Builds Cayman Islands FZJ80 DIY build-up

[mmajsw]

I was sitting at work today working on a problem when a thought flashed into my head regarding my errant digital volt meters.
I am using digital voltmeters that are supposed to have a power source that is different from the battery they are measuring. I had just connected the power and input wires together and hooked them up to positive. I remembered reading somewhere that secondary powered meters (not using the input power as the meter power) do not have the circuitry to stop bad readings. In other words, portions the input power voltages can be added or subtracted to the real reading.
When I got home this evening, I got a 6V and a 12V battery. Powered the meter with 12V and measured the 6V battery. The measured voltage was within 0.02 of what I got on my VOM. Yessss........
I checked all 4 of the 0.3" 4 digit high display meters I last bought and got roughly the same result - reasonably accurate readings. I tried the old self 1/2" high display 3 digit self-powered meters (with only one input wire) that I had used in Post #22 and got consistent readings when compared to the VOM. They are only good to 0.1V. I tore the dash apart and reinstalled the old meters. The result was an accurate display of the voltage at each battery.
When the engine was off, I got 12.3 at the main and 12.8 at the aux. With the engine turned on and both batteries are being charged by the alternator, the meters said 14.1 main and 14.2 aux.
Finally, the problem has been resolved.

Ignition on, engine off

Engine on, starter battery being charged

Both batteries charged

There is now harmony in the universe!

 

[mmajsw]

It is another long weekend and a few little projects to be completed.
The first was to wire in the inverter. I had obtained 25' of 2/0 black and red wires and the aim was to get them to the aux battery. And it was a struggle. Where 4 gauge wire ran with ease, 2/0 was a no go pain. Due to the cable diameter with the wire protector on it, it meant that I had to run the wires along or on top of the frame. But, with perseverance, I made it to the battery. The negative cable was wired straight to the negative terminal of the battery. The positive was temporarily placed through a 150A fuse and hooked up to the battery to confirm that the inverter would work.
And it did.

Installing the terminal ends at the inverter side of things

Finishing up at the battery side. Had to make a fuse/circuit breaker shelf from 1/8 aluminum

Checking voltage at the inverter. Battery reads 12.5 for a 0.2V drop. Great and much better than the 1.3V drop I was getting earlier with the 4 gauge wires.

Attached a small fan as a test load to confirm all is well and it was.

A couple things left to do.
1. Get/make a heat shield for the wires in the vicinity of the exhaust pipe. I am going to take the truck for a drive and see how hot the area gets.
2. Add a relay into the system. I do not feel comfortable with that length of wire being live at all times. In case of an accident or a branch getting between the wire and frame and ripping it out, a lot of current is available. Although the fuse limits the maximum available 150A. Decisions, decisions!!!!

 

[mmajsw]

The next items were small and took a short time to complete.

The first was the installation of the absolutely gorgeous lower tailgate release arm from SoCalFZJ80. Under a minute to exchange, lasts a lifetime.

Next were a couple items that I had overlooked during construction of both the inside drawers unit and the MFC box. The former was missing finger holes to lift the floor wings and in the latter, a drain hole to allow water to escape. A couple minutes with a 1.5" hole saw and the problem was rectified. I did add fiberglass resin to the plywood in the MFC drain hole. Just needs painting when it gets dry.

Wing finger holes

Finally, when I had switched the arms to the opposite side to exchange the tire and fuel can location, I did not have the center support that was previously built into the unit. There was about a 3/8" gap between arm/support.
A bit of UHMW polyethylene and a couple screws later, I now have full support again, especially for the arm with the tire.

Then, before any further items could be completed, the rains came down ending all work on this holiday weekend.

 

[mmajsw]

Returning to the inverter wiring.
The path to the aux battery was pretty clean and clear with two issues where the wires ran close to the exhaust pipe. The biggest area of concern was at the front passenger tire. Although there is a reasonable good air flow when moving, I was concerned about the ability of the wire to withstand the heat for a long while. Would the insulation dry up and crack with the resulting shorting out? What about damage from dirt and stones when driving?
Test time. I drove with the wire exposed in the pic below then stopped to measure the local temps with a laser thermometer.

In the exposed condition below, the following temperatures were measured after 1/2 hour of driving. The pic was taken after I released the zip locks holding the wires in place.

Exhaust 325°F, frame 225°F, black wire 150 -175°F and red wire 135 -150°F. The interesting thing was that both wires felt about the same temperature - (I could touch them and they did not feel like they were a 150) but registered different temps. The variation in the wire temps was lower at the shock tower and higher close to the exhaust pipe.

