Looking for/to make Spod/switch pro alternative

[ChrisCosta416]

Hi all! I am completely inexperienced when it comes to wiring for vehicles. I am attracted to the spod style design of keeping everything organized. (And safe?) with that said, I’m looking how to wire lights and a winch to my vehicle and wanted to make or buy something similar to a spod and do it myself! Any help is appreciated

 

[NatersXJ6]

Not hard to do. The beauty of the SPOD is in the switch cluster that looks like it belongs, and the circuit board with the terminal strips and relay sockets. NAPA sells relays that have sockets with pigtail wiring included, so that can really cut down on your solder work, although you may have to drop out specific wires to get appropriate wire sizes.

Follow this simple 10-step process that can be adapted to almost any type of project. Note: I’m a gifted amateur, your project may have as many as 15 steps before achieving the same result...

Step 1 is make a plan:
You’re sure you can do better than them, so only build for what you need
What loads
Where switched
Constant or ignition power?
Low voltage connection

Step 2 make a drawing:
Rough wire diagram from terminal to terminal

Step 3 make a better drawing:
Include wire routing and measure mock ups to get the circuit lengths
Calculate wire sizes from loads and lengths

Step 4 buy all kinds of supplies from Amazon or similar

Step 5-8ish build, f-up, rebuild, f-up, rebuild again, f-up AGAIN!

Step 9 buy the damn SPOD

Step 10 tell everyone how you were going to do your own but you’re just too busy and this seemed like a no-brainer for the price point.

 

[KRP]

If you want to see what's involved in a proper DIY alternative, this is the best DIY that you can possibly find.

http://www.bodenzord.com/archives/473

Full credit to the author, because he clearly invested as much time in putting the instructions together as building the solution itself. Once you read through all 6 pages (and you will learn a lot from that), you'll understand that building something that meets the same quality control as an SPOD solution is going to be a lot of work. I have previous experience doing stereo installations and and wiring IT enterprise solutions, but adding the SPOD made so much more sense that building my own, even though I had the wiring experience and tools already.

For the record, the SPOD is one of my favorite additions to my truck. I would highly recommend it if you are inexperienced with wiring.

@NatersXJ6.... that's a pretty accurate step by step of all my projects as well.