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For us Noobs.....switches and relays...

Great link. I'm getting ready to wire some auxillary lights and that really helps take some of the mystery out of it. Thanks!
 
I still dont get how to exactly install the relays, properly. I was gonna do it like FitchVa http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=47, but then I was told this way http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=959415 would be better. I dont even quite understand which wire goes where. On the second it looks as if the switch is hooked up through the ground but on the first it shows the switch on the power so it kind of throws me off. Also on the first one what is the Cat5 wiring for...is that where the switches are connected to the relay box?
 
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jeepdeez said:
I still dont get how to exactly install the relays, properly. I was gonna do it like FitchVa http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=47, but then I was told this way http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=959415 would be better. I dont even quite understand which wire goes where. On the second it looks as if the switch is hooked up through the ground but on the first it shows the switch on the power so it kind of throws me off.
Click to expand...
that's because i tend to "switch the power" (like in my diagrams) as opposed to the other link where he "switches the ground". the end means is the same -- to complete the circuit. think of it like this: you need a complete circuit to run anything electrical - you need a power source and you need this power source to be grounded, thus completing the circuit. without either of these, your accessory won't function. i chose to turn the power on and off. the other guy chooses to turn the ground on and off.

i tend to run the power through the switch because i usually use switches with lights. so i'll already be running a power wire to them anyways. but in my opinion it's personal preference.

jeepdeez said:
Also on the first one what is the Cat5 wiring for...is that where the switches are connected to the relay box?
Click to expand...
yes. i chose to go with cat-5 because it makes the job of routing the wires between a large gang of switches and relays super easy and clean. relays require very little power to activate. but don't get it confused - this connection is to only turn the relay on and off (really close and open) and NOT the main power supply that will be sent to the accessory.
 
Thats actually my pic in this link. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=959415
I do it that way because I have melted a few switches but switching the positive side. And yes they were all quality switches. You can still use the lighted swithes with this setup. You just hook a positive wire up to the third prong on the switch(were the neg. would go if switching 12v).

The cat-5 cable works great aswell. Thats what I have controlling my relay box that I should be installing later. I am using mine(cat-5) as the conector cable between my switch box and the relay box. I even put the female cat-5 cable terminals on my box so that I can just plug in the cat-5 cable into each to connect them.
 
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Thanks for all the help, I finally understand it all and will be installing a couple switches in the morning. Do you think cutting the plug from my Sat. radio and then putting it on a switch and relay will be a good idea. Also I was wondering if there was anyway I could put a USB port somewhere in my truck. Would that be impossible?
 
Hey this helped me today. Bump to get it back up to the top. Seems the original author has a whole bunch of modules, and they can be downloaded in pdf format. Definitely something grunts like me need to hang on to!

Maybe someone can put this in the noob FAQ area........ It's one thing to ID your axle and t-case, but another thing entirely if you need to diagnose some jammed up junk.
 
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What would you want the USB port to do? If it makes sense I'll try to explain how to do it... but bear in mind it'll probably require some custom hardware.
 
Nothing in the post has helped me figure out how to do a usb port in my truck, but if you click the link the OP supplied.............
 
usb port would obviously be for powering usb devices, it'd be a cool feature for those of us no longer using the telegraph... =\
 
lol, I rode in a buddy's new Ford Focus where he had a usb port in the center console and could run his ipod from the stereo deck. Thought that was cool.
 
USB power is 5V DC, maximum of 1 (or 1.5) amp I believe - building the regulator circuit for that is almost trivial (ground pin 4 of the connector, wire a 1uF tantalum capacitor to ground from a 12V line, add a 0.1uF ceramic capacitor in parallel with it, run the 12V into the input pin of a 7805 regulator, ground the center pin, wire the output pin to a 0.1uF ceramic capacitor and pin 1 of the USB connector.) For some reason I thought the USB port data lines had to be functional and actually doing something... not sure why.
 
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