[The_Lad]

Hi all quick question, i have the factory cab carpet in my van, with side impact airbags, and im about to fit a leisure battery under the passenger seat.

What is the best way to run wires from the leisure battery into the rear of the van for lighting and 12v power points etc?

do i need to go under the factory cab mat and up the B pillar to the roof?

cheers
Justin

 

[JW's the new VW]

You have number of options, all really depends on the the layout you plan and where our accessories are going but for all you will need to take it under the mat if you want to conceal the cables.

1. You can always take it up the drivers side B Pillar and just t the side of the seat belt tensioner, and there is a pre-made hole behind which will get you in to the panel directly behind the drivers seat. make sure your cables are tied in ad don't interfere with the tensioner (fiddly but good option if your fitting 3/4 bed cupboards fridge etc)

2. Simply run the wires between the ridges under the floor, just tape them down well and makes sure they are not higher than the 9mm ridges. (very easy and least length of cableing but probably not the best installation practice longterm, may struggle when bringing the cables up into some of the panels as there are no premade routes.

3. Ceiling as you said, very easy as has remade wire ways. and least likely to damage the cables in future or installation and only problem is struggle to find natural places tor bring the cables down into the panels without running them to the rear and down and back on themselves. - it's good enough for VW to run their looms down!

Best thing is to thinks what you want where then take a few panels and see if you can visualise the best route back.

 

[The_Lad]

cheers i need light switches in the panel behind the sliding door, led ceiling lights, 12v aux in the rear drivers side panel, 12v, USB, volt meter in the panel behind the drivers seat so a fair bit of wiring i guess ill try under the cab mat and into the roof i think as under floor sounds like a pain if i get any issues in future.

Guess ill just order reels of cable instead of the 10m lengths from travel volts then i can just use what i need

cheers for the advice

 

[JW's the new VW]

cheers i need light switches in the panel behind the sliding door, led ceiling lights, 12v aux in the rear drivers side panel, 12v, USB, volt meter in the panel behind the drivers seat so a fair bit of wiring i guess ill try under the cab mat and into the roof i think as under floor sounds like a pain if i get any issues in future.

Guess ill just order reels of cable instead of the 10m lengths from travel volts then i can just use what i need

cheers for the advice

Have you thought about mounting the light switch in the side of B-pillar plastic cover on your left as you open the van? much easier and less wiring than trying to get back to that panel and it's right there without having to slide the door fully open to reach it.

Granted it's not enough space if you want to use large 230v plate switch or dimmer but ideal for 1 or two toggle switches.

It's probably worth ordering a whole reel of small stuff (1.0mm) and you can order 10mtr lengths of larger stuff if you need it for solar/fridge at a later date, but for all the stuff you need you will only need one size.

hope it all goes good!