How did you power your accessories?

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Marine7 said:
Frame is ground..... right....... but not a"good" ground! Most "hi draw" components (large investors, winch, etc) recommend running ground (same size as power) back to source ground....I.e. Battery. Otherwise..... if you go off the "frame is ground" theory, your working the components harder than need be, which equals..... shorter life. (Working harder = running hotter)
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OK, but shouldn't the source ground be the alternator circuit then? The battery is supposed to supply starter circuit power, then receive resupply current while the engine is running. Unless I missed something in design class, the battery isn't supposed to supply current to the accessory components (that is, everything except primary ignition circuit current draw).

Please bear with me, I'm a mechanical engineer with only on the job electrical knowledge, but when I did work in vehicle design, we always designed the power circuits with a battery cutout, so that nothing could draw current from it after the ignition circuit became self-sustaining. In addition, the battery itself is connected to the vehicle ground. How does that change the current flow if components are grounded through the body/frame? Unless there's a break somewhere in the body/frame between the battery ground connection and the local component ground, there's a continuous circuit, right?
 
Tools R Us said:
Just plug it in! :hillbilly:
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Come now, we've been more civilized than that before!

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Malleus said:
OK, but shouldn't the source ground be the alternator circuit then? The battery is supposed to supply starter circuit power, then receive resupply current while the engine is running. Unless I missed something in design class, the battery isn't supposed to supply current to the accessory components (that is, everything except primary ignition circuit current draw).

Please bear with me, I'm a mechanical engineer with only on the job electrical knowledge, but when I did work in vehicle design, we always designed the power circuits with a battery cutout, so that nothing could draw current from it after the ignition circuit became self-sustaining. In addition, the battery itself is connected to the vehicle ground. How does that change the current flow if components are grounded through the body/frame? Unless there's a break somewhere in the body/frame between the battery ground connection and the local component ground, there's a continuous circuit, right?
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Good deal! I was going to go into mechanical engineering, but decided to "see the world courtesy of Uncle Sam". My wife is a electrical engineer, graduated from Perdue, but I don't let her near my vehicles, she's good on a computer, but when "face to face" with it she scares me! Lol
Anyways, if your theory is right, then why does pretty much everyone I have ever seen in my 30+ years of wheelin mount the winch wiring directly to battery? It's to cut down on any "weak" link.... I.e.... grounding to frame.
I know the right answer to my question, I was just hoping someone had done theirs the "easier and cheaper" way, so I could see their results.
 
Off topic, but my view of the "world" was limited to Ft. Jackson, Ft. Bragg and Ft. Stewart; not exactly what the travel brochure led me to believe... (I did get a flight from Bragg to DC for the Town of the Unknowns internment from Viet Nam, in a C130 no less. That was also not in the travel brochure.)

Back to the thread, I suspect there are more people doing work than there are who know how to do the work correctly...

I'd like to hear from a battery manufacturer on the topic. I was recently reading a thread elsewhere concerning auto storage batteries eating through their positive terminals, due to some evil electrical phenomenon I can't pronounce. I may have to go back there and run this topic through the mill. More to follow...
 
Lol.... yea my travel agent should be shot! Then again.... I'm sorta slow... took me 21 years to learn better!
I agree the frame, body, and battery "should" all be capable. But in the environment we put these things in, corrosion, and weakened straps result in some places being better grounds than others.
 
Malleus said:
Off topic, but my view of the "world" was limited to Ft. Jackson, Ft. Bragg and Ft. Stewart; not exactly what the travel brochure led me to believe... (I did get a flight from Bragg to DC for the Town of the Unknowns internment from Viet Nam, in a C130 no less. That was also not in the travel brochure.)

Back to the thread, I suspect there are more people doing work than there are who know how to do the work correctly...

I'd like to hear from a battery manufacturer on the topic. I was recently reading a thread elsewhere concerning auto storage batteries eating through their positive terminals, due to some evil electrical phenomenon I can't pronounce. I may have to go back there and run this topic through the mill. More to follow...
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Please follow up with me if you don't mind! Now I'm real curious to what the manufacturer of batteries will say on this topic.
 
Will do.
 
Marine7 said:
Lol.... yea my travel agent should be shot! Then again.... I'm sorta slow... took me 21 years to learn better!
I agree the frame, body, and battery "should" all be capable. But in the environment we put these things in, corrosion, and weakened straps result in some places being better grounds than others.
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Noted.
 
so, question: (pertains to the peeps doing work that don't know exactly what they're doing :)

I have a single battery for now.

