Baja Bus Boston Bound

[PCGuy]

Struttin'

Struts
The first nuts and bolts mod was literally headache prevention: replacing the original tired struts under the hood and rear window. The latter had whacked me several times on the way home, and the former required a piece of PVC pipe to hold it open while you worked. With all the dual battery work coming up, I figured the odds were about 100% that I would knock the pipe out from under and have the hood slam down on me. That's why this came first.

Mr. Lou's Stuff
2 Lift Supports 4551L-R/10722
2 Lift Supports 10829/10829

Mostly an uneventful install. Great struts, they take over lifting about a third of the way up, carry it the rest of the way before coming to a slow, easy stop at height. A world of difference. As for pics, they look just like the old ones.

Antenna Mounts
From YodaTEQ, these are brilliant. They attach to the rear window hatch brackets, bending around to form a flat platform with a mounting hole outside the rear fender above the taillight. You can see the original antenna mount in the lower right. Don't worry, I have plans for this.

Easy install, even for me. Good warm-up for the main event.

Driver's Window Switch
I may as well throw this one in. I read that a new driver's door switch panel might rectify the common issue of slooooowwwww windows. Mine were so slow on the way home from Idaho that to pay tolls I was opening the door to avoid lowering the window.

www.switchdoctor.com
1 Toyota Land Cruiser Master Power Window Switch 1991-1995 173

The fit wasn't perfect and the new switch didn't help the window move any faster. Grrr…

That's it for the preliminaries. Now to dig in.

 

[PCGuy]

Washer Bottle Relocation

As will become apparent, if there is a kit available made by someone more capable, I will usually go in that direction to save time and avoid rookie mistakes. I also research extensively online before purchasing to become aware of most of the inevitable pitfalls.

Slee
1 Washer Relocation Kit SOF1001
1 Second Battery Tray TOY-KIT017

With the Slee Washer Bottle Relocation kit, the online research was a necessity. The fearless modders on IH8MUD have pretty much confronted every possible installation dilemma. In this case, I knew going in that for some reason the instructions included with the kit, and the resulting fitment, worked on some vehicles but not on others. Mine was one of the others. I could see right away that there was no way everything would fit the way it was described. I reversed the order of bolts, nuts and washers attached to the bottle so that the bottle sat closer to the fender than indicated in the directions. All's well that ends well.

One note about the wiring: the instructions say to splice in new wiring up where the old connector was. However, these wires originate at the firewall. If I had it to do again, I would trace the old wires rearward, past the connector and all the way to the firewall before splicing in. Less wire hanging about. You can see in this photo where the splice is, and the spiral wrap heading back up the fender to the washer bottle.

P.S. Don't believe that part about “save the washer bottle bolts, you will need them on the battery tray install.” Not even slightly true, battery tray bolts are different sizes, at least on my vehicle.

Resonator Removal
So I've moved the washer bottle, ready for the battery tray, right? Not so fast, kimosabe. What's this big ugly thing hanging off the air cleaner, right where the battery tray is supposed to go?

IH8Mud's NLXTACY to the rescue: apparently, 1993 and 1994 FZJ80s have a secondary resonator on the air cleaner. Its only function is to eliminate a gurgly sound occasionally heard on startup. I decided I could risk the gurgly noise. It needs to be unbolted, the bracket cut away, and a hose used to connect it back to the engine intake.

NAPA Hose - Radiator Lower NBH 9260

The hose is too big for the air cleaner end, so I wrapped electrical tape around the male end to improve the fit. I was frustrated enough by this development that I forgot to take pictures until later, but here is the finished product. NLXTACY's thread describes a bracket he built to retain and relocate the resonator. WAY out of my league.

On to the battery tray itself.

 

[krazytoy]

Nice write up and pics! Good to see her holding together for you. Almost everything on your list of things to do were on my list of things to do, just never had time to get to them. Sounds to me like you got the idea of what it means to be a true Land Cruiser owner on your trip across the country, glad to see you enjoyed it and took full advantage of every moment.

 

[PCGuy]

Nice write up and pics! Good to see her holding together for you. Almost everything on your list of things to do were on my list of things to do, just never had time to get to them. Sounds to me like you got the idea of what it means to be a true Land Cruiser owner on your trip across the country, glad to see you enjoyed it and took full advantage of every moment.

