Trailers and controllers and wirings and stuffs...

[Sundowner]

I think that's alarm wiring...but whatever it is, they pulled power for it from the radio harness via a soldered splice, then pulled from that splice to power some kind of antenna module. So, they ended up with a Y branching into another Y, all of which were covered with random bits of tape. All they needed to do was install one bus block somewhere and they could have powered everything cleanly...but instead we have this. I didn't really want to get into all of this cleanup, but it's necessary.

 

[jblueridge]

I have really tried to not cut factory wires in my BJ74.
I often make custom Y splitters that plug into factory connectors.
I have found almost all cruiser connectors at Eastern Beaver, mostly in the Unsealed Connectors section.
Eastern

 

[Sundowner]

No issues with a custom Y; I'm going to handle the right turn signal with one of those. It's the cheap butchery that irritates me.

Thank you for the link; I'll definitely need a few things when I do a final cleanup on all of this.

Also, it seems like the eTrailer harness from the linked thread on page 1 doesn't exist anymore...so I'll have to get something similar.

 

[Sundowner]

Also: that link to the connector site is awesome...so thanks for that. Now I just need to figure out exactly what I have, and go from there. I guess it's visual matching until I come up with something...

 

[Sundowner]

Pictured: Me too, Domo...me too.

 

[Sundowner]

Okay... finally finished with the demo and most of the repairs: I don't have OEM-matching wire to fix the soldered splices - and I may just cut them out and put in a better connection and heat-shrink them - but I have them all re-taped, and some of them have a layer of friction tape over the vinyl to keep things intact until I can de-pin the connectors and fix things properly.

I think I'm going to keep the 4AWG cable in place and try to connect it to the Victron converter; it's a bit large, but hopefully I can figure out a connector that'll work.

Question: is there an unused keyed power lead anywhere that's easily accessible, which I could use to signal the converter? I can pull one from the radio area if need be, but I didn't find anything that was open and hot when the switch was on. Did I miss one?

 

[jblueridge]

Does your truck have the little fuse box under the bonnet, attached to the air cleaner housing?

 

[Sundowner]

Does your truck have the little fuse box under the bonnet, attached to the air cleaner housing?

Sure does; I just pulled an alarm horn off of the side of it. If that's keyed power... *fingers crossed*...

Edit: well that was just downright simple...

I didn't look too carefully since it's pitch black outside and my headlamp wasn't doing much, but it doesn't seem like there's a direct exit corridor for wiring: just modify the housing as needed, I suppose?

 

[jblueridge]

Not sure. I took mine out to clean it up and never put it back.
I found a thread in 80's section saying 2 are keyed.
Get out the voltmeter I guess.

 

[Sundowner]

Two are keyed, yes; one is on Accessory, one is on Ignition/On, and the third is a constant live circuit. Pretty nice feature for accessories in front of the firewall.

 

[jblueridge]

I checked my truck.
I have the relay for the converter in the engine bay by the wiper motor but I did not label where the keyed power comes from.
And I can't remember either. All I can tell is it comes through the firewall from the people side.

 

[Sundowner]

I checked my truck.
I have the relay for the converter in the engine bay by the wiper motor but I did not label where the keyed power comes from.
And I can't remember either. All I can tell is it comes through the firewall from the people side.

Thanks for checking!

I looked at the wiring diagram; Victron didn't mention a relay in their schematic. All they have is a switch labeled "S1"...and that's where I just realized that things get a little screwy. As shipped, the controller switch connector just has a jumper connected between the two terminals, so it's in always-on mode. However, in their DC/DC converter schematic, they have the S1 switch placed in that loop circuit...with power shown to it. This is also the setup for charging mode, but there are two other diagrams that show other wiring possibilities; one in which there's a switched hot lead going to one pin on the controller terminal, and a second in which there is a switched ground going to the other pin. So, what this is telling me is that the controller itself has internal switching, and all that's needed on the outside is something that completes the loop circuit...at least, that's what it seems to be telling me.

Actually, this will be easier with pictures...

Pictured: Various options...

Oh, there's also a keyed option... forgot about that...

So, it's looking like I don't actually need a 24V keyed power source; all I need is either the jumper loop for DC/DC converting, or a switch to make/break that connection. Am I reading that correctly?

 

[Sundowner]

Well, this is good to know about...

 

[jblueridge]

I’d set it up as shown in 4.2 and 4.4A. Put a switch in the dash or re-purpose an existing switch.

 

[Sundowner]

I’d set it up as shown in 4.2 and 4.4A. Put a switch in the dash or re-purpose an existing switch.

That looks simplest to me...and simplest is usually best. Also, that will save my newfound keyed circuits for other things.

I pulled a few interior panels off and it looks like I can probably hide the converter inside the left rear quarter. I never use the storage compartment, so I just pulled that out and started looking at what I might be able to do with the converter; it doesn't weigh a ton, so I might reinforce the interior panel and hang it out of sight back there. It'll make the wire-routing brainless.

 

[Sundowner]

Pictured: Slow progress.