I just purchased the Slee upgrade wiring for the headlights, and two aux harnesses. (adding fogs LEDS, and a pair of Piaa 100 watt H3 Driving lights that I have in hand from a prior vehicle - not the best, but they'll work till they don't or I break them - they haven't died in the 15 years I've had them at least)

And for context the next phase (in a couple months): I’m also adding additional USB power in the 2nd row, and a worklight/back-uplight to the back of rack.

so: Does it make sense to run the Aux lights through a Blue Sea block and add a breaker? Or just go straight to battery? (I can see the harnesses are fused, so would prob be more a question of the breaker and tidiness, and adding addt'l accesories)

If I go beyond that in the future TBD (winch/fridge/inverter - cuz dang I gotta getting me a GFCI outlet in the dash too (ha) ) I’ll prob add second battery system, but for now KISS.


Update: talked to Cristo. Just gonna wire into the battery per instructions. Will add blue sea when needed.
 
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For what it's worth, I had great luck with the Battery Doctor isolator....until my Jeep got stolen and stripped. Now I'm building a system for my 80.

What's the best place to source the 3fe battery box that people like to use on the passenger side of the engine bay? My local dealer is looking up the price for me, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I've seen them online for $110...is that fair?
 
GunRunner said:
For what it's worth, I had great luck with the Battery Doctor isolator....until my Jeep got stolen and stripped. Now I'm building a system for my 80.

What's the best place to source the 3fe battery box that people like to use on the passenger side of the engine bay? My local dealer is looking up the price for me, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I've seen them online for $110...is that fair?
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Contact BENO on this forum... everything I have heard is very positive. He will get you the best price,(mud discount) OME parts, quick delivery and he KNOWS his 80's!
 
I have my dual battery set up figured out except one thing: why do I see some aux fuse boxes grounded and others not grounded? This befuddles me and I can find no answers to my question. I am over thinking it surely but I need to know if there is any reasoning whether to ground or not ground. My aux fuse box will be located near my second battery. Seems to make sense to ground the dog to the battery. Then you're free to hook the ground and power directly to the fuse box. I am a wood butcher not an electrician so I finally educated myself on the whole thing except this one item. Any thoughts appreciated.
 
A lot of the Blue Seas aux boxes dont have a ground lug on them, you just ground individual components at the component. That saves you from running ground all the way back to the aux box...... saving $$$.
 
GunRunner said:
For what it's worth, I had great luck with the Battery Doctor isolator....until my Jeep got stolen and stripped. Now I'm building a system for my 80.

What's the best place to source the 3fe battery box that people like to use on the passenger side of the engine bay? My local dealer is looking up the price for me, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I've seen them online for $110...is that fair?
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you can also check salvage yards. if youre truck is 93-97, youll search for a 91-92 battery tray (US Passenger side). Its 5 bolts, the plastic tray, two grommets for the battery leads to pass through, and the battery hold down hardware.

Youll also need to either make brackets, or get a kit to relocate the washer bottle up toward the rear of the engine compartment on the passenger side. Slee makes one.
 
Marine7 said:
A lot of the Blue Seas aux boxes dont have a ground lug on them, you just ground individual components at the component. That saves you from running ground all the way back to the aux box...... saving $$$.
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Yea, it became apparent to me. I have a frame ground right near where the Aux fuse box will go. I ran them all to one spot in anticipation of this upgrade. I reckon I'll just switch to the non-negative and leave the grounds right where they are. Thanks
 
stevezero said:
you can also check salvage yards. if youre truck is 93-97, youll search for a 91-92 battery tray (US Passenger side). Its 5 bolts, the plastic tray, two grommets for the battery leads to pass through, and the battery hold down hardware.

Youll also need to either make brackets, or get a kit to relocate the washer bottle up toward the rear of the engine compartment on the passenger side. Slee makes one.
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I bought a 96' battery tray from Land Cruiser Phil and I just had to trim it around the radiator. That was my biggest hitch was I was thinking about what a pain it was going to be. I had it fitted in 35 minutes. Even the mounting holes lined up. A pleasant surprise for once. I think you can get them at Toyota Parts for $70.
 
Josey1972 said:
Yea, it became apparent to me. I have a frame ground right near where the Aux fuse box will go. I ran them all to one spot in anticipation of this upgrade. I reckon I'll just switch to the non-negative and leave the grounds right where they are. Thanks
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Yea, I just left mine. The only thing that could potentially give you a problem is audio equipment. If your ground wires aren't equall to, or greater is gauge than your power leads you can create a "ground loop" and pick up noise & "trash" in your sound. Just remember HEAVY GAUGE GROUNDS, and your set. Good luck!
 
I think I went the cheapest way out. Has worked great for the last few years.

-Blue Sea Dual Battery Isolator. Very cost effective
-Home built 2nd battery tray
-Home bulit washer bottle relocation bracket
-Marine 2nd battery
-Blue sea fuse panel in rear quarter cargo space fed with 2 Awg wire
-ANL fuse blocks through out
-ARB fridge, some interior lighting, few 12v outlets, and sub amp on 2nd battery
-Winch on main battery
-OEM alternator
 
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