Not liking this situation, I went to the few shops we have the looking for an easy solution but no ready-made items were to the found. I was in a local air conditioning shop where he was offering foam insulation that was rated for 200°F when I saw a Velvet Shield welding blanket that is used to protect surfaces when brazing/welding pipe. Rated to 3000°F, I felt that it could easily handle 300°F. It is readily cut with scissors and folds like a blanket.

With the shield found, I had to find a way to hold it in place. Again, the local air conditioning shop had the answer. Aluminum tape.

Rated for 350°F continuous and 400°F intermittent, it was perfect. Stiff enough to hold a shape.
A 3" width of the blanket was cut and stuck to a length of the tape. This allows me to form the tape to the wire. Additional tape wrapped perpendicular to the length (radially?) to keep the blanket in a round shape. The end result was this....

The red wire is wrapped and the black is next. The insulation extends about 6" above the shock tower after which just normal plastic wire protector is used.
Finally, I placed a heat resistant plastic wire protector for abrasive protection and zip locked the whole thing up.

To finish the job, I will be getting some galvanized 1" diameter cable clamps to hold everything in place. I noticed some 6mm holes with welded nuts already in the frame.

The zip locks are rated for 175°F, so I will use them as a gross temperature check. The same procedure was repeated a little further down the frame where the exhaust crosses over the frame. A little more difficult to get at so no pics. Will observe it for the next month to see if all goes well.

 

[mmajsw]

I was initially going to order some Wet Okole or SOR Tuff Duck covers but decided to try local instead. Plus, I could not find anything outside the plain colors.
About a month ago, I was getting a chaise lounge recovered by a local upholsterer when I was amazed at the variety of fabrics and designs that were available.
We got talking about vehicle seats and I asked him if he did seat covers. The response was yes and he gave me a rough price. He said that the final price depended on the fabric used. We reviewed the various canvas types, upholstery cloth, etc. when he asked me what was the most important thing I was looking for in a cover. I said some kind of resistance to spills would be first, followed by a light color to keep the heat from the sun on the seat at a minimum. He suggested looking at boating fabrics. Most were water resistant or waterproof, ranged from relatively smooth to almost a course canvas texture, had excellent UV protection, long life and were breathable. I picked a pattern and he ordered some materials to cover all the seats.

I left the passenger seat yesterday afternoon to be covered and also be used as a template for the driver's seat. I dropped off the truck this morning for about 2 hours to get the passenger seat reinstalled and the driver's seat covered.
They took both rear seats out and will be reinstalling them tomorrow with the new covers.

Original seats. The yellow spots are reflections from the light.

With the new covers on them. Covers are removable for washing or getting a treated with the water repellant or Scotchguard in the future.

Closeup of pattern

The only bad news is that I lost the use of the small behind the front seat nets, but I never really used them anyways. The upholsterer said that he could readily add large or small pockets to the rear of the covers in the future if I decided that I really needed some form of pocket. I am now wondering if I need/want a tactical setup as the Smittybilt or Coverking systems! One mod always leads to another!

Update - got the rear seats on Friday afternoon and reinstalled them. The light color seems to make the inside of the Cruiser seem a bit more spacious. But I am happy with the custom seat cover decision. The total cost was less than just buying the covers in the US (not including shipping to and duty in Cayman)

 

[Dubbinchris]

This seems really overkill to save a little voltage drop to the inverter. Seems like instead you should put the inverter somewhere else closer to the battery and then run your fused higher voltage lines to where you want your outlets. Less loss that way. That's the reason electricity is transmitted and high voltages on the power lines.

 

[mmajsw]

Hi Dubbinchris. I had briefly thought about running 115V wires from the inverter but due to its size, mounting locations for it were limited. Under the front seats was an option but that space is already used. Behind the 2nd row passenger seats was second choice but that was only 3' from the rear, where it would best suit me.
Accessibility to the inverter via the rear with the tailgate down was my priority. Yes, I could have placed it closer to the front and saved a bit of wire but the other problem was the actual size of the inverter and where to mount it securely. The wires still had to run along the frame to get to the back.
After determining the location, the next priority was maximizing the amount of time I could use the inverter. It has an automatic shut-off at 11.5V. With the aux battery having a nominal voltage of 12.8 and a 1.3V loss through the 4 gauge wires, I am already at 11.5 at the inverter (give or take .1V). Cutoff is not far away.
I could have used 2 gauge for 0.8 V drop, 1/0 for 0.5V drop but ended up using the 2/0 wire as I got a good deal on it. I now get 12.5 at the inverter and can run the battery down to the 11.5 cutoff. A much longer operating time.

