40th Birthday Present

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dear biomax,

will you marry me?
 
*drooling*

It is the sharp looking FJ62 I've ever seen. She definitely is a beaut. :clap:

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Well, the lights work...

But I can't find a 12V source to power the switches. While my handy dandy voltmeter clearly detects power at my amp, I can't find a 12V source ANYWHERE else inside the cabin. The crutchfield wiring harness seems to indicate that the yellow wire is constant 12V, but tapping into that gives me nothing. Also, my newly installed stereo also gets no power.

So perhaps I've blown a fuse. Where is the stereo fused at?

Also, the clock is usually a 12V source. Not according to my meter. It is switched.

Guidance anyone? I was told there was a source in the driver's footwell, but cannot locate one.

Anyway, temporarily connected the switches to the wire for my amp (not yet installed) and all lights work.

The LED is UNGODLY bright. But until I get this wired up properly, I'll just tease you with that nugget.

'Night.

Robert
 
Robert why not just run a fused harness from the batt?man i'm dying to see those LED burning a hole in your neighbors wall LOL.your killing us with the suspense lots of pics would be needed,thanks for sharing all your cruiser porn :clap:.

John
 
I do have a 12V source under the driver's seat (I ran a 6ga wire to a BlueSea box there). I just don't want to have to use that just to power some switches. Plus I'd rather avoid running wire where I don't need to run it. In other words, rather keep the wires behind the dash.

Pics will be overflowing once I get this sorted out.

R
 
I find that messing with stock wiring by adding taps eventually leads to problems. Next thing you know you have inadvertently completed a circuit that wasn't meant to be completed which in turns leads to hundreds of other electrical gremlins. First thing I do when I get a new to me truck is strip out all the wires that were tapped into stock wiring, add a dedicated fuse panel (or two) to provide power to all aftermarket devices. Way easier to track down gremlins, that will appear in your 20+ year old wiring harness.
 
Well Phil,

That's what I ended up doing last night. I really wanted to power the new stereo off the old (factory) harness. I also (originally) wanted to power my new switches (just switches) by tapping into a dedicated 12V wire in the dash somewhere...

But...

Apparently my (early) 1988 FJ62 doesn't have a constant 12V. Supposedly the factory stereo loom has a wire (blue/yellow) that is constant 12V. Adjacent that is a switched 12V. My DMM shows the switched one working, but nothing from the (supposedly) constant 12V. Cigarette lighter and rear window defrost also are switched (differs from what others say on this board).

So since I need constant 12V for my stereo (and switches), the options were to tap into the clock or run a new line from my Blue Sea box under the driver's seat.

That's what I started last night. The Blue Sea is a line from the main battery to the firewall. There it has a 150A fuse (blue sea) that feeds both the fuse box, and my stereo amp. The blue sea box under the driver's seat (for now) will power the stereo head unit, and all new switches I add. Eventually it'll power my CB as well.

I ran the power from the fuse box under my seat behind the dash to where the stereo is. I then tapped into it for the stereo. Also attached 6 of my switches to this line. Eventually I'll be adding ARB switches, which will need this source as well.

The question is whether I need a fuse for this line at the Blue Sea box. Note, the Blue Sea box is fused (150A) at the firewall. The stereo is fused as well. The issue is whether i need the fuse to cover the switches only. Thoughts? If I put in a 2A fuse to cover the switches, then that should blow before the stereo does. If I put a 10A fuse (same as the stereo fuse) then that's likely too much for the switches. So another dilemma using 2 different types of devices off of the 1 source. So I appreciate your thoughts.

ON another note, this should be completed by this weekend. Got the new LEDs in for the A/C and for the switches (see a few posts above). Didn't try them out, but they're installed.

Also noticed that my switches are not illuminating (they were tapped into the gauges illumination wire.) I'll have to look into that tonight as well.

Robert
 
Did FJ60's have a constant 12V at the stereo? If not, perhaps mine is VERY early FJ62 (suggested by Gary at Mudrak) and this would explain all the idiosyncrasies my rig has...