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

I dusted off a Hennessey Hammock the other day and strung it up to the hammock bars to test it out. Hangs perfectly, and the rain fly is now rigged to attach to the roof rack on one side. Perfect warm-weather accommodations. Wish I had taken some pics... (sheepish grin)

 

[PCGuy]

2nd Battery Tray

Finally ready to fit the battery tray. I know it will require some carving to clear the radiator shroud (didn't the ‘92s have a radiator?), so I plug in the jigsaw and get to work. A modest cut to start with. Not enough. Cut more. And more. With a couple inches removed and a huge gap between the radiator shroud and the tray edge, I finally realize that something else is preventing the bolt holes from lining up.

In the end, I horse one bolt home, then another, then another, each with varying degrees of difficulty and NONE of them lining up the way they should. But finally I had the second battery try locked down tight. My apologies to the purists for the ugly foam covering that enormous gap. It is slit and secured to the battery tray with two-sided tape, if it makes you feel any better.

A word about the battery tray bolts. I did not find them in the original shipment of the battery tray even though they were on the manifest. I called Christo Slee who told me they were standard flanged 6x25mm bolts. I purchased a set at a hardware store and they were too long. I ordered a set from the local Toyota dealer and they turned out to be 20mm, not 25mm. The replacement bolts Christo sent were also the 25's.

Coupled with the washer bottle trials, this leads me to speculate that the '93 and '94s have a slightly different setup than later models. I read online of many cases where both kits drop right in. That was certainly not the case for me, and many others I have read about.

Stealing another idea from Mud, I slit some clear tubing to create makeshift grommets for the battery tray holes. I was even clever enough to slit it on the inside of its natural curvature so it would form well to the hole. Except that I should have put the slit on the outside of the curve. And I didn't have enough tubing handy for a redo. Grrr... Someday.

Finally having a home for it, I went to Sears and overpaid for a Group 35 Platinum with 4-year warranty. I had been watching for deals for months, but no luck, so I bit the bullet.

 

[PCGuy]

IBS Battery Management System

I researched the dual battery management options to a fare-thee-well, and sadly ended up buying the most expensive option out there, the IBS kit offered by Slee. I also went for the additional relay to assist in jumping a dead main battery, since that was the main reason I had embarked on this journey to begin with.

I chose the IBS over many other options because I decided it was the smartest. Like most of the intelligent dual battery systems out there, it links the two batteries when the engine is running so the alternator can charge both, but separates them when the engine is off to make sure the main battery is not run down by auxiliary demands. Even with the engine off, however, the IBS system will link the batteries if it detects a charging source, such as solar or a battery tender. Wire the charger to the AUX battery hot and ground, and the IBS will link the batteries so that the external source charges both. And if the charger is removed, or the sun goes out, guess what: the IBS unlinks the batteries again.

Slee
1 IBS Second Battery Management System BAT006
1 Relay BAT008

Now for the install: oh my, where to begin. I read a few very helpful posts on IH8MUD, one of which described “removing the cross member from above the radiator.” Well, damn, I wish he had described that part in more detail. What a pain! I kept removing screws and bolts and the sucker just would not pop free. At least not until I finally found the secret bolt behind the hood latch. Even after removing that one it wasn't easy, you have to coax the cross member out from under the tabs that hold the headlights. Easy, once you've done it a couple of times. Grrr…

Putting it back together was no picnic either. Get those top bolts in first (two on each end) and leave them loose, because they do NOT want to line up on their own once everything else is in place. Plus, the radiator connectors aren't fixed, so you have to skin your knuckles reaching in to hold them in place while you get the bolt started. And the bottom bolt on the hood latch is a real pisser.

Major tip: as you are tightening the hood latch bolts, press UP on the latch mechanism, raising it as high as possible. Otherwise the hood won't latch closed. Trust me on this.

All this said, it is absolutely worth it to remove the cross member. It is too crowded under there to try to feed two huge 4ga power cables through without opening it up. I was installing the Slee headlight harness and two auxiliary harnesses at the same time, so space was at a premium. Note in the upper right corner the large wiring loom underneath where the cross-member goes. This is before adding the IBS wiring and three Slee lighting harnesses.

I chose to mount the two IBS relays just aft of the passenger side battery tray on the fender well. Here is where I finally used one of the original washer bottle bolts.

As for the control wiring, tracing the HID switch wiring left by the previous owner led me to a fine, otherwise empty grommet through the driver's side of the firewall. I was able to stuff the Deutch connector for the IBS controller through the opening with enough slack to reach its final destination on the center console. I routed all four wires up the driver's side to the main battery, connected two to the main battery hot and ground, and routed the other two across the radiator with the original IBS 4ga power cables to the IBS relay and the second battery positive terminal. That's all there is to it!

