Accessory Relay / Always on power (1 Viewer)

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greynolds

greynolds

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Jan 20, 2006
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Like more than a few before me, I'm looking for a good way to get an always on power socket in the back of my LX for use by my Engel fridge. My understanding is that there are (at least) 2 ways to accomplish this - modifying the existing accessory circuit so it is always on by bypassing the relay OR by running new (fused) wiring directly from the battery to the rear of the vehicle and either adding an additional power socket or rewiring the existing one. Yesterday afternoon, I took a look at things.

I pulled off the driver side kick panel to try to find the accessory relay which, according to the wiring diagram, should be in a group of 4 (defog, ignition, accessory, and dome) in a row. All I see there is a bunch of fuses and misc. wiring, but no relays. I took a look at the wiring diagram that I downloaded from the techinfo site and it's not real clear to me (I'm not real good at reading wiring diagrams), but it looks like the relays are on the backside of the panel the fuses are on - is this right? If so, that presumably means that I need to disconnect the battery, and pull of the fuse panel assembly to get access to the relays. Not sure I like the idea of doing that on a brand new expensive vehicle, though it may not be at all difficult - I'd certainly like to know what I'm getting myself into before attempting this. Assuming I can get access to the relay, I understand the concept of bypassing the relay by using a jumper cable to complete the circuit on the 2 legs that the relay opens or closes. The downside of this option is that it makes ALL the accessory sockets in the vehicle always on - I'd really prefer a mix.

Next, I took a look in the rear and partially removed the trim panel that the existing rear accessory socket is located in. It looks like there's plenty of access to install a 2nd socket. The only trick is how to get a power wire from there to the battery. From what I could see, there's a grommit close by that would allow me to route a pair of wires under the body and along the frame along with a bunch of other existing wiring. Is this as easy as it looks? If so, I could run a pair of 8 gauge marine grade wires from the rear to the battery (with an appropriate fuse at the battery end) and hook up a new power socket without too much effort. The actual wiring is trivial - it's how to route the wires that's potentially tricky.

I saw a post somewhere on here that I can't seem to find again about running wires under the carpet, through some channel, and then through an existing grommit in the firewall into the engine bay. I took a look yesterday and didn't see any grommits in the firewall that looks like good places to run new wires through. I would also think that I'd have to tear half the interior apart in order to run wires internally - not something I'd really like to do. Again, is this much simpler than it sounds - am I missing something obvious?

Any suggestions / advice / detailed pictures of what to do would be appreciated.
 
I hard-wired a 120V a/c inverter on the floor, under the back of the driver's seat. I did find a grommet to the left of the steering column in the firewall to run a heavy #8 ga wire & simply poked a hole for it with an icepick & slipped it behind the kick panel plastic. I tucked it under the plastic door sill & used a fishtape to snake it under the carpet. There's enough room to safely run the wire without risk of chafing. You could continue routing it along the rear door sill to reach the back, just make sure it's not out in the open in a "traffic" area.


I used a 30 Amp self-resetting breaker tied it to always-on +!2 in a relay box behind the main fuse box. I put a lug on a bolt at the rear of the seat rail for ground. I'll have to wait 'til this evening to post pic's, my wife is up in Colo with the LC.
 
greynolds said:
Like more than a few before me, I'm looking for a good way to get an always on power socket in the back of my LX for use by my Engel fridge. My understanding is that there are (at least) 2 ways to accomplish this - modifying the existing accessory circuit so it is always on by bypassing the relay OR by running new (fused) wiring directly from the battery to the rear of the vehicle and either adding an additional power socket or rewiring the existing one. Yesterday afternoon, I took a look at things.

I pulled off the driver side kick panel to try to find the accessory relay which, according to the wiring diagram, should be in a group of 4 (defog, ignition, accessory, and dome) in a row. All I see there is a bunch of fuses and misc. wiring, but no relays. I took a look at the wiring diagram that I downloaded from the techinfo site and it's not real clear to me (I'm not real good at reading wiring diagrams), but it looks like the relays are on the backside of the panel the fuses are on - is this right? If so, that presumably means that I need to disconnect the battery, and pull of the fuse panel assembly to get access to the relays. Not sure I like the idea of doing that on a brand new expensive vehicle, though it may not be at all difficult - I'd certainly like to know what I'm getting myself into before attempting this. Assuming I can get access to the relay, I understand the concept of bypassing the relay by using a jumper cable to complete the circuit on the 2 legs that the relay opens or closes. The downside of this option is that it makes ALL the accessory sockets in the vehicle always on - I'd really prefer a mix.

