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Done with Light switches (6 pics), new prob

N

noresttill

NAXJA Forum User
Location
South Florida
I wired my lights almost exactly to FitchVa's http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60117

and everything works fine
EXCEPT: my radio, dome light, and maybe some other things dont work unless the headlights are on. I realized this when this morning I was driving to school and my radio wasn't working (It was getting no power), so i got curious and checked my dome, no worky.

then i got scared and made sure my brake lights work, they did, and tested my headlights too, they did, but as I was getting close enough to a car to see the reflection of my headlights, my radio goes on!

I have no idea where to start troubleshooting this.

Any Ideas??

Here are pics of my setup:

Switch Box in center console

unsorted002.jpg


unsorted003.jpg


Relays and Fuses under rear seat. The red on right is power, the unplugged orange ones are for the stuff that HF hasn't sent yet, Purple ground

unsorted004.jpg


Stealth

unsorted005.jpg


Power from Battery

unsorted006.jpg


through Firewall through hood release hole

unsorted007.jpg
 
are the lights mounted and ready to go, do you have a photo of what everything looks like outside.

I like that type of switch you have, but I don't think I can sacrifice my center consol.
 
Thanks, no I everything else should be coming within the week.

I thought about other places to mount it, but I was just storing junk in the anyway, there is still room to the front and sides of the box, and its not bolted down, just form fit to not rattle around (the end of the e-brake handle helped with that)

Jesse
 
noresttill said:
through Firewall through hood release hole

unsorted007.jpg
Click to expand...

got any mechanical protection for that?

I never have been a fan of the floating inline fuses - though i have always been a fan of the DC circut breakers - like this:
bluesearocker_f.jpg


that way you dont have to carry extra fuses.
 
Ranger, Is this the pic you meant to respond to?

unsorted006.jpg


What other protection do I need?? im fused 80amp with my 6 gauge power, my 12 gauge lines to my lights are fused 20amp or less including the power line to the switch block.

And www.delcity.net has breakers
 
XJ_ranger said:
got any mechanical protection for that?

I never have been a fan of the floating inline fuses - though i have always been a fan of the DC circut breakers - like this:

that way you dont have to carry extra fuses.
Click to expand...

I don't mind carrying fuzes - I just like to keep things nailed down. I tend to use fuze blocks that I can bolt to something, just so it's not swinging in the wind...

All I'd have to do for that setup is add a couple MAXI fuzes to my spares kit, and I'd be golden. Just sort out some way to hold the fuze block down...

I'm working on getting rid of my fusible links in favour of MAXI fuzes (distribution) and an ANL fuze (supply) - since I'm even less a fan of fusible links than I am of floating fuzes...

Apart from that, it's not too bad. I'm a little pickier about the wiring, but it would be quite easy to do worse, and a little tough to do better. Nice job!

Two questions -
1) are those purple ground wires just grounding from the switches/relay coils, or are they light grounds? They look a little puny...

2) How'd you get the wiring into the centre console, and how'd you hide it so well? Am I missing something?

5-90
 
Lights?!?!? The ones on the switchs aren't enough??

The lights are in the mail, they are:

2 switches - 4 Off-road lights
1 switch - 2 rear spots
1 switch - 2 fog lights / or driving lights
1 or 2 switches - 4 rock / tire changing lights inspired by changing a tire in the dark
2 or 3 switches - ??? they fit and cat-5 has 8 24 gauge wires.

my ideas are - emergency beacons
la cucaracha horn
passenger ejector seat
LED mood lighting
Driver ejector seat
very small winch

Ill post my question in a new post.
 
5-90, thanks im glad you like it.

The grounds are 12 gauge and are for the switches and relays respectively.
i think that that is enough, definately for the switches, and if the the ground is bad the relay wont open.