Fusing note: I spent a lot of time reading up on 12v wiring at www.bcae1.com, which I highly recommend. The fusing page was incredibly helpful, dispelling many misconceptions I had about fuse placement and sizing. This led me to add inline fuses to each of the IBS leads connecting the positive battery terminals to the IBS control module. These are long runs of light wire that would burn in a second if shorted. I believe I used 3 AMP fuses, as they are essentially signal wires.

 

[PCGuy]

Slee headlight and auxiliary light harnesses

As I was doing a lot of wiring at the front of the vehicle for the dual battery system, I felt it was the best time to install new wiring harnesses for the headlights, the existing HIDs and the new fog lights. I started thinking about the headlight harness on the way home from Idaho, noticing the weak low beams in the rain and bumper-to-bumper traffic of Chicago. The headlight harness would allow me to upgrade the bulbs with no fear of a meltdown. And the auxiliary harness would allow the HIDs to switch on and off with the OEM high-beam switch, rather than having to remember to switch them off separately before melting the eyeballs of oncoming traffic. The fog light harness would connect into the OEM low-beam switch. (Truth be told, I would rather the fogs followed the parking lights, so they could be turned on with no headlights at all. Food for thought. I would have to decipher the Slee harness wiring to make this happen.)

Slee
1 9005/9006 Head Light Upgrade Harness LIG1001
2 Auxiliary Light Harness LIG1002

Amazon
1 Hella FF75

Ebay - ProwireUSA
1 Delphi Weather Pack 2 Pin Sealed Connector Kit 12-10 GA 221 365917843

I began by replacing the plastic "T" connectors that come on the Slee auxiliary harnesses with Weather Pack connectors. I felt this was necessary due to their exposed position in front of the radiator. I used individual 2-position connectors so that each light could be removed without disrupting the remainder of the wiring. I recommend the site DIYAutoTune.com for its excellent explanation of the Weather Pack connectors, including an installation video. They carry small kits in different configurations so that you don't have to break the bank with a huge all-purpose kit. This kit I found on EBay before I stumbled onto DIYAutoTune.

I did not spring for the $108 custom crimping tool, although I really wanted to. I felt my existing Molex open-barrel crimper would suffice in this non-mission-critical application, and it seems to have done so. If you will be doing a lot of these definitely spring for the crimper, it will go a lot faster.

Much has been written about the limitations of Slee installation instructions, and the harnesses are no exception. Photos would be a big help.
In the end I had four relays and a nest of wiring in the main battery tray. I eventually cleaned that up in a wholly makeshift fashion by attaching the relays to a small sheet of aluminum, attaching the aluminum to the fender wall using existing bolts, and then literally folding the aluminum down around the relays. Not elegant, but it functions as a cover and organizer.

Note on Slee headlight harness: the purpose of this harness is to use the existing headlight wiring to activate a relay, which then powers the headlights directly from the battery. Unlike the Slee auxiliary harness, the power wires for the headlight harness do not come with inline fuses. This means that the entire run to both headlights, low and high beams, is not fused. The OEM fusing protects the original wiring, which is now used only to trigger the relays. As delivered by Slee, the actual power circuits are not fused. I added inline fuses between each power wire and the battery.

*****
Edit: 1/10/2016
I may owe an apology to Mr. Slee. The current diagram on his web site identifies two fusible links attaching the power wires to the battery. I don't know whether this was the case with the kit I purchased, but if it was, mea culpa.
*****

Fog Lights
Placement of the fog lights was challenging. There were many choices, none of them quite perfect. In the end I opted for simple mounting to the top of the bumper, where they would be protected from below. Outside the tubing the bumper angles rearward, so I positioned the lights parallel to the bumper edge so that they angle outward toward the roadside.

We will see how this performs in real life, the idea being that the wide beam of fog lights will adequately cover the front, and the outboard angle will give me more visibility to the side when desired.

One thing I noticed after my first winter with the truck was that rust developed wherever the powder coat had been penetrated for installation of screws and bolts, even if the hardware was stainless steel. To mitigate this I swabbed each new hole with dielectric grease, and used rubber grommets between the bumper surface and the accessory brackets to seal the opening. You can barely see the rubber grommet below the fog light bracket.

Next, the auxiliary harnesses need to have switches in the cabin.

 

[PCGuy]

Dash switches for fogs and HIDs

Each Slee Auxiliary Light harness has leads for a switch that must be passed through the firewall into the passenger compartment. I used the same firewall grommet as above. I disconnected and removed the existing toggle switch for the HIDs, because I had decided to attempt to use OEM Rear Defroster switches in the empty cutouts to the left of the steering wheel. Slee does offer proper OEM fog and driving light switches. At $75 each I demurred.

