GX460 & GXOR B.S. thread (13 Viewers)

[Rednexus]

You can also just go overkill like I did and design a full aux power system that ties into the battery and fender ground with a set of 6 ga wires . All of my aux accessories are powered off of this, including the ARB twin. I do have one fusetap inside the vehicle to get an "IGN ON" signal for some switches and other items in there. Obviously this was a ton of work to design and buid, but it's been a very clean, reliable, and safe setup, especially compared to multiple wires/fuse holders/fuse taps laying around under the hood (which is what I had before).

 

[Roody]

Man, thank you all for the advice. I'll definitely get on cleaning up the terminals and putting some pads underneath.

Further research. Any thoughts on something like this?

Or this

I'm really just looking for something that makes it easier to keep things organized in the engine bay and, should a battery swap be needed, not necessitate a bunch of wires flopping all over the place.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I would only wire things back to the battery terminals that require it, like with radios, and as mentioned, have an intermediate bus for everything else to distribute.

It will help reduce noise on your radios.

Its also an amateur radio Tech level test question. Wire your radio ground back to the battery as a rule, as it will reduce the impedance of the ground path causing for operation with less noise.

In simpler terms, the ground will work much more effectively since it has less resistance back to the battery and more resistance to everything mounted to the chassis.

 

[MeefZah]

I guess to each their own. I look at that and think why would you want to have a bunch of wiring splayed out in a horizontal plane when you can just move it all to a vertical plane. It's still only one bolt to remove any one terminal. And it's not like the add on block is safer or more convenient since you still are running the wiring to that point and terminating it in a ring terminal to attach it to that block. My Inherent cheapness may also factor into this. A longer bolt is 28 cents....

 

[Cold Iron]

You can also just go overkill like I did and design a full aux power system that ties into the battery and fender ground with a set of 6 ga wires . All of my aux accessories are powered off of this, including the ARB twin. I do have one fusetap inside the vehicle to get an "IGN ON" signal for some switches and other items in there. Obviously this was a ton of work to design and buid, but it's been a very clean, reliable, and safe setup, especially compared to multiple wires/fuse holders/fuse taps laying around under the hood (which is what I had before).
View attachment 3826904

Personally I don't feel that is overkill, just the opposite.

Back when I got my first Polaris UTV I caught some flak from a few friends. It was common for them to catch on fire at the time. The cause was people installing amps and subs by just stabbing in where ever they felt like it. Without fuses or relays. To combat that Polaris came out with the Pulse Bus Bar to allow electrical connections in a safe manner. Of course some still just stab in where convenient or connect directly to the battery.

Common on electrical systems in boats too, I've seen some real shady work done on boats as well. Add just a radio, GPS, fish finder, depth finder and trolling motor and it often looks like a snakes nest in a hurry if not done right.

 

[Rednexus]

Man, thank you all for the advice. I'll definitely get on cleaning up the terminals and putting some pads underneath.

Further research. Any thoughts on something like this?

View attachment 3826927

Or this
View attachment 3826928


I'm really just looking for something that makes it easier to keep things organized in the engine bay and, should a battery swap be needed, not necessitate a bunch of wires flopping all over the place.

You'd be better off running a 6 ga wire to a circuit breaker, then a bus bar after that for your actual accessories. You don't have to go as over the top as I did with a relay/fuse box etc. Using the breaker/bus bar method would mean only 1 wire goes to the battery, and it would be on a protected circuit. The ground can go to the OEM ground point on the inner fender that is next to the battery.

Most of the components and tools can be found cheaply on Amazon. Including heavy-gauge hydraulic crimper you can use on the 6 ga wires.

If you have more than a couple switched accessories I'd wire then to a Switch pros or generic equivalent (from your bus bar) in lieu of the fully custom setup I used (which is 5x as much work to build). This will be safe and clean as well and get everything protected with fuses and relays.

 

[Roody]

Wow well thank you all for the advice, I'll probably skip what I thought was a cheap/easy solution to a problem I was probably making for myself

My lack of electrical/wiring/battery knowledge continues to be evident haha

 

[r2m]

Man, thank you all for the advice. I'll definitely get on cleaning up the terminals and putting some pads underneath.

Further research. Any thoughts on something like this?

View attachment 3826927

Or this
View attachment 3826928


I'm really just looking for something that makes it easier to keep things organized in the engine bay and, should a battery swap be needed, not necessitate a bunch of wires flopping all over the place.

I really need to add one of these to my battery...

 

[rav8]

Wow well thank you all for the advice, I'll probably skip what I thought was a cheap/easy solution to a problem I was probably making for myself

My lack of electrical/wiring/battery knowledge continues to be evident haha

If you are only needing a couple more secure connection points I'd look at one of these:
With removable post
or
Without

Both are brass and designed for amplified car audio (potentially less noise) and the attatching hardware looks more secure. Those QRs with the aluminum knobs and levers don't inspire confidence.

 

[Roody]

If you are only needing a couple more secure connection points I'd look at one of these:
With removable post
or
Without

Both are brass and designed for amplified car audio (potentially less noise) and the attatching hardware looks more secure. Those QRs with the aluminum knobs and levers don't inspire confidence.