 

[mmajsw]

This weekend, I did not accomplish much but did make some progress.
After a long think, I decided to add a relay to activate power to the inverter. With space becoming a premium item in the engine compartment, I managed to find an area behind the windshield water bottle to hold one relay - 150A continuous duty. It meant dismantling all the brackets and other items but it fit and is well protected from accidental shorting. I created another short cable to run to the fuse.

All that is left is to run the controlling switch to the rear of the truck.
I also rewired the winch, OBA and Aux inside switches so that they are all active now and doing their proper duty. Checking the wiring on the winch, I found that the blue wire is the common item for in and out. So I ran the wire to the main winch controlling switch by the transmission shift lever then back to the momentary on/off on the small panel by the light dimmer switch.

I will be filling in the in/out groves with white paint for visibility.

I have not been able to come up with a suitable place to relocated the winch relays to. The bumper is too close to the body for me to mount any waterproof boxes and our course, no place in the engine compartment to house anything. So, after liberally coated in lithium grease, it will be going back on to the winch and hope for the best.
Only 34 items left on my to do list!

 

[mmajsw]

The goal today was to get the winch relays back together, install them and run the power to the winch.
The parts were laying all over the place and I probably spent 1/3 of the time trying to remember where I had placed things 9 months ago (I am not too organized). But I persevered and managed to find all the needed parts (plus it helped to have some spares that I could reference and take bits from).
The first thing was to re-install the relays and hook up the wires. Some notes I took when dismantling went a long way in answering questions. First the relays were bolted back in. Once everything was according to my diagrams, the cover was put back on.

I was worried about wiring the winch directly to the battery so I needed to find a place for a cut-off switch. This took a bit of looking. The old horn position was close to the wire run so it was used. A new bracket was made for the horn closer to the center of the rad. It also means that the interior on/off winch switch in the console has just become redundant. Great as I had run out of dashboard switch locations.

I could not use the wire lugs pointing straight so I bent them 90° for a tighter fit. The wires were crimped on afterwards. I will need to make some kind of terminal insulators to prevent accidental shorting.

Now, I need to find a tree to use as a deadweight so that I can spool the 150' of 5/16" cable unto the drum.

 

[mmajsw]

I have been having problems with the starting battery voltage meter. It would blow after about two weeks. At first, I thought it was a faulty unit and replaced it. Then the second one stopped working and I replaced it too. I finally decided that something was wrong and looked at going back to the separate powered units. They never blew, just gave bad readings. I finally realized that I had two power sources in the vehicle- the batteries. So, a couple minutes of thinking and I have a solution. The starting battery would power the aux battery meter and the aux battery would power the starting meter. A quick dismantling, bit of soldering and the new/old meters are back in use. So far, all is well.

While the dashboard cover was out, I decided to do something about the ashtray hole. I don't smoke and really had no plans for it. I wanted to install an hour meter so that I can do my oil changes on a time basis rather than mileage. The reasoning for this is that most of my driving is in the 30 to 40 mph range with stop and go, with probably 60% at 30. Going by the vehicle manual, oil changes are at 6K miles which for me would be around 200hr of engine time. My thinking is that most service intervals are based on mainly 50 mph highway driving, at which 6K miles is around 100 hrs, so I will change the oil at 100hr/3000 miles, whichever comes first.
I got a piece of 1/8 Kydex (thanks to BoltRipper for mentioning it in his thread) and made a cover for opening. Sorry that there are no pics from during the construction as I was just playing and was not sure how it would work out. I used a paint stripping heat gun and some pieces of 1x4 as the bending and flattening surfaces.


Empty hole with ashtray gone

Test fit of Kydex cover

With an hour meter installed, there is still space for an extra switch or another USB charger or ...... ???
I simply power the hour meter from the USB charger on the left (using the old cigarette lighter circuit) that replaced the lighter. Current draw is almost nil so it adds no load to the circuit.

The insert and the hour meter are currently held in by dabs of hot glue but whenever I take the dash cover out again, I will make another insert that will be held in by the two screws that held the ashtray in. Will also try to extend it a bit to cover the little opening that is visible at this angle but invisible when installed. Kydex is great stuff for a DIY guy.