CRUISERPARTS.NET LLC
2 Land Cruiser Rear Defroster Switch

Ground zero:

The OEM curved Rear Defroster switch:

Note the two tabs inside the rear housing. Use these to index the pin numbers in the diagrams.

Extensive research on IH8Mud finally solved the riddle of the pinout on these switches.

Thread link: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/can-a-oem-80-series-rear-window-defroster-switch-be-used-to-for-aux-lights.289132/

From trk204:

To adapt these switches to auxiliary lighting I had to make my own pigtail. The leads on the switch are small male blades, and by happy coincidence I had a connector on hand with female leads that matched perfectly. I carefully removed the female leads from the housing and slid one onto each male lead. Did this ten times in a row - very satisfying. Had a smoke.

Cannabalized connector:

I used 5-pin molex connectors in the pigtail so the switches could be removed without mucking with the underlying connections. I also used a different male/female orientation for each switch so that the connectors could not be mixed up. Call me anal...

Yes, that is heat-shrink tubing on the female connectors. See anal, above.

Getting there...

The end result:

In terms of labeling, I decided not to risk destroying the switches in an attempt to alter the defroster markings. Other switches are more easily modified, but I saw no easy way to alter the ‘94 curved switches. I labeled one FOG and called it a day.

And this is my final rendering of the installed setup (thanks to SmartDraw):

One problem I encountered was with the switch backlighting (the "ILLUM" circuit in the diagram). All the forums say “tap into an existing switch illumination circuit”, particularly the dimmer knob adjacent to the target location. Try as I might, I could not get enough leeway in the wiring harness to access the back of the dimmer, even after removing the lower dashboard plastic and loosening the upper shroud. It wasn't worth dropping the dash just to get to this wire. If I can determine a better location to tap into I surely will, but for now I used a fuse box lead. No dimming for these switches.

The other puzzle is how the switch's “ON” light works with the Slee harness. Here is how the indicator lights present with both dash switches in the ON position. (Yes, I checked the bulbs, see below).

Dash Switches	Headlights	Aux Lights	Switch Indicator Light
HID Dash Switch ON	Low Beam	HIDs OFF	ON
	High Beam	HIDs ON	OFF
FOG Dash Switch ON	Low Beam	Fogs ON	OFF
	High Beam	Fogs ON	OFF

The switches operate the actual HID and fog lights as desired, however the indicator lights on the switches do not represent the actual state of the fog and HID lights. I am sure this has to do with the fact that the headlights are ground switched. Oddly, the HID switch turns on with the low beams and back off again in high beam, when the HIDs are actually on. There is also the possibility that the switch wires from the Slee harness are not passing enough voltage through the relay to power the indicator. I'll think about this, but any feedback would be appreciated.

Edit: I just remembered that before installation I tested these suckers on a 12v power supply and the indicator lights worked as expected. A clue? Also, I tried reversing the connection to the Slee harness, with the same result.

Another note: one of the switches came with a dead bulb. I got no reply from Cruiser Specialists, and ended up ordering replacement bulbs (one spare). They list for NINE DOLLARS each for a tiny little bulb. CruiserDan sells them for $6-ish plus shipping.

Toyota CruiserDan (408) 350-1484
2 Auto Trans Indicator Light 84999-10320

1/5/2016: These indicator lights have been bugging me way out of proportion to their importance. Over Christmas break I dug into it a little on Mud, and solved at least a portion of the riddle. I will cover this in a later post.

 

[Gone2Baja]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread and though I don't have a Land cruiser{yet} I do like working on my Tacoma. This latest installment about wiring is particularly enjoyable and I'm happy to see how you take you time to this properly and with some forethought, I say happy because I try to do the same and try to pass on my knowledge and experience to the 'kids' working on their cars and trucks in the neighborhood by trying to teach them to take the time to do it right the first time. Unfortunately they don't always listen..

 

[PCGuy]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread and though I don't have a Land cruiser{yet} I do like working on my Tacoma. This latest installment about wiring is particularly enjoyable and I'm happy to see how you take you time to this properly and with some forethought, I say happy because I try to do the same and try to pass on my knowledge and experience to the 'kids' working on their cars and trucks in the neighborhood by trying to teach them to take the time to do it right the first time. Unfortunately they don't always listen..