Is that effectively the same solution as what I posted from Amazon earlier in the thread?

 

[rav8]

Is that effectively the same solution as what I posted from Amazon earlier in the thread?

Alright GX hive, here's another question (and subsequent conundrum)

This is the Costco battery in my GX, the battery itself was purchased from Costco and installed by me a year and a week ago.

Is the moisture/condensation around the terminals something to be worried about, or take Costco up on their warranty for?



Here's the subsequent conundrum. I have a few accessory lines running to the stock battery terminals (winch, lights, GMRS) and plan to add a few other items in the future (on board air, etc). Looking into the auxiliary power packages from companies like Auxbeam and SwitchPros, those seem overkill and way out of my budget right now. This led me to looking into alternative options and I found out about these aftermarket terminal connectors with extra posts built in. This is the one I've been eyeing (and is <$10 vs >$300 minimum for a full power revamp):
View attachment 3826719


A friend also suggested this version, which he has used and likes:
View attachment 3826724


Has anyone used anything like these, and would you recommend any specific product?

Man, thank you all for the advice. I'll definitely get on cleaning up the terminals and putting some pads underneath.

Further research. Any thoughts on something like this?

View attachment 3826927

Or this
View attachment 3826928


I'm really just looking for something that makes it easier to keep things organized in the engine bay and, should a battery swap be needed, not necessitate a bunch of wires flopping all over the place.

No. The ones I linked allow you to insert the wire directly into the block and are secured with set screws. This removes the need for wire terminals and additional hardware (nuts/washers).

The first two that you linked combines wire clamping and wire terminals for the additional connections. I like to avoid unnecessary hardware when possible. Also the lever and knob QR feature adds bulk and may restrict clock positioning.

The second two in the later post use both set screws and locknuts. That gives you the flexibility to wire directly into the block or use wire terminals. Again, what I believe to be unnecessary hardware.

Not trying to steer you away you from those products, as they may work well for you. I think the suggestion of a remote circuit breaker and bus bar by @Rednexus would probably be best since you are looking to add more accessories.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Ordered a spare u joint and tie rod end from TEQ. Going to be doing some more difficult stuff. I signed up for an advanced snow wheeling trail run and may be the only yota.

 

[r2m]

...and may be the only yota.

Make this fourm proud and show 'em what you can do!!
(without breaking anything ) ... no pressure ...

 

[Hiluxforever]

Make this fourm proud and show 'em what you can do!!
(without breaking anything ) ... no pressure ...

No promises...

 

[MeefZah]

Today's project!

Before & after ----> Victory 4x4 Blitz bumper, Warn VR8S, side step delete:

Those bumper cuts made me about puke doing them. No going back if you make a wrong cut. Luckily my buddy was willing to do them while I cowered in the corner and covered my eyes.

After the bumper, I got to the steps, and weirdly zero sheets were given cutting them!

Took a ton of stuff to recycling afterwards...

Some fast tips for the next guy on the Victory 4x4 Blitz bumper install:

Take the fascia off, then bolt up the bumper, then make the cuts to the fascia and mock it up. You are going to have to pull the fascia on and off several times to get the cuts right. This is way easier than the Victory way of taking the bumper off and on to check the cuts every time, while leaving the fascia installed. Also allows for easy winch install with the bumper already mounted up. I had to take the fascia off about a dozen times and if I was pulling the bumper with winch every time I would have killed myself.

Warn VR8 fits with tons of room, no need to relocate control pack. You can drop it right in from the top after the bumper is on by simply unbolting 4 bolts from the radiator support and removing it temporally.

You need to remove the radiator duct / wings which is not discussed in Victory's video. I reinstalled them afterwards by cutting them up and installing them in quarters; also had to trim a lot of material from them. There is about 3/5 of the original material left to direct airflow to the radiator. You could probably leave them off and it wouldn't really matter.

Front parking sensors need a ton of work to reinstall on a 2020+ because the flanges that come off of the grille to hold them don't work in the bumper holes. Again Victory's video was not good in this regard. I left them uninstalled, and turned off the parking sensors.

There is a Victory supplied grille trim piece that is supposed to go on the top of the bumper and mask the bottom of the grille. I left it off. It rubbed the grille and shoved the whole thing out of alignment. I guess if you install the fascia first and the bumper last it would work, but the way I did it, the fascia couldn't clear it on reinstallation.

Bumper is slightly shifted to the passenger side, about 1/3". If you bolt it dead center the tie ins that run from the sides of the bumper to the frame threaded holes above the factory recovery / tie down points are unable to be installed - one is too tight to fit and one is too loose. I'm not sure if my frame or bumper are tweaked or not, but I saw someone else ask whether anyone else had their bumper slightly off center - and this one is.

