grounding new 12v branch circuit
My 12v dist. panel has a fused branch circuit that is not used. I would like to add a few small lights from that lead. My question is, what is the proper, safe way to ground it?. ...Hot wire to the sw...
Forum Discussion
tenbear wrote:
Most of the negative wires in the house are returned to the power distribution box (the box that contains the power distribution panel), however my converter is grounded to the frame.
I can't think of any electrical reason for this, and so I think the negatives are returned to the power distribution box because there is no metal frame in the house, all plastic and wood.
In a vehicle, the frame is almost always nearby. In RVs, the lights are often mounted to luan roof plywood, to plastic or to insulation of some sort. The light manufacturers recognize this, so they supply a ground and a +12v wire, while automobile lights usually supply only the +12v wire (and expect you to run a ground wire to the light frame if you don't mount the light to the vehicle frame.
AFAIK, that's the only reason for the difference. On my RV, there's a ground distribution system for lights and devices (refrigerator, etc.), which goes back to the DC panel and from there the ground goes to the frame.