Thanks for the kind words. If you liked this, you're going to really enjoy the section(s) on the rear wiring

 

[PCGuy]

Rear End Fun

With everything basically sorted out up front, I turned my attention to the rear.

The first time I tried backing up at night I realized I desperately needed enhanced backup lights. While I was at it, I ordered a work light for the drop-down table. As I had been daring the Massachusetts State Police to stop me for having no rear license plate light, I also ordered two of these cute led lights that actually replace the bolts that hold on the license plate. Sure, I could have just wired up the existing, rusty plate light, but what fun would that be?

Amazon
1 KAWELL® 18w 1260 LM Cree Flood Led Work Light

Amazon Light Bar Direct
2 Exlight 18w LED Spot Work Light

Super Bright LEDs, Inc.
2 Miniature LED License Plate Bolt - Warm White with Black Housing MAL-B-WW2

As with the front lights, I used 2-position Weather Pack connectors at the end of each light’s pigtail to attach 2-conductor power/ground wire (18ga) so that each light would be removable if it failed. Fear of overkill prevented me from using a bulky Weather Pack connector for the two tiny license plate lights and their spider-silk 22ga leads. For these I simply used silicone-embedded crimp connectors. I'm trying not to let it bother me.

DIYAutoTune.com
1 Weather Pack 2 position, 16-14 gauge (3) pack

I installed the two reverse lights underneath the swingout. I debated putting the backup lights on the bumper so they could be used to illuminate the area to the rear of the truck when parked, but I wasn’t happy with the possible locations.

My pooch wouldn't get out of the way so I went with it. She's a total camera hog. Here are the reverse lights on each side of the swingout.

Remember that original antenna mount? It was showing some rust so I removed it, cleaned it up and hit it with black Rustoleum. It became the home for the new work light, perched perfectly above the fold-down table on the inside of the swingout.

I encased all the wiring in ¼” braided sheathing (100’ for $20, if you shop around). This was a pain for sure but well worth it for external wiring. I finally realized that I could close off the ends of the sheathing with two-layer heat shrink tubing (the kind with an inner layer of glue that melts and seals the connection). I had been using zip ties, but this looked much better and was a smooth termination. The 1/4" size actually handles up to 3/8" diameters. I used it for 4Ga wires with no problem. I would suggest springing for the kind that doesn't unravel when you cut it. I wish I had.

Ebay - Install Depot (J&A Wholesale Supply)
1 ¼” EXPANDABLE BRAIDED NYLON SLEEVING BLACK 100 FT ROLL - ¼ INCH CAR WIRING

With everything attached and wired, I didn’t like the idea of suspending the resulting mass of wire under the swingout with zip-ties, and was reluctant to potentially weaken the swingout by drilling into it to fish wires inside. I remembered computer installations with various wire management solutions, and found the perfect answer, a plastic wire raceway. This conceals and protects the wiring while allowing easy access for future repairs or additions. Finding it in black was a bit of a challenge, but I persevered:

CableOrganizer.com
1 1.5 X .75 INCH ONE PIECE 1125 SERIES SURFACE RACEWAY (5ft) SRLC1125SR-5FT-BK
2 END CAP 1125 SERIES FMEC1125-BK

This raceway has adhesive tape on the back for securing to a flat surface, and can be opened along its full length so you aren't snaking wires through it. I notched it in several spots to allow entry points from below, also serving as an avenue for water to escape. It is neat, protective and almost invisible. The end caps are a luxury, but I like the finished look they provide.

Well, no more putting it off. Under the bus I go to connect all this up...

 

[PCGuy]

Down Under

The first time I slid underneath the rear bumper I knew I had some work ahead of me. The four leads from each LED taillight had been hastily spliced into the OEM trailer wiring, resulting in a mass of loose dangling wire. Further, I had to wire in the new LED license plate lights, and locate a lead for the new backup lights.

To tidy things up I decided to order the Trailer Wiring Junction Box from etrailers.com (I have since seen it for sale elsewhere, but never at a better price).

ETrailer.com
1 Trailer Wiring Junction Box 38656

Every now and then you find a simple, effective and inexpensive solution to a problem. For $18.24 shipped, this junction box solved my problem with grace and elegance. For example, each entry point to the box comes sealed with a removable grommet. You can cut the grommet to feed wires through, or the box comes with an equal number of open grommets to substitute for the closed ones. I also appreciated that every nut and bolt was the same size – no fishing about for the correct socket. A total of six openings gave numerous placement options, and there are studs for each lighting function: Ground, Reverse, Left Turn, Stop, Right Turn and Parking, plus an extra for… whatever.

