The Road to a 100 and 2001 build thread

[paulbgardner]

After a brief Hijack I am back.......I left off with some really terrible electrical hack jobs. I will dive into some photos of my dual battery system install. I pretty much followed the directions that came with the TMAX system along with Klausvanwinkle's excellent write up with some of my own modifications on fabricating the cables. So not much new or innovative going on here. My biggest goal was to make high quality, robust cables and connections.

I started off with wiring up the controller to the aux and main battery (pardon the dirty terminals. They have since been cleaned)

All the wires had plastic or mesh loom over them and shrink tubing on the ends.

 

[paulbgardner]

For the big cables I didn't have a crimper and didn't want to spend the money on one so I found that a hex nut and my bench vise did the trick really well on the 1/0 cable ends. I used 1/0 for everything between the batteries. In the photos here I show my ground going from the aux - terminal to the body ground. This didn't work and I couldn't get a good enough ground through the body to jump start the primary if I needed to (which incidentally I did after this because I had music playing while I worked). I switched to a single + and - between each terminal for a solid connection for the ground. This fixed all the trouble. It is much more self contained that way and doesn't have any potential for interfering with other electrical systems as much. I am running a 200 amp fuse on each side of the solenoid on the positive line.

The solenoid mount was a total pain to reach and work with. I wish there was a better way to access it.

 

[paulbgardner]

This next part was a fun project that I had been wanting to work on for a long time but had never had the time. Luckily I had a big job change that allowed me a few weeks of being at home between jobs. I was able to work on this every night for a few weeks. Building electronics like this is almost therapeutic for me.

I have always wanted to implement a modular power system in my truck. Something where the switches would control a set of relays with outputs that I could plug anything into using standard modular connectors. In this case they were weather pak connectors. Basically it is like the SPOD for jeeps except I didn't have to spend nearly as much money and I got to make it exactly how I wanted.

The first thing I had to make was the switch panel that would plug into my relay block. I used OTRATTW switches and Blue Sea modular switch mounts to put the switches in. Each switch gets +/- 12v and has a single wire that runs to the relay for switching.

The switches will get mounted on the center console underneath where the ash tray is, in front of the shifter.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Nice battery work! I skipped the fuses and body ground on my jeep install. I realized in the 100s that more connections=mo' problems.

You're relay switch idea is great! I might have to copy that. I started something similar but it ended up being a mess. Make me one?

The look on the switches looks better than OEM. Do you have a similar organizational system in mind for keeping the corresponding relays as best? That's where my system falls apart.

 

[paulbgardner]

For the power relay that all my accessories in the front part of the car connect to I used a Bussmann 15303-2-6-4 power distribution module. It has 5 micro relays and 10 fused circuits. This allows me to have 5 switches and up to 10 devices connected. I opted to just have 5 relays and 5 outputs. It made wiring a little easier.

lots of wire options

When I look back at the first posts of this thread and look at this I realize how far I have come. I have a 5 yr old in the shop helping me wire my truck. Pretty awesome!

This is one of the five 12V output connectors

This is the full set of 5 outputs

The Bussmann did not come with a ground bus. I thought I had ordered one that had but it turned out I didn't. I wasn't able to return the units I bought so I just ordered a blue sea bus bar that JUST HAPPENED to fit exactly on the holes that were on the Bussmann. It bolted right in as if it were meant to be there. Complete with a cover.

Finished fused relay power block

This is the complete power distribution system for all the accessories in the front part of the car. I am only using the LED light bar, CB, and Ham radio switches right now. I plan on adding a passenger navigation light for reading maps at night and also a power inverter later on in the project.

This whole system is definitely way overkill and I had so much fun making it. I was thankful to have the time to spend making each cable absolutely perfect.

 

[paulbgardner]

Nice battery work! I skipped the fuses and body ground on my jeep install. I realized in the 100s that more connections=mo' problems.

You're relay switch idea is great! I might have to copy that. I started something similar but it ended up being a mess. Make me one?

yeah, just come over. I have tons of extra parts. I could probably make 2-3 more. I even have a pair of Bussmann blocks

 

[paulbgardner]

Here are photos of the switch panel install. I removed the center console cover and cut out a notch in the top for the switches. The entire unit can pull out really easily for service.

I had to trim a bit under the center console cover as well for the switches to fit properly. It was actually pretty tight. The depth of the switches with all the wires was more than I had originally hoped for. I had some special 90degree connectors that I had intended to use on the back of the switches to cut down the depth but they didn't work out.

 

[paulbgardner]

The switches are dual color LED. The labels glow green when the device is off and the icon glows red when it is turned on. One mistake I made was that the 12v going to the LEDs on the switch is not connected to the ignition 12v. This means the switch lights are always on even when the car is off. Thankfully they draw more or less nothing so I didn't worry about it. It wasn't worth the effort to re-do the entire wiring harness to work with the ignition circuit. A side effect of this is that I can see the switches even when the car is turned off which is a plus.

Off

On

 

[paulbgardner]

Next step was installing the fuse relay block in the center console. I ran 4 gauge +/- from the aux battery, through the firewall, over to the center console area and then to the storage area under the arm rest.

I used a dremel to cut out some access holes at the bottom of the compartment for all the various lines to fit through.