Edit: considering that I don't have any heavy shop tooling - yet - this is actually some pretty rapid process. Once I got rid of the heretofore-unused storage compartment, I had plenty of room to locate the converter and 12V block...it just meant building this bracket around a set of holes that aren't even remotely coplanar. You just don't realize how curvy a 70-series is until you start trying to tie pieces of it together...but anyway: I may build a smaller and more useful storage box to replace the missing one, once I get everything set up and have some room for a fiberglass project. But, that's a project for another time. Originally, I was just going to use the interior trim panel itself as the mount, but I didn't like the idea of adhering a heavy plate of aluminum to the fiberboard panel backer and then suspending a few pounds of voltage converter from it...so, here we are. Hopefully, it'll work.

 

[Sundowner]

More progress today. Did some more cleanup in the dash, finished getting rid of the last couple of zombie wires, and got rid of some vintage Chiba-sourced dust and grime behind the heater controls...and the pile of stuff that came out is... significant.

Pictured: 14.8 pounds of garbage.

Pictured: It literally fills half of a 32-gallon container.

In other news, the bracket is turning out pretty well. I don't have a great picture of it, but I did get a nice shot of me being irritatingly particular.

Pictured: Overhanging washers are how the madness begins.

I used a basic black rattle can because I'm a bad person who still doesn't have even the most rudimentary HVLP setup, but it's a decent paint and I've had good luck with it recently. The texture difference is a bit of undercoating that I'm using to help prevent one piece of metal from scratching another; there's also a spacer involved in the mount that should - key word - keep abrasion to a minimum, but this is a nice bit of inexpensive backup. Also, I'm having to play with the 12V fuse block's mounting; as built, it has to be fastened from the front and thread into something at its rear surface...and that would place a bunch of nuts directly against the back side of my interior trim panel, which is also how the madness begins. So, now I'm taking that piece all apart and futzing around with it and giving it a provision to be mounted with the machine screws coming from the rear.

Pictured: Because reasons.

It's actually not that involved; I just took it apart, got rid of the offending material, and popped a few nylocks into place. They're a light press fit, so I gave them a dash of CA in order to hold them in place while I tighten them. If that doesn't work, a touch of epoxy will do it.

Pictured: LocTite, you my only friend.

Anyway, that's where we are. Terminals and connectors and stuffs are showing up today, so I should have power to the converter by the end of the day, if everything goes well.

 

[Sundowner]

Rough mounting. Gonna start pretending I know how to wire things, now. The electrons go through the black wires, right?

Pictured: Made with certified 100% US-sourced Grade-A molecules.

 

[jblueridge]

You obviously have some great fabrication skills.

 

[Sundowner]

You obviously have some great fabrication skills.

Much appreciated, but I'm not that great; I just take my time and try to think my way through stuff before I start slicing things apart. I've seen some truly great fab and I do hope that I can be that good, someday. In the meantime, I've learned that the biggest impediment to quality is impatience...so I just don't go there. That's why it took so long to get to this point:

Pictured: But it was worth it.

It's not so terrible, I think. The cable ties are just temporary...as is the wiring length: I left extra for determining the final routing, and to see where the abrasion points might be. I'm a bit concerned about the screws underneath the 12V ground wire leading to the block, but I can probably solve that concern with an adhesive tie mount.

Meanwhile, the good news is that it actually fits in the correct location.

Pictured: Like dis.

So, first things first: I don't dig the color. It's actually a pretty good match for the factory Toyota Not-Quite-Satin-But-Also-Not-Quite-Matte-Either Black, but this would look a lot better with 1) matching paint, and 2) yellow zinc fasteners. I went with stainless button screws in order to minimize the points of contact with the interior trim panel, and although I don't...

...

...huh...all of those screws make a very cool pattern. I'm not entirely displeased with that, even though I didn't plan it that way at all. Happy accident, I suppose...but yeah, yellow zinc would be better. I may try to swap them out at some point... a point that will probably only be reached after I've rebuilt the rest of the entire car, solved the Unified Field Equation, finished a new and truly gripping translation of Anna Karenina, and organized my screwdrivers. I guess I just hate to move something that fits well, even if it's not-quite perfect.

Pictured: And it does fit well. Like, for seriously.

Okay, so this part I planned. There's just enough room for airflow and additional cable routing, and there's plenty of space to pop the cover off the Blue Sea block and change a fuse if one pops. I have six slots, so this will probably end up being my main 12V block; I don't have a lot of additional circuitry to add, but what I do plan to incorporate doesn't extend forward of the front seats (spoiler) so this is a decent location. I'll do a couple of things to make it a bit nicer, but for now, I think we're in good shape: the converter is tucked out of the way, it's secure, and even I can figure out the wiring and routing.

Pictured: Oh, hey... there's a conveniently-placed channel leading towards the taillight. Imagine that.

I'm going to start working on the 24V leads tomorrow; I don't think there will be too many issues, but one never knows. Hopefully there's enough space to squeeze a cable through a firewall grommet that seems to be doing nothing productive with its life; if so, this might just wrap up before the next ice age hits.