Though each post is labeled, it is difficult to read the labels from anywhere but directly above and with good lighting. As I expected neither to be the case under the bumper, I stuck big easy-to-read black-on-white labels inside the box before beginning.

I positioned the box just inside the frame toward the passenger side as it was closer to where the standard 4-wire OEM harness emerges from the sidewall.

I closed my eyes and cut the OEM trailer harness. Splitting the wires apart was difficult due to their age, so take care. A couple of times the insulation peeled away from the bare wire. The OEM 4-wire from the grommet got ¼” braided sleeving before using insulated crimp-on post connectors to attach each wire to the appropriate post in the junction box. I wired the connector end as well. For the LED bumper lights I started by lengthening the driver’s side and enclosing the 3-foot run in braided sleeving. Ditto with the 1-foot run from the light on the passenger side. These went to their appropriate posts in the junction box. Finally, the license plate lights went to the ground and parking posts.

I confess that before screwing it to the body, I had test-fitted the junction box without its cover, and eventually learned the hard way that a piece of the frame was in the way. Thank god for wire snips.

All closed up:

Now for the fun part. I had been looking for the easiest way to access the Reverse circuit to wire in the new reverse lights. Because of the drawer setup I was unable to fully remove the rear side panel molding to access the taillight harness, and was looking for an alternative to removing the drawers. I noticed a large empty connector emerging at the center point of the harness that crosses left to right behind the bumper. I hoped it was a trailer connector with the reverse circuit I needed.

I contacted Cruiser Dan to ask about a pigtail for this connector, and he informed me that the connector was not used in US models. However, he remembered another unused connector that did have the reverse signal. This one was all wrapped in tape right above where I had placed the junction box.

A male ¼” spade connector fit perfectly. It turned out that the second position was braking, which I also connected to the junction box for possible future needs. I ran a wire from the reverse post up to the future switch panel location, tested all the functions, and took some pics. Much better.

 

[PCGuy]

Switch panel with USB charger and voltmeter

All of these goodies needed some switches, and I thought I knew just the place for them. At the rear of the passenger side there is a storage compartment with a hatch cover. I like doing as little surgery as possible to stock body parts, but the hatch cover presented a nice opportunity to drill freely into an easily replaceable part. It also meant I could do the work indoors and drop it in when it was ready.

I needed a switch for the work light obviously. I also wanted to be able to activate the reverse lights independently for additional site light. I ordered a USB charging module for gadgets and matching voltmeter so I could keep an eye on the auxiliary battery voltage.

Cruiserheadstore.com
12v Dual USB Socket with Voltmeter - Flush Mount 201 074515613

It had become clear by this point that the Baja Bus was an important part of the struggling economy, so I splurged and ordered a three-position switch panel from WiringProducts.com.

Wiring Products.com
3-Position Rocker Switch Panel SP3-001
Switch 1: Surf N Turf Rocker Switch - DPDT ON-ON Red SNT-DPDT-ONON-RED
Switch 2: SPST ON-OFF
Switch 3: SPST ON-OFF

I drilled holes for the voltage meter and USB charger, electing to forgo the black panel they came with. Finally, I cut a single hole for the three switches, since I had the labeled switch panel to cover the gaps. These were placed at the top of the hatch cover on either side of the latch to provide access above the sleeping platform. I didn’t like that the switch panel would extend above the hatch, but decided that was better than tossing it and cutting individual switch holes.

For cosmetic reasons I didn’t want to penetrate the hatch cover more than necessary, so I used some aluminum sheet I had lying around to make a mounting surface for the electronics. Two small bolts secured this to the back of the hatch cover.

Since I am a ridiculous purist, I decided to use relays instead of wiring directly to the switches, more to gain the experience than from practical necessity. Let me be clear and save the peanut gallery some keystrokes, you DO NOT NEED relays for 18W LED lights, which draw 1.5 Amps each. It is almost criminal overindulgence to do so. I comfort myself with the thought that a) I have no idea what I am doing, and don’t pretend to, and b) at least the relays are there if I ever add something that deserves the added precaution, like a nuclear reactor.

Parts Express International Inc
2 12 VDC 5-PIN RELAY SPDT 30/40A BOSCH TYPE 330-073
1 12 VDC BOSCH TYPE DUAL RELAY SOCKET 330-078

I scrounged up from old parts a six-position fused distribution buss and a ground buss.

