Auto electrical book?

[Sloan]

Can someone point me in the direction of a good book on auto electric practice and theory? I am chasing a short and my reluctance to work on my own electrical has let someone else booger it up.

 

[ntsqd]

I can't offer an automotive specific book that I thot was worth the purchase price. It may exist, but I've not seen it yet. I've not looked very hard either, so keep that in mind.

What I'll suggest is a book written for boats. They tend to deal with the sorts of mods made to Expe type vehicles. The auto books are written for guys building hot rods, which while still 12 VDC, isn't quite the same. They don't usually bother with stuff like dual batteries, etc. The books written for RV's that I've seen somehow left me wanting. Maybe it was a perception problem on my part, but their approach & methods seemed less robust than the marine stuff.

HTH

 

[spencyg]

You're going to want the marine systems book by Nigel Calder. There is also one called the 12 volt bible (don't know the Author). I have ALL of Nigel's books and they are all excellent. Nearly everything in marine systems applies to our expedition vehicles.

Spence

 

[Mike S]

I've used a couple of marine electrical books. The 12 Volt Bible is a good one, and very helpful in accessories wiring.

Check West Marine or a chandlery near you.

Mike

 

[sharkbait73]

The 12V Bible you mention (I believe by Miner Brotherton/Ed Sherman) looks to be from 1985...is that still current enough (no pun intended :ylsmoke to cover today's technology and methods?

I am a complete noob with regards to 12V power, battery banks, inverters, solar, etc and also looking for How-To information that will allow me to scope out expanding and optimizing my current trailer system so I can be more self-reliant while boondocking. At the very least, I want to learn enough so that I can ask intelligent/focused questions to those with more knowledge.

Will the 12V Bible, or the Nigel-authored books do that for an electrical-illiterate like me?

Scott

 

[dwh]

Wow. Reviving a thread from 2008. Not sure if that's a necroposting record, but it's gotta be close.

There is a ton of info archived here in the 12v section of the site. Pretty much every question has been asked at least once.