First post - 2010 CX-9 - I want to install a 120v inverter - where?

Hi all,

My wife and I bought our first Mazda on Monday, a 2010 CX-9 with under 8k miles on it. It's a Touring, but does not have the 120v inverter in the back. Our old car (will be for sale soon), a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, came with a 100W socket built right into the dash. This thing is indispensible for charging various devices, and it's permanence (as opposed to a plug-in model) is desired.

I had a JK Wrangler before I got my Mini Cooper S and had a 3000W inverter wired beneath the driver seat, with the power switch and a couple of sockets mounted remotely in the console (via 4ga cable right from the battery clamp).

I'm no stranger to car electrical, but I'm a stranger to this car. I need:
A place to put the socket. I can't find any. I can have a panel made to fit anywhere..but need a place FOR the panel.
A place to mount the inverter itself. I bought a 300W RockfordFosgate one that's roughly 8x2x5.

I'd prefer to have the socket accessible to front passengers, or maybe to the 2nd row. I can't find much use for a socket all the way in the trunk like the factory option.

Ideas? There have to be a few nooks and crannies with decent air circulation that I can mount this thing, with a path to run some thick jacketed cable from the engine compartment....

Well, there are tons of places.
1) If you don't have the Bose subwoofer, put it there.
2) In the rear center compartment by the rear bumper
3) Bolt it down to a quarter panel, remove the quarter panel interior trim and put in inside there
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then run a wire up to the center console assembly and mount your outlet either facing the center row or inside the center console.

Of course if you were to mount an inverter all the way in the back you would have to run your 12v wire all the way from the battery, which is not fun.

My 2 cents.

Welcome fyi

Nope, no sub. No idea where that is but I'm sure I can figure it out. Since the sub is meant to come there from the factory, is there a conduit or other path for routing cables where they won't get chafed? I don't know where in this car the main "runways" are, nor have I ever had to remove an interior quarter panel. I guess I just have to get out there with a screwdriver and poke around.

Has anyone on this forum done such a thing yet or is this a less-common question? Pix would be great.

If you lift up the hinged floor access panel, look to the left, in that corner is where they put the bose amp&sub. Not sure what is there for non-bose, storage compartment? dead space?

The bose sub location sounds like a good spot.

I haven't yet pulled the panels in the rear to tuck the wires that I have running. Though the instructions for installing a rear camera illustrates some panel removal. I remember coming across some illustrations on running wires through the firewall to the engine bay....I'll try to find it.

Take some pics if you can of your installations. I would like to run an inverter as well.

Where is Part 2?

Yes, I intend to take pics. The inverter came yesterday. My problem with putting it in the trunk, well..actually, I have a few problems:

DC current running through long lengths of wire
Proximity to use
Driver control

I like it when the driver has control of all devices - especially ones like this that are hooked directly to the battery and can be used even when the car is off. I want a switch somewhere in the cockpit with a light to show that it's in use. Remote-mounting a switch is easy enough. I'd also like receptacles where they could be used. I'll keep the two on the unit that it came with (maybe delete one, if there's no room in the case to put a grommet into for an external set of sockets), but I'd like to remote mount at least one, if not two more.

I should have taken a pic of the setup I had on the jeep. I had it hooked to the battery through a waterproof wafer fuse block mounted on the firewall that I made out of aluminum. The wire came in through the firewall and behind the dash, down the center console and out the side under the driver's seat. I made a bracket that I welded to the seat frame, and then bolted the inverter to that. I mounted the inverter so the outlets faced the back seats, which made it convenient for hooking up a shop vac to clean out the back of the jeep (it was a 3000W unit, 10x the output of the one I got for the CX-9). I drilled a hole in the body of the inverter, mounted a grommet in there, then ran a short length of outdoor romex 3 conductor to the console, along with a pair of 18ga wires, which I spliced into the on/off switch inside the unit, so I could complete that circuit either on the inverter itself from the back seat, or remotely on the panel. The panel held 3 switches: one for the inverter, one for an AUX (I never used it), and one for driving lights (also never got the chance to use). It had two sockets, and everything was engraved with the function, rating, etc. The plate was made of anodized black aluminum (shameless plug for frontpanelexpress.com - excellent workmanship), and was mounted on the flat spot beneath the hinged lid of the console, facing the gear shift. I bolted it in with some stainless socket head cap screws and all was right with the world.

I want to do something similar with the CX-9 but because i'm so unfamiliar with it, it's going to take some doing to get it right. It appears that these aren't as wildly customized as Jeeps tend to be.

Under the seat may be an option. I need to get under there and see how the linkage works and if there's room to weld a bracket beneath one of the seats. There doesn't appear to be much if any room under the dash. Maybe behind the glovebox? Doubt it though.

wyldejackyl said:

Where is Part 2?

....

Click to expand...

Part 1 can be found here. http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123808279-Instruction-Manuals-Write-ups-and-DIY-links

I created this thread hoping that others will post manuals and instructions there.

Awesome, thanks!

Still haven't figured out where to locate it but it'll have to be forward of the 2nd row. It appears there isn't much (any) room beneath the rear seats when collapsed, although a central location isn't a bad idea if I can find a place to put it.

Where is the factory inverter unit and outlet assembly located? There must be a conduit for cable nearby, and some room to locate the unit itself...I'm leaning toward installation behind the back door someplace, as much as I prefer it forward of that. At least I can plug in a small shop vac and clean out the back..

As other posts have indicated, if one cx-9 has a backup camera, and another one does not, mazda installs 2 completely different interior wiring harnesses. It appears Mazda does not even leave open sockets/pigtails for optional packages in their wiring harnesses. They have multiple different interior harnesses. So if your cx-9 does not have the rear entertainment system, this means there is an extremely high probability that there is absolutely no connector to plug into or "tap" into because your wiring harness is built exactly for the options you have.

Understood. When I said "conduit" I meant more specifically a place to accommodate a cable run. It sounds like there is a harness then that runs fore to aft, with some (hopefully) room around it for at least one other cable to run. Where is this located?

My intention at this point is to mount my aftermarket inverter in the back near the 3rd row. If I knew where the factory inverter was mounted (it is a secondary unit, correct, one that is fed by that harness you mentioned?) - well that box has to be someplace, and I want to put mine in the same place if it'll fit. I'm not worried about wiring as I'll pull an 8ga hot wire from the battery to the rear - I just don't know where to run it.

The outlet panel I will have machined and engraved and mount it on a flat surface someplace that has some room behind it. Those cupholders in the back look like they snap right off, and it seems pretty hollow behind there...is there a guide someplace for how to disassemble interior trim pieces?

I can fly blind on this one it'll just take a whole lot more time. I intend to do a writeup once I can get all the info together and a saturday to get it done.