Next, I took a look in the rear and partially removed the trim panel that the existing rear accessory socket is located in. It looks like there's plenty of access to install a 2nd socket. The only trick is how to get a power wire from there to the battery. From what I could see, there's a grommit close by that would allow me to route a pair of wires under the body and along the frame along with a bunch of other existing wiring. Is this as easy as it looks? If so, I could run a pair of 8 gauge marine grade wires from the rear to the battery (with an appropriate fuse at the battery end) and hook up a new power socket without too much effort. The actual wiring is trivial - it's how to route the wires that's potentially tricky.

I saw a post somewhere on here that I can't seem to find again about running wires under the carpet, through some channel, and then through an existing grommit in the firewall into the engine bay. I took a look yesterday and didn't see any grommits in the firewall that looks like good places to run new wires through. I would also think that I'd have to tear half the interior apart in order to run wires internally - not something I'd really like to do. Again, is this much simpler than it sounds - am I missing something obvious?

Any suggestions / advice / detailed pictures of what to do would be appreciated.
Click to expand...




Running the circuit to the rear with 8-10 guage wire is not that hard or time consuming: Just peel the carpet back from the door sill plates...and use fish tape; and you will need to pull the plastic rear inside quarter panel away...you do not need to remove it but only far enough to access the back side...

Personally I don't think I would feel good about running a full time circuit off the main (and only) battery...but that's me. Put a small fuse box in the back (PS side in the cubby hole below the side window) to run all your accessories from that (feed the fuse box with the 8-10 guage fused wire from the aux battery. I pushed my rear second circuit wiring through the firewall on the PS side...
 
i had ARB install a dual battery kit and asked them to run a "hot wire" to the back of the LC100 next to the factory cigarette 12v socket and this where i will run my 'fridge when i get the cash to buy it.

I highly recommend a dual battery kit if you are serious in running accessories. My dual battery kit powers my driving/spot lights as well as the hot wire.
My winch is wired to the primary battery.
cheers
peter
 
Understood on the dual battery thing - that will happen eventually. With the LX, my understanding is that the 2nd battery will have to be accomplished by using 2 smaller batteries in the stock single battery location (what Christo from Slee has done with his LX). For now though, I just want the ability to have the fridge run without having to have the key in the ignition and turned to accessory or on while I'm parked somewhere for an hour or 2. I don't plan to leave the fridge running for extended periods without the engine running until a 2nd battery is present.
 
greynolds said:
Understood on the dual battery thing - that will happen eventually. With the LX, my understanding is that the 2nd battery will have to be accomplished by using 2 smaller batteries in the stock single battery location (what Christo from Slee has done with his LX). For now though, I just want the ability to have the fridge run without having to have the key in the ignition and turned to accessory or on while I'm parked somewhere for an hour or 2. I don't plan to leave the fridge running for extended periods without the engine running until a 2nd battery is present.
Click to expand...



Gotcha...I would run the extra fuse box to the back then off of your main battery...then everything will be in place when you decide to add the second battery...and to add the second fuse box in the back is hardly any more trouble, time and expense than just another DC outlet alone.
 
I just went outside and took another look at things. I still don't see a good way to get wires through the firewall. But I do see how to route the wires to the back once I get them through the firewall. I was able to easily take out the door sill plates, I know how to remove the driver and passenger (depending on which side I decide to go with) kick panels, and I know how to at least partially remove the rear panel that the existing accessory jack is mounted in, and it looks like routing wiring between the front door sill and the rear door sill shouldn't be too bad.

But where the heck do I put the wires through the firewall? I'm looking from the top - ie: open the hood and look for any unused holes. Do I need to look from under the vehicle? This is where a few photos would probably help :).

Thanks for the advice so far.
 
greynolds said:
I just went outside and took another look at things. I still don't see a good way to get wires through the firewall. But I do see how to route the wires to the back once I get them through the firewall. I was able to easily take out the door sill plates, I know how to remove the driver and passenger (depending on which side I decide to go with) kick panels, and I know how to at least partially remove the rear panel that the existing accessory jack is mounted in, and it looks like routing wiring between the front door sill and the rear door sill shouldn't be too bad.