Victory also wants you to drill holes in the bumper to install self tapping screws to hold up the corners of the fender liners. No way am I drilling holes in a powder coated piece of metal for something as mundane as that. I ripped the rivets out of the fender liners and took off the bottom front edge of the fender liners that was secured to the rest of the liner with rivets, which is almost exactly where the bumper connects to the fender liner; and I used 2 14" zip ties on each side through existing holes in the liner and the bumper to secure the bottom and outside corner of the fender liner.

It was a fairly difficult install honestly. Took about 7 hours non-stop for me and a buddy. I'm glad I did it for the personal satisfaction of it, but if I had no shortage of money I'd have paid someone else....

 

[r2m]

Today's project

Before
View attachment 3829570

View attachment 3829571

After

View attachment 3829572

View attachment 3829573

Those bumper cuts made me about puke.

Then I got to the steps and zero s***s were given cutting them.

Took a ton of stuff to recycling afterwards...

View attachment 3829585


Some fast tips for the next guy on the Victory 4x4 Blitz bumper install:

Take the fascia off, then bolt up the bumper, then make the cuts to the fascia and mock it up. Way easier than the Victory way of taking the bumper off and on to check the cuts while leaving the fascia installed. Also allows for easy winch install with the bumper already mounted up. I had to take the fascia off about a dozen times and if I was pulling the bumper with winch every time I would have killed myself.

Warn VR8 fits with tons of room, no need to relocate control pack.

You need to remove the radiator duct / wings which is not discussed in Victory's video. At the least they will need trimmed but I just left them off.

Front parking sensors need a ton of work to reinstall on a 2020+. Again Victory's video was not good in this regard. I left them off and turned off the parking sensors.

There is a grille trim piece that is supposed to go on the top of the bumper and mask the bottom of the grille. I left it off. It rubbed the grille and shoved the whole thing out of alignment.

Bumper is slightly shifted to the passenger side, about 1/3". If you bolt it dead center the tie ins are unable to be installed - one is too tight to fit and one is too loose. I'm not sure if my s*** is tweaked or not but I saw someone else ask somewhere whether anyone else had their bumper slightly off center and this one is.

It was a fairly difficult install honestly. Took about 7 hours non-stop for me and a buddy. I'm glad I did it but if I had no shortage of money I'd have paid someone else....

Looks awesome.
Regarding the time vs. money. I used to do a lot more of my own work when I had the time but not the $.
I have an old adage I often go back to, "Either I have all the time I need and no money, or I have all the needed money, but to busy earning it to make time."
I was lucky with my GX, all the hard stuff, e.g. bumpers, suspension, etc. was able to have done, and I did the more fun stuff like the HAM radio, interior M.O.L.L.E. racks, etc.

 

[rav8]

Looks awesome.
Regarding the time vs. money. I used to do a lot more of my own work when I had the time but not the $.
I have an old adage I often go back to, "Either I have all the time I need and no money, or I have all the needed money, but to busy earning it to make time."
I was lucky with my GX, all the hard stuff, e.g. bumpers, suspension, etc. was able to have done, and I did the more fun stuff like the HAM radio, interior M.O.L.L.E. racks, etc.

Exactly. I typically look at what it would cost for my labor away from the job vs. what a seasoned tech would charge. I still do all but alignment work on my vehicles but keep the wife's car on a service plan. She is never in a vehicle beyond MFR warranty.

 

[rav8]

Today's project

Before
View attachment 3829570

View attachment 3829571

After

View attachment 3829572

View attachment 3829573

Those bumper cuts made me about puke.

Then I got to the steps and zero s***s were given cutting them.

Took a ton of stuff to recycling afterwards...

View attachment 3829585


Some fast tips for the next guy on the Victory 4x4 Blitz bumper install:

Take the fascia off, then bolt up the bumper, then make the cuts to the fascia and mock it up. Way easier than the Victory way of taking the bumper off and on to check the cuts while leaving the fascia installed. Also allows for easy winch install with the bumper already mounted up. I had to take the fascia off about a dozen times and if I was pulling the bumper with winch every time I would have killed myself.

Warn VR8 fits with tons of room, no need to relocate control pack.

You need to remove the radiator duct / wings which is not discussed in Victory's video. At the least they will need trimmed but I just left them off.

Front parking sensors need a ton of work to reinstall on a 2020+. Again Victory's video was not good in this regard. I left them off and turned off the parking sensors.

There is a grille trim piece that is supposed to go on the top of the bumper and mask the bottom of the grille. I left it off. It rubbed the grille and shoved the whole thing out of alignment.

Bumper is slightly shifted to the passenger side, about 1/3". If you bolt it dead center the tie ins are unable to be installed - one is too tight to fit and one is too loose. I'm not sure if my s*** is tweaked or not but I saw someone else ask somewhere whether anyone else had their bumper slightly off center and this one is.

It was a fairly difficult install honestly. Took about 7 hours non-stop for me and a buddy. I'm glad I did it but if I had no shortage of money I'd have paid someone else....

Whatever you feel it cost...it looks great.

 

[Green4Gulf]

Finally got some!

 

[Green4Gulf]

Also, came across this Toyota hub cap on the trail. It’s in pretty good condition. Gonna be a good garage decoration.