LazarusTaxa
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #21
One of the main projects I wanted to tackle while the dizzy was being recurved was replacing my non-working OEM radio with something more functional. All I need is something that gets NPR and works with Bluetooth. I'm not interested though in using an FM modulator... Technology has come way too far to regress so hard. I debated for a long time on going with one of the "classic car" styled radios for restorations or the continental radio which would fit pretty well with the 80's aesthetic. In the end, I went with a normal single DIN with a built-in amp. I got a Sony b/c you know, they're Japanese and all that. But mainly, I got the same radio that @coultl used and designed his 3D printed mounting bracket around.
As mentioned, this radio has a built-in amp, which is great because I won't need to add a separate one in the future. It's bad though because it ended up creating yet another rabbit hole of money and work for me. You see, the built-in amp needs a dedicated power wire run from the battery. But, my battery terminals were all kinds of messed up so that means new terminals. New terminals mean I might as well go ahead and upgrade all my positive and ground wires. And of course, a radio pumping out 50w/channel RMS is gonna fry the 30 year old stock speakers REAL quick, so I gotta get new speakers.
So, before I can wire the radio, I gotta wire the truck... I'll start by saying anyone considering upgrading their battery cables should stop reading and buy the @Forerunner battery cables. It would have been cheaper and a TON easier than making my own. But, I like making battery cables for some reason and have the needed tool to do it (hydraulic crimper). And when it comes to 12v DC power systems, I'm a huge fan of marine-grade hardware.
So I bought a bunch of marine wire, terminals, and heat shrink from Ancor and a few fuse blocks and fuses from Blue Sea Marine. Here's what you get after spending money over-engineering battery cables:
I'll list the part numbers and lengths and everything below, but keep in mind a lot of this is specific to how I set up my system. For wire size, I opted to go with 1 AWG wire for the starter, body ground, starter ground, and main ground running under the A/C compressor to the engine mount. I used 4 AWG for the ground from the engine block to the body. This is way overkill, but I figured why not.. I think the 4 AWG Mr. T used is totally fine. After all, the ampacity of Ancor 4 AWG wire is like 160 amps or something like that.
I also opted to fuse the power wire to the starter. It's crazy to me that Toyota (or any automaker) would run a 4 AWG unfused wire through an engine compartment directly to a battery. I used one of Blue Sea's terminal fuse blocks with a big fuse here. I couldn't find clear info on how much current the starter draws, but think I read somewhere it's like 80 amps. I also have the fusable link on this terminal, so I figured 125 amps would be plenty. And, it was... Until I forgot to put the truck in neutral when I started it. That blew the fuse immediately. I've got it fixed temporarily now while I wait on a new 175 amp fuse in the mail.
I also added a terminal fuse block for blade fuses which I'll run the power wire (10 AWG) to the radio from. This is also where I connected the headlight relays in my post above.
One tip for anyone making their own cables... Measure the diameter of the bolts you need cable lugs for and do not go off of the lugs/terminals from the old wires. I ordered all my Ancor tinned copper lugs ($$$) based on the diameter of the old wire terminals only to find out they were almost all oversized. I ended up replacing a lot of them with 5/16" (I'd ordered 3/8").
I use a hack saw to cut through heavy cables and have always felt that works fine. When crimping lugs on heavy cable, be sure to use the right tool for the job. Yes, that means you gotta spend $50 on ebay for the hydraulic crimper. The hammer type just dont work, and soldering doesnt compare. A properly crimped termination fuses the lug and wire..
In the end, I ended up spending ~$180 and ended up with some nice new cables and marine-grade battery terminals. With tinned wire, crimped lugs, and adhesive lined heat-shrink these things will last a long time. They could probably stay submerged in a bilge for 20 years and be fine, so they'll work well enough in a cruiser.
Here's the battery, terminals, and wires all finally installed. Of course, if you're putting all this effort into new wiring, there is no way you can deny a stainless tray to go along with it.. So, yeah, ordered and installed one of those as well.
As mentioned, this radio has a built-in amp, which is great because I won't need to add a separate one in the future. It's bad though because it ended up creating yet another rabbit hole of money and work for me. You see, the built-in amp needs a dedicated power wire run from the battery. But, my battery terminals were all kinds of messed up so that means new terminals. New terminals mean I might as well go ahead and upgrade all my positive and ground wires. And of course, a radio pumping out 50w/channel RMS is gonna fry the 30 year old stock speakers REAL quick, so I gotta get new speakers.
So, before I can wire the radio, I gotta wire the truck... I'll start by saying anyone considering upgrading their battery cables should stop reading and buy the @Forerunner battery cables. It would have been cheaper and a TON easier than making my own. But, I like making battery cables for some reason and have the needed tool to do it (hydraulic crimper). And when it comes to 12v DC power systems, I'm a huge fan of marine-grade hardware.
So I bought a bunch of marine wire, terminals, and heat shrink from Ancor and a few fuse blocks and fuses from Blue Sea Marine. Here's what you get after spending money over-engineering battery cables:
I'll list the part numbers and lengths and everything below, but keep in mind a lot of this is specific to how I set up my system. For wire size, I opted to go with 1 AWG wire for the starter, body ground, starter ground, and main ground running under the A/C compressor to the engine mount. I used 4 AWG for the ground from the engine block to the body. This is way overkill, but I figured why not.. I think the 4 AWG Mr. T used is totally fine. After all, the ampacity of Ancor 4 AWG wire is like 160 amps or something like that.
I also opted to fuse the power wire to the starter. It's crazy to me that Toyota (or any automaker) would run a 4 AWG unfused wire through an engine compartment directly to a battery. I used one of Blue Sea's terminal fuse blocks with a big fuse here. I couldn't find clear info on how much current the starter draws, but think I read somewhere it's like 80 amps. I also have the fusable link on this terminal, so I figured 125 amps would be plenty. And, it was... Until I forgot to put the truck in neutral when I started it. That blew the fuse immediately. I've got it fixed temporarily now while I wait on a new 175 amp fuse in the mail.
I also added a terminal fuse block for blade fuses which I'll run the power wire (10 AWG) to the radio from. This is also where I connected the headlight relays in my post above.
One tip for anyone making their own cables... Measure the diameter of the bolts you need cable lugs for and do not go off of the lugs/terminals from the old wires. I ordered all my Ancor tinned copper lugs ($$$) based on the diameter of the old wire terminals only to find out they were almost all oversized. I ended up replacing a lot of them with 5/16" (I'd ordered 3/8").
I use a hack saw to cut through heavy cables and have always felt that works fine. When crimping lugs on heavy cable, be sure to use the right tool for the job. Yes, that means you gotta spend $50 on ebay for the hydraulic crimper. The hammer type just dont work, and soldering doesnt compare. A properly crimped termination fuses the lug and wire..
In the end, I ended up spending ~$180 and ended up with some nice new cables and marine-grade battery terminals. With tinned wire, crimped lugs, and adhesive lined heat-shrink these things will last a long time. They could probably stay submerged in a bilge for 20 years and be fine, so they'll work well enough in a cruiser.
Here's the battery, terminals, and wires all finally installed. Of course, if you're putting all this effort into new wiring, there is no way you can deny a stainless tray to go along with it.. So, yeah, ordered and installed one of those as well.
I haven't had an issue seeing the screen yet, I am sure you know, you can not only change the colors of the back light and lettering, but the brightness too. It does sound really good!