But where the heck do I put the wires through the firewall? I'm looking from the top - ie: open the hood and look for any unused holes. Do I need to look from under the vehicle? This is where a few photos would probably help :).

Thanks for the advice so far.
Click to expand...



greynolds,
Sorry, I would post pics but my home computer has got the 'blue screen of death' syndrome right now and although I am at work I forgot the PC cable for my camera. Anyway if you look directly below the wiper motor on the PS side of the engine bay, about a foot or so below the wiper motor, you will see a rubber "hat" about 3" in diameter on the firewall that houses a bulk of wires. I easily poked all my wires (for stereo and rear fuse panel) through here (at what would be the right angle where the rim of the so called "hat" comes into the "hat portion (boy would a photo be a whole lot more descriptive right now!!!) ...use a coat hanger or fish tape to pull/push them through. Then silicone around the wires to seal it when you have everything connected, etc. You will want to put an inline fuse in the engine bay on the supply (+) wire you are going to feed your rear fuse box with...

Hope this helps you.
 
The firewall grommet/boot that I ran the wire thru is directly below the driver's side hood strut:

wire-1.jpg


Inside the car it comes thru above the "dead pedal" (large red wire):

wire-2.jpg


I found full-time +12V in the smaller box next to the main fuse box under the hood. I have no idea if it's fused upstream or if so, what amperage the circuit is good for. I cut a notch in the corner of the cover so it seals tightly around the wire.

wire-3.jpg


I put a 30 Amp self-resetting breaker in series with the #8 wire (wrapped in black tape next to the fuse box). I need to go back & tidy up the installation. I did it on the quick whilest on a road trip when the inverter connection kept crapping out in the cigarette lighter socket. The hard-wired 400 watt inverter does great. I think we pulled something on the order of 220 watts continuous thru it while on the road & never so much as a hiccup.

I ran a Coleman electric cooler in the trunk of my bimmer on a 20 Amp breaker & I think max draw is only 5 amps @ 12V

For extended roadtrips with overnites in a motel, I bought a used bare PC power supply & mounted a cigarette lighter socket in the case. They measure 10.4V under load on the 12V circuit, but if you tie the 5V leg to ground thru a few large 1-ohm 50 watt resistors in parallel & place them in front of the fan, it will bump the output voltage back up to 12V under load. Makes a cheap 120V a/c- 12V dc power supply if your cooler didn't come with one.
 
donco said:
The firewall grommet/boot that I ran the wire thru is directly below the driver's side hood strut:
<snip>
Inside the car it comes thru above the "dead pedal" (large red wire):
<snip>
Click to expand...

Ah - that grommit didn't look like one that could be used for my needs, but it looks like I was wrong :). That will bring the 2 wires I'll need to run into a nice convenient location. I plan to run both a power and a ground wire to the back rather than relying on finding a good ground connection to tie into.

I found full-time +12V in the smaller box next to the main fuse box under the hood. I have no idea if it's fused upstream or if so, what amperage the circuit is good for. I cut a notch in the corner of the cover so it seals tightly around the wire.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, why did you go this route instead of connecting directly to the battery, which would free you from any dependency on what is upstream of your connection point?

I put a 30 Amp self-resetting breaker in series with the #8 wire (wrapped in black tape next to the fuse box).
Click to expand...

I like the idea of a self-resetting breaker instead of just putting a fuse in the line. If I happen to trigger the breaker, I don't have to find a fuse to replace it with.

I ran a Coleman electric cooler in the trunk of my bimmer on a 20 Amp breaker & I think max draw is only 5 amps @ 12V
Click to expand...

I believe the Engel fridges draw less than 5 amps @ 12V.

Makes a cheap 120V a/c- 12V dc power supply if your cooler didn't come with one.
Click to expand...

The Engel fridges have both 120V and 12V power jacks and come with appropriate power cords for each. No need for an external transformer.
 
FWIW: I was told the 12v circuit brakers are not very efficient and thus consume additional power...but I don't know how much.
 
greynolds said:
Out of curiosity, why did you go this route instead of connecting directly to the battery, which would free you from any dependency on what is upstream of your connection point?
Click to expand...

Guess it's just personal preference. I look at going with a direct connection to the battery clamp as a last resort & always try to find another vacant source.

