general interior electrical amenities upgrades on the 1993 Middle East model 80

[John Young]

Here's what it looks like with nothing on it:

Here's it with a short post screwed on:

And here's the thing with a cell phone mount attached:

Getting things square was a bit of a challenge. I had to tape things in place after using a level so that the epoxy putting hardened with it being square side to side and front to back.

 

[gofast]

Since I was doing all this in the back area already, I started to think that it would be nice to have a power point back there. It turns out that there is a hole in the right rear pillar just right to give you some space to put in some receptacles. I bought this set from Amazon. I liked it because it had a switch, a 12v power point, two USB's and a volt meter. My thinking was to switch the whole thing off and on right there so that you could draw power without having the ignition turned on. The voltmeter should help prevent you from discharging the battery (unless you happen to leave it on, in which case the volt meter and the USB will be drawing some current.

Here's how I did it:
View attachment 2427947
(I did wash the panel before going too much further)

Once I had cut the hole with a dremel moto-tool I temporarily screwed it in and then masked it off. This area of the panel is not flat so I filled in the gaps with black gasket RTV, which is nice because it does not have a high shine and it matches the panel pretty well.
View attachment 2427949
After smoothing with my finger I peeled off the masking while the RTV was still wet (something I learned doing silicon sealant in bathrooms). Ended up pretty nice I think.
View attachment 2427971
Here's the wiring on the back:
View attachment 2427973
I chose to solder to the lugs rather than using spades (which I've always been a bit suspicious of). I also used a little RTV to prevent the screw in devices and hold down screws from coming loose.

One other note: The switch has an LED indicator light that is on when the switch is off--so you can see it I suppose. I measured the current at 12 volts and it was a bit over 10ma. While not a lot I decided I did not want any constant drain, so I did not wire up the indicator light.

I like this! would you mind posting up a link of the unit you found on Amazon and also list the adhesive you are using?

 

[John Young]

I like this! would you mind posting up a link of the unit you found on Amazon and also list the adhesive you are using?

No problem, GF. The power point itself can be found here on Amazon. I used black permatex gasket RTV to fill the gaps. It seems to stick just fine. Plus I used screws so I'm not worried about it coming off. Regarding making the holes, I did find it very useful to have a Dremel moto tool.

 

[John Young]

After a LOT of fussing and moving wires and whatnot, we are getting very, very close:

 

[WarDamnEagle]

No problem, GF. The power point itself can be found here on Amazon. I used black permatex gasket RTV to fill the gaps. It seems to stick just fine. Plus I used screws so I'm not worried about it coming off. Regarding making the holes, I did find it very useful to have a Dremel moto tool.

John if for some reason the RTV doesn’t set up or comes loose try something 2 part like this JB Weld. It will almost match that gray dash and it sets up very hard. I used it to fix the vinyl on the dash pod in my 70 and it did a great job.

 

[John Young]

John if for some reason the RTV doesn’t set up or comes loose try something 2 part like this JB Weld. It will almost match that gray dash and it sets up very hard. I used it to fix the vinyl on the dash pod in my 70 and it did a great job.

View attachment 2453311

Thanks WDE. I did use epoxy putty for securely mounting the base of the smallrig end-screw. The RTV was just used to fill in around it. And it happened that the epoxy putty I used was similar to the color of the dash.

Incidenly, I've had to take the dash apart again as I did not realize the gauge panel has to go in first! I've also got a problem with a non-working tach. I hope it is not wiring or the dash panel itself, and only a sensor somewhere. I'm going to fix this gremlin eventually as I really want a working tach.

 

[thelal]

nice idea on lights

 

[John Young]

On some other threads I've mentioned the difficulties I've been having as I get close to having the whole truck back together. Most recently, I've had a problem where it starts fine and then dies. After some reading and trying some things I have localized it to the fuel system and that pesky 6V-12V switching (I think). But fiddling around under the hood have driven home that I really want some more light under there, both in the garage and when out and about. I decided to try an experiment with some Samsung LED strings.

A whopping 7 bucks from Ali Express. I've seen these waterproof modules before in Dubai. They also are on Amazon, but more expensive. I had time so I thought I would get it direct from China.

Tonight I got around to laying them out and powering them up to see if the idea has legs.

Being white, they kind of disappear, which is what I wanted.

I also wanted the light to be from many sources at many angles.

 

[John Young]

I decided to keep the modules on the periphery in the hopes that the heat will be less.

The angles of the highest part of the hood are such that you can stick the modules on so they face almost directly down.

And I can finally see down into that lower right hand corner where all the fuel pump relay and resistor and so forth are located.

And no, I will not leave it like that. Things are not bolted down because I was troubleshooting. Our old truck has been well-used in the Middle East. I'm very envious of those that have clean and nice engine bays. They used some kind of protective coating in the Middle East that really attracted dirt and now resists cleaning.

And yes, I know it looks a little like carnival lighting. I don't care. I like to be able to see what I'm working on.

I'm also going to get some more tie-downs and wire tie between each module to try to help assure that they don't fall down. But this is an experiment after all.