The unit just sits at the bottom of the compartment. I don't even have it bolted down. It is quite secure just sitting there and doesn't move around. This makes it easier to pull out to fix something or change something.

The outputs were fed out to the shifter area, underneath the cup holders.

There is enough slack in the cables to be able to easily pull them out to connect and disconnect devices. In the image above you can see teh 5 outputs and the switch connector at the bottom.

Break time! Best use of the drawer system

 

[paulbgardner]

I tore out all the wiring for all the accessories and rebuilt the wiring harnesses for each device using the same methods as the distribution system. I don't have any photos of those connections right now. But they are all in loom with shrink tube and use the same weather pak connectors. It is super easy to pull one device out and plug in another as I change what I need up front.

 

[paulbgardner]

For the rear part of the truck I was going to do the exact same setup with the switch panel and relay block. I started a debate with myself over if I really needed something like that for the rear. It made sense up front where I wanted dual switches to keep the kids from inadvertently turning on my radios. In the back it didn't make much sense. In fact the dual switching worked to the opposite effect in the rear. The kids could accidentally turn off the fridge, which would be a disaster. So I decided to keep it simple and use a blue sea fuse block and run the load through the switches. The only things I have in the back right now are LED lighting in the tailgate and the fridge. Neither draws much power. I was also pretty tired from making the first setup and my new job had started so I didn't have the time. the Blue Sea unit also fit on the back the drawers much better than the Bussmann unit would have. To this date I have not cleaned up all the wiring in the rear and still have a good deal to do. Another pair of +/- 4ga wires runs from the center console Bussmann to the rear under the door trim pieces. Major pain to run this line. I should have used 8-10ga but I wanted the margin in case I decided to add the inverter to this circuit.

 

[paulbgardner]

I added some solid, waterproof LED lights to the lift gate to illuminate the work area at night. I put in red and white strips. The LEDs came from www.oznium.com. The LEDs are attached to the glass with super strong 3M outdoor tape. I don't know if they will ever come off. I went through the pain of running all the wires through all the trim and through all the stock cable routing. It took a lot of work but it was worth it for a clean install.

Wiring job

 

[paulbgardner]

On to a few other mods that were simple and very useful. The first is the tailgate cutting board swap from Shane at LabRak. I actually installed this well over a year ago. It is by far one of my favorite mods. My wife loves it. The carpet tailgate was absolutely disgusting from being trampled on by the kids, food spills, dirt, etc. The install was dead simple: remove carpet, lay down cutting board, tape in place, mark holes, drill new holes with a step bit and then insert the hardware and tighten. It literally took me 10 minutes or less.

My only wish for the cutting board is that it was black. The white shows the dirt. We keep a little spray bottle of simple green and a micro-fiber cloth in the drawers for cleaning the board. It cleans up really easily so it isn't too big of a deal. My wife uses it regularly during the week at parks with the kids for making sandwiches and prepping food. I highly suggest getting one of these. I can't imagine going back to carpet.

Another great 10 minute and under mod is the Wits End center console organizer. This thing revolutionized my center console, especially in light of having all the relay and power stuff in there now. It comes with a nice template to mark the holes. 4 holes and you are done. It screws right in.

 

[paulbgardner]

I almost forgot about the switches for the rear compartment accessories. I took a jig saw and hole saw to my drawer system to make room for 4 switches, a 12V cigarette outlet, and a dual USB port. This was a super late, night before leaving on a trip, mod. More rushed than I would have liked it to have been.

The only switch that is active right now is the cargo lights. Right now it is a dual pole switch for a single light, the white right now. I have a dual pole that will let me flip up for red and down for white or the other way around. I haven't finished the wiring for everything else yet.

 

[paulbgardner]

The switches have a nice glow at night. They are not too bright. There were some blue and white combos for the switch LEDs that were super bright and annoying.

 

[paulbgardner]

Then there were two. I sold my 2006 Rav4 Sport 4x4 and bought a 2000 with 145,000 miles on it for $8500. Mint condition, hardly a scratch anywhere. The guy had 5 other cars and never drove this one and just wanted to get it out of his driveway. I had it completely checked out and it has had every service done to it. We had been debating on buying an 80 or a 200 as a second 4x4 to be able to take friends and family out in the wilderness and share our love of the outdoors. This one just fell in our laps thanks to a friend with a good eye. We are going to keep this one lean and mean. It will get a OME lift, 285'2, and sliders pretty quickly and we will probably keep it at that. It just needs to haul friends through Death Valley. I took the first truck as far as I ever wanted to offroad and know now that a more simple build will still accomplish 99% of what I like to do offroad. It will tackle Death Valle, Mojave Road, Utah, Colorado, etc with no trouble.

 

[paulbgardner]

EXPOHIS and EXPOHERS

 

[NLXTACY]

Another great 10 minute and under mod is the Wits End center console organizer. This thing revolutionized my center console, especially in light of having all the relay and power stuff in there now. It comes with a nice template to mark the holes. 4 holes and you are done. It screws right in.

Damn that is sexy

 

[LBridges]

If I may, where did you source cutting board material that wide?

 

[85x]

Nice! Your rig was a big inspiration for getting my silver 100. Really enjoyed your build/adventures. Thanks!