As I was putting this together I wondered what I would do with the third switch position, when suddenly inspiration struck. I realized that the voltmeter would always be on, causing a minuscule but unnecessary drain on the auxiliary battery. Also, an accidental bump could activate the lights without me being aware of it, like when I was passed out in the rear after a night around the campfire. Until it had a better use, why not make the third switch a master for the entire panel? This would kill the voltmeter when not in use, and then I would need to accidentally hit two switches to mistakenly activate lights, instead of just one. I feel so much better.

I added a third relay cannibalized from the Hella fog light kit, and set about making connections.

PAY ATTENTION HERE ==> I stumbled on a source for hard-to-find open-barreled connectors, purchasable in small quantities at reasonable cost, that made this work much easier. I read a very convincing article about the benefits of the open barrel design, and was already a Molex and WeatherPack aficionado. Whatever else anybody tells you, a ratcheting crimper is a virtual necessity. I use one with removable jaws. These are called, among other things, "B"-crimp, because the tabs on the pin are made to curve around and close back in from each side on the wire and insulation simultaneously. Get the jaws with three openings that include 12-10 AWG. 'Cuz more is better, right kids? (Actually, the 12-10 position is what allowed me to crimp two wires into one terminal for jumping and extending the same wire across terminals.)

One of the connectors I ordered was the uninsulated ¼” female spade connector that fits the male spade connectors on the backs of the switches. I used shrink tubing (of course...) to insulate most of the connection and provide strength. I also ordered a batch with the little locking tab, allowing me to rewire relay pigtail housings. Finally, I got the .110 version that fit ATO/ATC fuse blades. You never know when they will come in handy. All this was about $15 delivered.

DigiKey Online
25 CONN RECEPT 14-18 AWG FASTON TIN 42238-2
25 CONN RECEPT FAST 14-18 AWG .250 41202
25 CONN RECEPT FAST 18-22AWG .110 42068

The difference between FAST and FASTON is the little locking tab. I forget which is which .

Using these connectors meant I could wire directly from the relay pigtails to the switches with no splices. A bonus came when I realized that they were also used in the “T” connectors in the Slee harnesses. When I added fuses to the headlight harness, I removed the two existing wires going from the T connector to the battery. I crimped one of these connectors onto one end of each fuse holder and inserted it into the T connector. Ring terminals went on the other end of each fuse holder and attached to the battery. Nice and neat, and two more splices avoided in a sensitive area, the main battery tray.

The most challenging by far was the reverse light switch, principally because I could not find the switch I really needed, an illuminated SPDT ON-ON. If it existed, this switch would accept two input leads, one from the vehicle’s reverse circuit to trigger the reverse lights when backing up, which would be the default always ON (switch in OFF position). The other side would be a 12v lead to manually activate the lights and illuminate the switch (switch in ON position). This way the manually switched circuit would never interfere with the vehicle reverse circuit. Not my idea, of course, but nice!

The best I could do was a DPDT ON-ON, which was fine except that the illumination connection was funky. I ended up having to jumper some switch leads to activate the illumination when the manual side was on. This in turn meant that power could flow back down the lead to the vehicle reverse circuit, which I guessed might be a bad thing. I ordered Schottky diodes to nip this in the bud. They allow current to flow in only one direction (toward the silver stripe).

According to my research these are the best diodes for this purpose. Pay attention to amperage, because they have to be stout enough to repel the amps coming at them down the wire. You can wire diodes in series for higher amperage situations. I highly recommend OddWires.com, and you gotta love the name. They do low volumes at good prices with very quick, reasonably-priced shipping.

OddWires.com
1 1N5822 STMicroelectronics Schottky Power Diode 40V 3A (20 pack) CDS-0005822

After frying the first one with the soldering gun, I actually crimped one end of the diode into a molex pin and inserted it directly into the Molex connector. The other end of the diode I crimped into a butt connector. No solder required, sealed with shrinkwrap, and, god forgive a well-meaning nerd, neatly labeled. I left a little tag end beyond the crimp so I could fold the diode lead back on itself after it was crimped. No way was it pulling out.

Since I had plenty of diodes, I added one to each relay connector to prevent whatever they call it when the relay coil de-powers and shoots high voltage back through the feed wires. Search 'relay diode' and you will see plenty about this. Of course, I then read an article explaining that this very common approach has its own drawbacks and needs a further mitigation method (search Google for "Coil Suppression Can Reduce Relay Life"). I figured I would risk the consequences.