Here's a better image of the boot that feeds thru the firewall:

wire-4.jpg
 
Well, I finally got a chance to run the wires this afternoon (nothing is hooked up yet). I used an awl to punch the holes in the grommit, then a #2 philips screwdriver to enlarge them. Took some effort to get the wires started (I ran 8 gauge Ancor Marine Grade wire), but with my dad as an assistant, we got them through the firewall with no hassle.

Next, I popped off the driver side kick panel and the front and rear door sill plates. Getting the wires from the from the front door sill plate area to the rear door sill plate area was slightly trickey, but not too bad.

Next, I partially removed the rear trim plate that covers the subwoofer, the jack/tool storage area, etc. We were able to get the wires all the way to the back with a minimum amount of effort.

Right now, one end of the wires is tied off near the battery and the other end is sitting in the jack/tool storage compartment.

Next step will be to install the 12V accessory socket in the back (have the socket and the means to drill the hole for it). Then I need to either install a fuse block or figure out where to get a quick disconnect plug for 8 gauge wire (can only find them down to 12 or 10 gauge). Finally, I need to install a fuse at the battery end and connect power and ground to the battery. This stuff is all pretty simple - just need to track down a few items.
 
Last edited:
wngrog said:
I have stuck all my wires through that rubber boot, no sweat.
Click to expand...


Same here.. it is one of the FEW places I could find on the firewall side to easily run anything into the passenger compartment

Good info !

Well any info regarding live (and unused) plugs or circuits is of great help...No doubt there are a lot of dangling plugs and empty fuse/relay locations throughout my 100 that I wonder about (if possible) using for things I want to add to my Cruiser
 
On my 05 TD LC Sahara, I found that if I left the key on Acc for 24hrs I would flatten the battery. The Sahara's don't allow you to put a third battery in the engine bay because the AHC pump & resevoir is sitting where it normally goes. It was suggested that I slit the two front batteries and replac e the LHS one with a bigger one. That did not grab my fancy as I'm in enough strife with Toyota and warranty's as it is. So have run an Anderson lead (13mm2 with earth return) to the rear of the vehicle for a Camper Trailer (Tvan). I took a tapping off that to run an Engel fridge (40L through a Hella plug in the back of the vehicle. I have also left another Anderson plug tucked up in the area above the jack holder, so that I can grab one of the batteries in the trailer to recharge if we are camped long term any where. The batteries on the trailer are of the AGM variety which allow very fast charge times and will take, I understand, around 50 amps happily. Two hours driving should have them close enough to fully charged.

To protect the start batteries I fitted a Redarc battery isolator to the Anderson leads. I also fitted Maxi (fuses 100 amp) between the isolator and the start batteries and also to the other two batteries.

As an aside, the wiring through the cigarette lighter and accessory circuit to the rear of the vehicle gave a significant voltage drop with an Engel fridge pulling 2.4 amps. This will have significant affects on the efficiency of keeping things cold and battery drain. By the time I had rerouted the wire the voltage drop was .06V.
 
dinibili said:
On my 05 TD LC Sahara, I found that if I left the key on Acc for 24hrs I would flatten the battery. The Sahara's don't allow you to put a third battery in the engine bay because the AHC pump & resevoir is sitting where it normally goes.
Click to expand...

A third battery??? In the USA, we only get 1 battery stock, on the drivers side in the front of the engine bay. Do you guys get 2 smaller batteries in that location from the factory? At some point, my plan includes replacing the 1 large battery with 2 smaller (but higher end) batteries to protect the starting battery from discharge from things like running my Engel fridge in the back.
 
To the best of my knowledge the TDs here have two batteries, one either side of the radiator connected in parallel. I am not sure how long this has been the case. The third/second battery generally fitted as after market would normally sit up close to the firewall on the left hand side. Some opt to split the two front batteries and replace the LHS battery with a slightly larger one. The fitted batteries are 255mm long x 170mm wide x 230mm deep to the top of the post. The battery tray appears large enough to take another 40mm in length
 
I did some more poking around in the owner's manual, turns out the circuit I tapped into is rated at 80 Amps. The schematic labels it fuse 51: "Glow" which I would assume would be for the glow-plugs in the diesel version.

wire-3.jpg
 
Donco, is that circuit fused at 80amps somewhere?
 
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