plugged into the cig lighter in the cup holder tray. This 12v port (at least on our 2017 Sprinter) is only powered when the ignition is on. We used a 150W inverter because the Goal Zero charges a little faster off this setup than just straight up plugging the Goal Zero directly into the 12v outlet. We get about 60W charging this way. We also get an additional 110v outlet up front for a laptop when we're on long drives.

Our fans do have an inline fuse.

So, our charge setup is 150W inverter plugged into 12v in the cup holder tray. Goal Zero's charge cord runs under the floor mat and plugs into the 150W inverter (under the cup holder on the floor). We don't have any solar as we drive enough that the goal zero stays fairly well charged. For lights, we have goal zero mini lights hanging from the ceiling.
 

enjoitheride

New member
You could get an Anderson power pole splitter, and run the fan to that. Then make the connection from the splitter to the GZ. This would allow other items to be hooked up.

I will be doing this once I get my Yeti 3000.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

shechelle

New member
Recently purchased a 2007 Sprinter and are in the process of making it our weekend warrior. The thought was since we technically don't have a tent to fit the five of us (including three children under 5 for a few months), why spend $500-600 on a tent when you can spend $20K on a van??



So far the vanventure has been very good thus far as we're only doing a very basic platform bed + upgrading some of the other essentials (adding insulation, upgrading speaker/stereo, installing carpet) - but now we are to the electrical part and I have some questions. We have installed a Maxxair ventilation fan in the rear of our van, but instead of hooking up the power to the starting battery I left the wires coiled up in the ceiling for the time being and used it only as a vent. Well now summer is around the corner and it's time to connect them to somewhere and we have settled on starting our process with a Goal Zero Yeti 400 as we don't intend on living out of the van, but still would like to use the fan, some LED lighting, and charge some USB electronics overnight or while we are out and about.



Could anyone comment on the best way to run/extend the Maxxair cables to the Goal Zero unit? I was thinking of either running them down to one of the 12V cigarette lighters in the rear and then running another cable from there to the Yeti 400 when we wanted to use it, but was also thinking it might be easier/better to just run directly to a new mounting hole near the existing 12V cigarette outlet by using something like:

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-5-5mmx.../dp/B01ERPCV1Y

https://www.amazon.com/outstanding-S.../dp/B073W4V9VB



Some of the basic questions I have would be:

1. What gauge wire would i need to run?

2. Is there any need to use a fuse at all since I will be using the Yeti as my source?

3. Anyone have pictures/examples/details of how they are using a Maxxair fan (or other type) and powering it using only a Goal Zero or other power supply would be helpful.


I’m curious if you were able to hook your fan up. I’m looking at getting a Yeti 400 as well and not doing solar yet (I’m broke from buying my van!). How does the wiring work from the fan to the Yeti? I think you need to stick the cigarette lighter type plug on the wiring???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

sdd3080

New member
I am planning on doing the same thing - connecting Maxxair fan to my solar generator using the cigarette plug (or even better usb). I found a plug on amazon with a built-in 10amp fuze. The questions i have are:
1. do i really need a 5amp fuze?
2. is it possible to do a usb connection instead?
3. i read i can't just twist the wires together - need to solder the connection. true?

Susan
 

borabora

Well-known member
I am planning on doing the same thing - connecting Maxxair fan to my solar generator using the cigarette plug (or even better usb). I found a plug on amazon with a built-in 10amp fuze. The questions i have are:
1. do i really need a 5amp fuze?
2. is it possible to do a usb connection instead?
3. i read i can't just twist the wires together - need to solder the connection. true?

Susan
The fuse protects the wiring and in your case the "solar generator" which is probably internally protected anyway. If you use 16 gauge wire to connect the fan to the cigarette lighter plug then a 10 amp fuse will be fine.

USB does not provide enough power and is the wrong voltage -- you can't use it.

If your solar generator has a 12V connection besides the cigarette lighter plug then you could tap into that, add a connector to be able to remove the battery and an inline fuse to connect the wire. This would be a bit sturdier than the cigarette lighter but the cigarette lighter connection will work.

Crimp connectors available on Amazon or even Home Depot are the preferred way to connect wires. But if you are unfamiliar with those and have no need for the other 98 connectors that you would be purchasing there are also connectors that tighten with screws as well as many other types. In a pinch twisting wires together and using electrical tape will work as long as you don't tell anybody that you did it that way.
 

sdd3080

New member
The fuse protects the wiring and in your case the "solar generator" which is probably internally protected anyway. If you use 16 gauge wire to connect the fan to the cigarette lighter plug then a 10 amp fuse will be fine.