For the hump, I cut a "T" in the carpet at the edge of the center console, took off the fold-down seat (so simple, its amazing modern trucks dont do this), unscrewed the side plastic at the floor, pulled forward the carpet. The carpet bunches, but was relatively simple
 
So, then, those two grounds are the return path for the switches and the relay coils, and each accessory will be grounded at its installation point? Good idea - keeping cables short.

Where is this box (the relays) in relation to the accessories you're mounting? Or are you mounting things all over the truck?

Just for fun, I'd like to see this project again when it's all said and done. Should be quite interesting.

5-90
 
XJ_ranger said:
got any mechanical protection for that?

I never have been a fan of the floating inline fuses - though i have always been a fan of the DC circut breakers - like this:
bluesearocker_f.jpg


that way you dont have to carry extra fuses.
Click to expand...

I think they're talking about the lack of gromet....it looks like you just squeezed it in there past the one for the throttle cable...?
 
5-90,
All of the relays are mounted in the black box, 8 all together.

4 bolted in on the floor of the box,on the short edge, the other 4 mounted upside down directly above them on that piece of metal that comes with the radio shack project box (it screws in between the box and the lid).

The fuse block is on the other side upside down as well on the metal, but the metal was cut into thirds and the middle third is miss to ease in disassembly it kind of "unfolds"

The aux powers from the relays are coming out of a hole in side of the box and labeled on the male term yellow (Ill use a butt connector to connect to the aux's)

Ill take pics tomorrow if you want (its a lot of wire)

JJ,
Its not the throttle cable its the hood release, and there is plenty of room. and I dont feel it will short through.

I highly recommend this, no drilling, and it dumps the wire out of the way, easily accessable, and right at the plastic molding to hide it.
 
A "quick and dirty" trick to not worry about rubbing on a cable going thru an existing grommet like that is to select a bit of vacuum or fuel line that fits nice and snug around the cable, slit it lengthwise, and slip it over the cable in question. Secure with a zip-tie at each and, and another on each side of the firewall (right up against the metal, if you can swing it) and you can forget about the thing.

As far as the pix go, hang on until you're ALL done - I'd like to see the whole thing!

I just hope you left yourself "service loops" on all the wiring. Tight wiring is a pain to work on, and enough to drive you nuts (that 8" loop you see in the wall when you change a switch or an outlet isn't sloppiness, and it ain't there because the electrician was lazy...)

5-90
 
with all of the crap I crammed in there, my service loops are small, but like I sides there are 3 parts that come apart with quite a bit of play.

For my first wiring project I kind of expect to have some problems but I really cant fit anymore wire in that box without crushing the integrity of the relays. something to do with physics or something.
 
All finished (except for the fogs) I post day-time pics tomorrow

Here are some pics at night:

Rock Lights

Rear:

unsorted014.jpg


Front:

unsorted013.jpg

get
Some of the pics stink, but you

Front and Back:

unsorted012.jpg


Reverse Spots:

unsorted011.jpg


Off-Road Lights:

unsorted008.jpg


Low Aim:

unsorted010.jpg


High Aim:

unsorted009.jpg


Some of the pics stink, but you get the idea
 
Looks good! :thumbup:

I'm going to be doing almost the exact same set-up for my MJ.
Did you wire the reverse lights into your regular back-up lights too?
What HF lights did you use underneath and where did you mount them?

I'd like to see daylight pics of the rocklights :sunshine:
 
If you haven't already, draw up an accurate schematic. Be sure to also specify wire size and color on your drawing. I prefer to make my drawings before touching anything. Depending on the project it may just be a matter of keeping or modifying the schematic that came with the accessories. This is the best way I know to avoid mistakes or troubleshoot when I do. More importantly, you will have them for future reference when you end up changing things around. A project will never turn out better than the planning that went into it.
I hate inline anything, so I use an auxiliary fuse block(s) for any additions. I also use lots of split loom to keep everything buttoned up very tight. The loom can make new additions a bit more of a struggle but I feel the end result is well worth it. Short cuts always have a way of biting me in the butt.
 
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