ROTM: January 2009

[rchalmers3]

[FONT=&quot]This entry brings you up to the moment with the current state of the truck. I hope the photos and background scenery have been enjoyable. My next projects are installing a replacement 24-12v converter, power tap, and stereo receiver with Ipod adaptor. After that I’m fabricating storage in the rear quarters and tailgate. I’ll be posting more as things happen. Thanks for your interest and happy New Year to all,

Rick

3 Jan, 2009
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[dubya]

Incredible pictures! Beautiful beach and cruiser. Must be heaven.

 

[Tapage]

Rick .. impresive thread dude !

Me imagino que los caminos secundarios entre Tamarindo y Playa Pelada en invierno se vuelven muy divertidos .. !

Aún así me sorprende muchismo y gratamente que tengan tan buen internet ...

 

[woytovich]

So how about a "Mud special" vacation package!?? What kind of pricing do you offer?

I could do with a week in Costa Rica right about now...

mark

 

[rchalmers3]

Incredible pictures! Beautiful beach and cruiser. Must be heaven.

Thanks man!

I am not so sure its heaven. There are problems here, like everywhere else. But, as I sometimes say: It's a great place to have problems!

Rick

 

[rchalmers3]

Rick .. impresive thread dude !

Me imagino que los caminos secundarios entre Tamarindo y Playa Pelada en invierno se vuelven muy divertidos .. !

Yayaya! We now can drive up the river beds into the mountains! No need for the Unimog when the water is low! Quiere va?

Aún así me sorprende muchismo y gratamente que tengan tan buen internet ...

The internet connection is not consistent, but I am very happy for what there is. Is the same in Panama?

Rick

 

[rchalmers3]

So how about a "Mud special" vacation package!?? What kind of pricing do you offer?

I could do with a week in Costa Rica right about now...

mark

Mark, That's a great idea!!! I would be very happy to be yours and everyone's Costa Rica vacation connection!

My life passions are surfing and off road adventures. When I can combine the two I am in heaven! I learned to travel in self sustained fashion years ago down in Baja. Living here is a continuation of the adventure! I am happy to share the fun with all!

What constitutes a vacation in your opinion? Are you after down time in the hammock with a beer and a book or would you like to bounce around the back country? Both?

Rick

 

[rchalmers3]

24v converter and radio installation, with photos

The radio in Red quit playing the other day. I didn’t really like the radio anyway, as it took about 1 minute each start up to prepare itself to play the radio, making noises like it had a CD stuck in its craw, or like a cat regurgitating a fur ball. So when it finally gave up the ghost, I executed a replacement campaign that I had pre-planned.

Red is a 24v truck, with a factory supplied 24v to 12v converter dedicated to supplying the correct voltage to the radio. The factory converter wiring was designed to power a simple radio without memory (station and settings preset) capacity. There was no constant 12v supply for memory, only switched accessory 12v power. In addition, my wife and I occasionally use a Garmin GPS and Ipod, both of which require 12v power. I had no printed information of the factory converter’s current capacity, and didn’t want to overload the stock unit by using our additional accessories.

To assure there was sufficient current for all the 12v electronic items on board, I decided to replace the converter and radio, connecting the two with a new harness dedicated to supplying both constant and accessory power. In addition I installed a multiple power tap for our 12v navigational and musical gadgets.

I bought a 24v to 12v converter with an acceptable combination of features, size and price. It has a low parasitic draw, input and output circuit protection and produces 20amps, more than enough for the anticipated load.

 

[rchalmers3]

The new 24v to 12v converter installation will not cut or re-allocate the factory wiring. Should I ever want to re-install the factory converter, it is still a functioning component and the wires will still be available for use.

 

[rchalmers3]

Looking at the stock converter location, I first considered also mounting the new unit inside the fender, but since the new unit has a circuit fuse that may need to be accessed, I decided to mount the converter in an easy to access position outside the inner fender.

The instructions included with the converter say to mount the unit inside the cabin. After looking at the construction of the unit (looks well made and tightly sealed) I chose to ignore that instruction. As a bonus, the important 24v supply cable routing was a cinch. There is a large power junction post right there on the fender! Bonus!

 

[rchalmers3]

Making connections was quick and easy. There are 4 connections to make to the converter: 24v in, 12v out, and grounds for each. The instructions say the grounds are not isolated internally, meaning I could use the chassis as a ground plane, as is normal on all the cars I have ever worked on!