Kevin, how are those panels coming? :)
 
What a weekend. After all the electrical issues, and everyone suggesting something different, it was the post that said to check the "DOOM" fuse. Well, it had blown. So it was that simple. Replace that fuse and the factory stereo wires had constant 12V power again. Reconnected the stereo, tapped into that for the switches, and viola! We're done. Buttoned it all up and began to move it out of the back yard to take some pics, and...

NOTHING. Wouldn't turn over. Spent a good day reading posts, etc., trying to figure out the source of the problem. No check engine light when in the ignition position (bad sign). Pulled out the handy-dandy FSM (this thing is a MUST HAVE if you don't have one) and tried the jumpers to see of the light would come on (nope). Next step, look at connections, fuses, etc.

Well, this is where it gets interesting. The FSM says to check 2 fuses. (I'm at work and forget the first). The 2nd fuse it says to check "Ignition". Well, in the diagram for my fuse box, I see the first one it says to check. It is fine. BUT, I don't see the "Ignition" fuse. Hm. So passed on that and begin really getting frustrated....

Until I realized the FSM shows the "Ignition" fuse as the last row, 2nd over. In the diagram on my fuse box, there is just a box with a line through it in that location.

When I had found the blown "DOOM" fuse, I used the one from that location (as they're both 7.5A). I thought it was a spare. Guess not. Moving the fuse from the "DOOM" location to that place resulted in the ignition working.

So why the heck doesn't the fuse cover diagram show that position as "ignition"? I wouldn't have taken that fuse for the Dome circuit. I would have saved a day of frustration. Ugh.

Well, now I know.

During the down time started wiring up the Hella Supertones properly (i.e., w/ relay). Got most of that done yesterday before the in-laws came in for the holidays. Need about 15' to finish that up and we're DONE!

So pics VERY soon.

On the downside, all the rain of late has shown me that I have 2 leaks. The rear hatch (which I learned about a few weeks back) and now somewhere up under the driver's footwell. Since it's going back to Mudrack for new carpet, I'll have him check these out, as he had the windows out during the paint job and de-chroming. So I guess it's good that I had pulled the carpet back out. Found a few leaks I may have missed otherwise.

So pics shortly... OH! Found 1 more bulb I had missed. It is the same type as the glove box bulb. It is for the cigarette lighter. I'll update my LED chart with this info shortly as well.

R
 
This Thanksgiving, I give thanks for...









Light
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Anyone have suggestions on how to take good pictures of lights? If I can figure out how to do it, I'll retake some of the LED bar. (Also I forgot to take pics of the fog lamps - they are bright!)

Switches
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Relocated rear heater switch is third from left, dual battery controller is 4th from left.
12VoltGuy remote winch control in ash tray location on right:
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LED lights
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The light that lights up the switches really does no good? Anyone have suggestions on how to make these switches more visible? Is there a better LED bulb to use here?
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thanks for the detail on the wire routing for the LED & backup light. I've got the lights in my garage waiting for install. That is a great clean rig!
 
So it's been awhile since I posted anything. The rig's been up at Mudrak's fixing a leak in the passenger rear quarter panel. Note, if you find water in that panel, it's likely due to the weld surrounding the fuel intake coming apart.

Since I got it back, I've done the following:

Installed another fuse distribution panel in the rear cargo area. The panel is used primarily for a ground for the lights on my roof rack, as well as power for the trailer wiring harness and adapter. I'll eventually use it to provide power to a trailer I plan to build up soon.

The Blue Sea box is attached via industrial velcro to a piece of sheet metal which is attached to the inner fender via more velcro. The sheet metal allowed for attachment of circuit breakers for the trailer wiring harness below. All of this is hidden behind the washer bag.
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I also installed an electronic brake controller. I couldn't find anywhere I really liked mounting it, so I decided to mount it below the hood and gas release pulls. I used 2 long bolts M6x50mm and 2 steel spacers which allowed for secure mount while keeping the pulls firmly attached. I basically removed the existing 2 bolts for each pull and replaced them with this hardware:

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I don't think I ever added to this post that Kevin (Wagongear.com) did me a solid by taking back my panels and sending new ones with locks installed. I ordered locks from Tuffy, keyed alike to my Tuffy console. Kevin put these into the panels, so all panels (and Tuffy console) work off of 1 key. Awesome. I love these Kevin!

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