 

[mmajsw]

With all the extra stuff hanging off the rear bumper, I thought that it would be nice to have a couple extra park/stop lights to aid anyone behind me. I would have liked a 3 way led light (park-stop-turn) but it seems that they are not available (as yet).
So, off to the web I go.
I got a couple surface mount 10 led stop/brake lights from easybuyer and once they were delivered, made a mount for them. A simple piece of 1/16 aluminum plate with the appropriate cutout allows the light to be securely held. Power from the lights comes from the 7 pin trailer connector to the left of the hitch.

Cut out made

Painted black and lighted installed

Showing spacer angle aluminum to keep the mounting plate off the bumper

Test installation - everything looks good!

And finally testing the lights in park light mode. No excuses for anyone now!

 

[mmajsw]

About two months ago while I was working on choosing a power steering cooler, I noticed that the distance between the front axle and the bump stop was about 2". This was to be expected with the new bumper, winch and dual batteries, not to mention the other bits all adding additional weight to the front.
In the rear, the spacing is much better but I have added a heavier bumper and hitch, rear drawers, swing outs, etc.
So, a call was made to Slee and I finally got a new suspension delivered.
I am using the OME medium heavy 2.5" lift kit with 850 front springs and 853 rear. This should bring back a firmer, more positive ride despite the additional weight. Planning to run LT285/70R16 on the stock rims so I do not anticipate any tire rubbing issues.

Not pictured is the stainless steel brake line kit - both the 4 piece axle to caliper and the 3 piece body to axle kits.

I also received a couple bits from YodaTEQ - the backup light mount kit and the antenna mount kit. Needless to say, the 4 pieces were quickly installed and my 2M antenna mounted. But it was too dark to get a good picture. Everything looks and fits great!

And installed

So, it looks like I have some serious wrenching to do in the next couple days!

 

[mmajsw]

The new suspension is in. No pics or details as write-ups are readily available on this forum.
It was done as a one man operation and took a bit of time but there were no technical issues.
Two tips I can offer -
1. Use the Slee writeup and as long as you follow his steps, all will go well. His comments and hints are all valid so there were no surprises.
2. Use a coil spring compressor to install the new springs. Without having someone to step on the dropped axle to gain that little bit more space to get the new, slightly longer springs in, the coil spring compressor will shorten the overall length of the new springs to that of the old ones - making installation a whole lot easier.
The test drive showed that I have a firmer, more controlled ride (to me anyways), less body lean on corners and more front bump stop clearance.
My results are as follows. Measurements were made from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender flare.
Front - old 18.75, new 22.0
Rear - old 20 new 23.25
I still need to install the new 2 degree Slee bushings in the front arms but that will be a project for another weekend. A road test does show that the vehicle is twitchy when doing emergency moves.

 

[mmajsw]

The weekend is over and not much more accomplished. I did some electrical wiring - license plate light and rear floods. All is looking well.
I thought I would have gotten more done but it sure takes time to find a safe place to run the wires, get them into the protective harness, run the harness making sure that it is firmly clamped and secured to prevent abrasion and chaffing, soldering connectors, waterproofing and protecting the connections and connectors, then getting the wires safely into the interior where it can be hooked up to power.
But I believe it is better to spend time to do it right now than having the vehicle catch fire or ever more frustrating but less costly, tracing a bad connection.

 

[mmajsw]

With the YODAteq backup brackets installed I contact him to see what lights he was using. It was difficult to size LEDs from pics.
He informed me that they were 10 watt Cree flood lights and I ordered 3 from Amazon. They arrived in 4 days (a record for me receiving items) and I installed them this weekend.
The location of the lights is a no brainer. The second questions was how to wire it? Separate circuit? Relay triggered or straight to the reverse lights?
The answer required a bit of electrical measuring.
The stock reverse bulb takes about 1.75A @13V to shine
The LED replacement uses about 0.15A
The 10 Watt Cree floods uses about 0.7W.
Solution, wire the additional lighting straight into the reverse light circuit. This involved drilling two holes in the body and a bit of soldering. Nothing difficult. I used 2 pole plug instead of directly wiring it to the reverse circuit so that the light can be swapped out if anything goes wrong or disconnected if the local vehicle inspection guys prove to be a pain.
EDIT - I did a vehicle inspection shortly afterwards and there was no comment from the inspector. He just wanted to make sure that the lights worked
HINT - install the flood bracket before you bolt YODAteq's bracket to the body. It is easier when they are out then when installed into the body. The second hint is to use a flat washer between the nut and the light bracket when installing the lights. The holes are fairly large especially when the light uses 6mm bolts. But your setup might be totally different to mine.
But the results are absolutely worth it!

Light installed and cable run along rear door channel. I used 1x1 adhesive cable tie bases with zip locks to locate and keep the wires along the body and away from harm.