 

[rchalmers3]

I had access to factory wiring to duplicate ground and power wire colors. This was purely for my own satisfaction. Having the added wiring duplicate the wire color Toyota uses for their vehicles gives me satisfaction and hopefully will make a future diagnostic routine a little easier.

Routing the cable inside the car was clean and easy: I followed the existing cabling through the firewall, sneaking into the cabin alongside the hood release cable.

 

[rchalmers3]

To operate the radio I needed both 12v battery power and 12v accessory (keyed) power. To achieve this, I added a relay that taps the constant 12v source from the converter, and creates switched 12v by triggering the relay using the only accessory switched fuse: The cigar lighter. The cigar lighter is 24v, so I used a 24v relay to make sure the windings were up to the task. I sure don’t want to go without my radio because of a relay failure!

 

[rchalmers3]

[FONT=&quot]After testing and confirming the converter and relay worked, I assembled the wiring that would lead to the radio: 12v constant, 12v switched and ground. I used the same location and wire colors for grounding the radio and relay. That way if there’s a failure in the future I may have a better chance of remembering what I did! The wires were tape wrapped and then routed along with the factory wiring to the radio opening[/FONT]

 

[rchalmers3]

Setting aside work on the wiring at this point, I took a moment to assemble the power tap and mount the radio sleeve. The dash cubby hole took one for the team: I cut an access hole in the back and stuffed the power tap and Ipod extension through it, using 10 minute epoxy on the plastic to plastic joining.

The radio is not latest and greatest receiver available. However it is durable: It is a 12v marine unit. Marine receivers are made with rugged materials and construction techniques to withstand the rough service found in boats. I have used this model of receiver with success here in Costa Rica where the weather and driving conditions are extreme. The plusses of this unit are its durability and great sound. The minuses are that it has blue illumination (not the factory green) and I have to buy an adaptor to connect the Ipod.

 

[rchalmers3]

After preparing the nook and power tap, I moved on to mounting the radio. I have done a few of these installs, each time seeking greater simplicity and elegance. The mounting technique I have refined has the following trade offs: It’s fast, rugged and mounts the radio 100% through the sleeve, balanced as it should be, and not hanging off the face. However, if you want to change the sleeve in the future, you will need to remove the dash pad, which is about a 15 minute job. Not too bad a trade in my opinion.

The general installation procedure is to prepare the brackets by re-bending them and installing them in reverse position. Then mark and pre-drill the brackets and sleeve, followed by pop riveting the sleeve to the installed brackets. The brackets will come in and out a few times during the fitment, but the total time for the procedure should be less than a few hours. Here’s the step by step procedure:

I remove and flatten the stock radio brackets. The brackets are re-bent and repositioned in reverse so as for the bracket “arms” fall vertically alongside the sides of the sleeve. It is important to have the tolerances close, so that there is no stress on the sleeve. The sleeve must make contact with the full length of all of the arms, while remaining centered in the opening.

 

[rchalmers3]

Setting the sleeve depth is next. First, it may be necessary to trim a little off the front arms, to keep the arms inside the face surface. Then using the radio bezel, set a comfortable depth for the sleeve where it will be possible to slide the radio with bezel installed into place and have the security tabs lock the radio in the sleeve. I used a sharpie pen to mark locations.

 

[rchalmers3]

I used a rivet gun to assemble the brackets and sleeve. In the past I tack welded the metal parts. If you do the same, be sure to avoid putting rivets or welds into the area where the release tools enter the sleeve to disengage the locks. Given the depth of the sleeve on my radio, the front bracket arm holes could be drilled, but I needed to add some depth to the rear side of the sleeve to reach the rear bracket arms.

 

[rchalmers3]

Wanting to finish the job before the dinner bell, I grabbed the nearest resource for ductile metal. Your radio and bezel choice may require the same detail, but you need not afflict the property of your spouse.

Sometime in the future there will be the following conversation in our household:

Wife to husband: “Honey, have you seen my personalized bicycle license plate?”
Husband to wife: “I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.”

 

[rchalmers3]

After adding a little length to the sleeve, I made final marks for depth and removed the sleeve and brackets for drilling on the bench. I made 2 holes for the rear and one for the front. I bolted the brackets back to the dash pad, then pop riveted the sleeve to the brackets. Test fitting the radio, it is nearly perfect. There is about a ¼” gap on the sides of the radio, as the opening is larger than the radio bezel. Now is a good time to hot glue gun in a few filler pieces of plastic that matches either your dash pad or radio bezel. The gap doesn’t bother myself or the spousal unit, so I have not attended to this detail as of yet.