With the exception of the main power and ground, I bundled every wire that needed to connect to the vehicle into a 5-position Molex connector: power and ground for the reverse lights and the work light, plus the reverse signal lead. This made installing and removing the hatch cover an easy one-plug operation. I drilled a hole into the fore and aft walls inside the storage compartment, adding a rubber grommet to each. I fished the wires from the new lights through the same grommet that houses the trailer harness, and up through the new access hole into the compartment, where I connected them to the other side of the Molex connector. As I had not yet run power wire to the rear, I tested everything with a 12v external power supply. Ta-daaa!!

Once I knew everything worked I grouped the wires roughly by destination and encased them in ¼” braided sleeving. I locked things down with zip ties and called it a day.

By the way, the crappy-looking scratches on the hatch and body molding came with the vehicle. The hinged cover over the wheel well is just tight enough to contact the plastic. (Note to self: use a router to radius the edges.) I cut out an opening to make sure the cover had room to get past the switches.

Next up: running power from the battery to the interior and rear.

 

[concretejungle]

Nice work and very clean!! Thank you for the pics and the write-up.

 

[PCGuy]

Power to the People

I am usually a “Tim the Tool Man” type – arghhh, arghhh, bigger is better. You have a 200 Amp circuit breaker? Oh yeah, well mine is 500 Amps! Beat that!! Fortunately, during this project I read a lot about fusing, and learned that unless you like sudden, unexpected, vehicle-consuming fires, the opposite is true with fuses.

Accordingly, on both batteries I added a 125Amp Mega fuse in a covered fuse holder. On the main battery I left the OEM connections on the positive terminal. I dismantled one stud of the fuse holder, and was able to drop it directly onto a vertical stud from the battery terminal, fixing the fuse holder to the terminal. Everything else comes from the other end of the fuse: winch, light harnesses, dual battery cable.

DelCity
3 125 Amp MEGA® Fuse (ONE SPARE) 87125
2 MEGA® Fuse Holder w/Cover 87900

I have cleaned this up a lot since the photo was taken. The small wires belong to four Slee light harness relays and the IBS controller. I plan to replace these with a fuse buss, but for now at least the wiring is safe to run.

On the passenger side I ran a 6” lead of 4ga from the battery to the fuse, and fastened the fuse holder to the fender with another reclaimed washer-bottle bolt. Every other hot lead will come after the 125Amp fuse.

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that I enclosed the perimeter of the fuse holder with black Gorilla tape to reduce water and dust incursion.

Then it was time to bring power from the auxiliary battery to the rear switch panel. I also planned to add a Blue Sea fuse box somewhere near the center console.

Originally I thought I would bring 4ga power and ground through the firewall, and split into 8ga for the rear and 8Ga for the center console. I just wasn’t sure of the best way to get through the firewall. On the passenger side of the firewall behind the relocated washer bottle is a grommet with a wire bundle passing through it. I noticed two unused rubber nipples on this grommet. As neither of them would fit any larger than 8ga wire, I changed plans. I ran a 2-foot length of 4ga power from the battery to the vicinity of the cruise control module, where I added a KnuConcepts fused distribution block and two 50Amp Maxi Fuses.

From there one 8ga went through each nipple in the grommet – barely – and on into the passenger foot well.

I ran about 13 feet of 8ga back to the rear switch panel through the rocker panel channels. I ran a second section of about 5 feet of 8ga behind the foot well carpet to the center console. Both are encased in ¼” braided sleeving.

While I had planned to run ground wire alongside the hot, I abandoned that plan in favor of using body grounds. To make sure these were adequate to any foreseeable task, I ordered a custom FZJ80 battery cable upgrade kit that replaces all of the ground cables and the starter cable.

"Fourrunner" on IH8Mud:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fzj80-heavy-duty-battery-cable-sets.479096/

Having connected up the rear switch panel, the next question was where to place the Blue Sea fuse box: on, in or near the Tuffy center console. While cosmetics argued for a hidden location, ease of access won out. I didn’t want to have to remove trim panels or the console just to check whether I had blown a fuse. I ended up attaching the fuse box next to the CB radio on the passenger side of the front console.

Any wiring can be tucked under the trim, but the fuses are easy to access and new feeds can be added easily.

Notice the iPad holder? I had this from 'before' and decided to see how it worked. On the way back from Idaho I made excellent use of a bluetooth GPS receiver linked to a mapping app on the iPad. This should make seeing the map less of a juggling act.

The first items I wired to the fuse panel were the CB and a 12v charging station with USB and cig lighter ports. The latter creates quite the birds nest if left floating around, so I secured it with two-sided tape next to the IBS controller at the forward-most point of the center console. Next in will be a holder/charger for a Streamlight rechargeable flashlight.