USB does not provide enough power and is the wrong voltage -- you can't use it.

If your solar generator has a 12V connection besides the cigarette lighter plug then you could tap into that, add a connector to be able to remove the battery and an inline fuse to connect the wire. This would be a bit sturdier than the cigarette lighter but the cigarette lighter connection will work.

Crimp connectors available on Amazon or even Home Depot are the preferred way to connect wires. But if you are unfamiliar with those and have no need for the other 98 connectors that you would be purchasing there are also connectors that tighten with screws as well as many other types. In a pinch twisting wires together and using electrical tape will work as long as you don't tell anybody that you did it that way.
Thank you for your very clear answers. I really appreciate it!
 

sparkplug

Well-known member
I will say that the wires on the MaxxAir fans are quite thin and come pre 'tinned' (soldered on the ends) which would make twisting them together a bit harder to do than on a bare copper wire.

I did a test fit with mine using a cheap copy of the Wago connectors with the intention of doing a proper soldered joint with some heat shrink sleeving at a later date.

Well - that later date still hasn't arrived yet and probably never will :biggrin:

Fuses? Well I have a fuse box for the leisure system so it's easy to select the fuse you want for each circuit you connect. I have a 5 amp for my fan.

Those cigarette lighter plugs have a small glass fuse in them and you can buy them in any size you want. Or you can buy replacement fuses of the size you want - but you might as well buy the right one first time around....

Here's an example listing from Amazon

Having two isn't as daft as it might sound because those little glass fuses aren't always easy to find so having a spare one with you might be a good thing.

USB socket could theoretically be used in conjunction with a 5v to 12v converter but you're straying into more complication and expense than you need, not to mention the inefficiency of going from 12v to 5v then back to 12.... There are many reasons why this is not the way to go as borabora said.
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
My MaxxAir draws 4.5 amps at full speed ... much less at lower speeds (less than 1 amp at the lowest).

As others have written, 16 gauge wire is adequate (it's what MB uses for many of their lighting runs)

The fan *does* care about polarity (+ to +), so try to make life easier for yourself by using wire that lets you know which strand should go to the +12v. If you choose to use "lamp cord" (also known as zip cord), squinting closely at it will reveal that one conductor has markings on the outer insulation that helps you keep track of it.

--dick
 

sdd3080

New member
i installed the maxxaire fan and using the connectors provided, connected the wires to a cigarette plug - positive to positive, negative to negative - and plugged into my solar generator. The cigarette plug red led light came on indicating power. didn't work. checked the connections - solid. used the van rear 12v cigarette plug instead. still didn't work. Anyone have an idea why? I'm sure i've connected the wires correctly - am i missing something?
 

sparkplug

Well-known member
Fuse in the cigarette lighter plug blown?

If you have a voltmeter, check the voltage coming out of the cigarette plug (if any) and make sure it's 12v

If you can, try wiring the fan directly to the battery. If it still doesn't work then the fan is faulty (or you wired it backwards)

Can't think what else might be causing it. It's about as basic a circuit as it gets.
 

sdd3080

New member
Fuse in the cigarette lighter plug blown?

If you have a voltmeter, check the voltage coming out of the cigarette plug (if any) and make sure it's 12v

If you can, try wiring the fan directly to the battery. If it still doesn't work then the fan is faulty (or you wired it backwards)

Can't think what else might be causing it. It's about as basic a circuit as it gets.
That was the ticket! Fuse. Thanks for your help - i really appreciate it. Very simple set up and working great.
 
P

Patrick walsh

Guest
I’m about to do this instal myself in a week when my fan arrives. I’m also gonna go the Goal Zero zeti 1500-3000 route but it will be some tI’ve before I can.
can anyone explain to me how to wire the max air to my stock van.

thank you and sorry if it’s been covered a million times. I’ve been searching and have no found this specific info. Lots on maxair cutout but nothing on wiring..
 

LauraNM37

New member
I’m about to do this instal myself in a week when my fan arrives. I’m also gonna go the Goal Zero zeti 1500-3000 route but it will be some tI’ve before I can.
can anyone explain to me how to wire the max air to my stock van.

thank you and sorry if it’s been covered a million times. I’ve been searching and have no found this specific info. Lots on maxair cutout but nothing on wiring..
hi! Did you ever figure out / find a resource for how to do the actual wiring? I’m in the same boat, lots of people have done it but I can’t find a video or blog post on the how to for a total newbie. Thanks!
 

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