Through body and into the rear light compartment (passenger side). I used a PVC hose because the metal is a double thickness in this area - to thick for a grommet.

Electrical connections to reverse light. They were soldered then sealed with liquid electrical tape. After it had dried, I then covered the liquid tape with normal electrical tape as a redundant covering. The red with blue trace is the power wire for the reverse light (on both sides). I used the white with black trace that goes to the reverse bulb for ground. All grounds are white with black trace so be sure to use the relevant one for the reverse light.

I tested and everything works like it should. Just need to take some pics at night to show the huge light difference

 

[Oscar Witte]

I am probably missing something, but why go to the trouble of connecting the negative's of the inverter and aux batt. Couldn't you just connect the inverter to the chassis?

 

[mmajsw]

There is a big debate about chassis connector vs running the cable back to the battery.
From what I remember, chassis ground to a frame or other thick metal is OK (not to sheet metal though). The problem is ensuring that corrosion and other resistance increasing things like dirt and water does not get between the connector and ground point in the long term. Higher resistance from corrosion would mean greater voltage drop for the inverter which equals shorter time to the auto cutoff. You need to ensure that the two points (inverter to chassis and chassis to battery) are kept in good condition and are properly sized for the current you are carrying. There are online charts that cover the size of wire vs. the distance between battery and inverter. You cannot use the normal vehicle ground wires to the battery as they will too small to handle the amperage draw needed over a long time period.
So, I had the wire, wanted minimum concerns over future problems and ran the dual wires to the battery.

 

[mmajsw]

I have switched a bit from mods to maintenance.
Being concerned over the PHH (at close to 18 years old but still looks good) and knowing that a burst hose would mean trouble, I ordered an HPS black silicone hose kit including the PHH. I got the kit from HPS when they had the 25% off July 4th weekend sale. The only sad thing it that I did not think of getting a replacement air intake hose at the same time so I now have to order that item. Live and learn.
The kit arrived today so now I need to make some time over a weekend to do a full hose replacement.

The other item that is showing signs of wear are the rubber bushings for the sway bay and various locating arms. The two main front axle bushings will be replaced with the Slee ones that came in the lift kit but I am actively looking for a one stop full polyurethane replacement kit. Currently looking at Extreme Landcruiser and others for the most comprehensive kit.

 

[mmajsw]

I had a request to post some data on the amperage draw of various incandescent lights vs LEDs in my truck so here goes. The data is from my lights and yours may differ.
I am using 18 LED park and brake lights if that matters.

What does this mean?
Well, if you wanted do the modification of including a turn signal in the front park light housing, using normal bulbs, the draw is about 3.5A, double what the manufacturer built the wiring for. But using LED bulbs, you will only use 0.21 A, about 1/8 the use of a single normal bulb. A safe amount for the factory wiring and little chance of overloading the wire.
Have fun but be careful.

 

[mmajsw]

About two months ago, I used part of a 5m long (15') 12V white LED strips that I had picked up in Honduras. I was unsure of how the glue would stand up to the engine/hood heat level. So, I cleaned the metal to remove the rustproofing and dirt, stuck the strip on and let some time pass, testing it every couple weeks to see if was still glued in place.
This afternoon, I once again checked it and all was fine - the strip was still firmly against the hood metal. I waited until it begun to get dark and hooked up 13V from a small battery pack to it . The result is as follows.

The first shows the light strip against the hood.

The second shows the engine illumination. All that is left to do is add a switch, fuse, some wiring and wire protection and all is good to go.
The light is even and illuminates the complete engine compartment.

On the other hand, parts keep piling up faster than I can do the work.
Three of the 4 pieces needed for a new stereo showed up. It is a modest system but should meet my needs.
My unit is a simple AM/FM unit. No CD or cassette and runs 5 speakers - two 4" units in the lower dashboard, 2 speakers in the rear doors and the infamous sub woofer.
I had upgraded the speakers to Pioneer units but disconnected the sub woofer until I could figure out what I wanted do with it.

The head is called a digital media unit and has no CD. I considered the CD a bit redundant as one can download a couple hundred or thousand songs on a USB drive and use that instead. Plus, it in one less mechanical part to go. It seems to me that CD players are the first part to go bad - for me anyways. The amp is a 40 watts/speaker and is good enough for me.

And replacement sub-woofer. I had to think about this for a bit but decided it was the way for me to go.

Missing is the sub woofer amp - a Kenwood KAC-5620.
Once that gets here, I will begin the installation.