Blue sea fuse block, w/ or w/out negative buss?

[DaveM]

I need to put in an Aux fuse block in my 2003 Tacoma. I'm looking at the Blesea fuse blocks but am not sure if I need the one with negative bus or without. If I plan to ground my accessories locally then I should be ok with the fuse block that has no negative bus right?

http://bluesea.com/category/5/21/productspecs/5028

 

[mountainpete]

I selected with a negative bus in order to wire it directly back to the battery. It's cleaner power if you connect a radio to the block.

Pete

 

[DaveM]

What if all I'm planing to hook up are a couple Aux lights in the back (tent light and bed light) and maybe a 12v air pump down the line? Really all I need this for are the 2 lights in the rear, that will be easier to ground to the frame back there than run a line back up to the front.

I just need to be sure thats how this fuse block is intended to work, with local grounds, before buying it.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I am trying to find out the same thing.

I plan on running (2) of these fuse blocks

1 in the front for CB, 2M, GPS, Lights, 2 spares for later
1 in the rear for Fridge, 12v outlets, lights

WITH a negative bus seems like the cleanest install, but i am looking for the advice of the experts!

I am also looking into installing my aux battery in the rear of the rig as well because that is where the majority of the accesories i use will be located.

Thanks

 

[articulate]

With the ground bus attached - and provided you ground the fuse panel solidly - you'll never have to concern yourself with locating a good place to ground your newly installed electronic gizmo.

Of course you don't need the ground bus attached to the fuse block. It's just clean and easy. You're already running the positive wire to the block, arguably it's no more difficult to send the ground wire there either. There's always an exception to the rules. If you think you'll be better off without the attached bus, by all means go ahead. No fault in that.

 

[nickatnite]

Get the one with the Neg bus. It will make EVERYTHING easier on the install.

Oh yeah, when you install, go ahead and take the time to properly route all of your wires and protect them in wire loom. It looks nicer and also it's easier IF the need to troubleshoot anything down the road.

Example.

This is what my Blue Sea looked like when I first put it on my GS for my electronics..

Then my O.C.D. combined with my A.D.D. kicked in and it now looks like this:

That small red wire on top of the battery has since been removed.

You might ask what all am I running:

2 sets of PIAA lights - each one in it's own wire loom
Direct power supply for my Valentine 1 radar detector
Direct power supply for my Garmin 276c
Direct power for my tank bag - It has a dual outlet (BMW and 12V). If I need to charge my cell phone or iPod.

and I have one spare.

 

[Nitromethane43]

You don't really "need" the negative bus strip for automotive applications, they are for marine use as fiberglass boats can not be grounded to the chassis as the hull is not conductive.

Personally I get the ones with a negative bus as it is useful place to distribute ignition on power to relays, this way when you need to add another relay just put another ring terminal on the bus and you are done, instead of having all sorts of taps under the dash.

 

[Ireland]

I just put one of these on my truck last weekend and used the one with the negative post as well.
Here's another question related to the same fuse block (sorry to hijack) Would you guys recommend a master inline fuse between the battery and the fuse block?
In my case I didn't use one but wondered afterwards if i should have.

 

[articulate]

Would you guys recommend a master inline fuse between the battery and the fuse block?
In my case I didn't use one but wondered afterwards if i should have.

Depends
Not very necessary if the fuse block is close to the battery. But the more the supply cable between the fuse block and battery bends or passes through nooks-n-crannies, an inline fuse is a good idea.

Should that cable get nicked, you want a safeguard to keep the vehicle from burning down. For instance, I have a fuse block mounted inside the cab of the truck and powered through a battery that's in the cargo bed. So the power line is rather long and also passes through some holes in sheet metal (with rubber grommets and wire looms, of course). Inline fuse is in order.

 

[asteffes]

You'll be ok without the negative bus, but IMO you may as well get one with it so it will never be an issue. It really sucks to have to replace things later on when you run into a limitation that is easily avoided.

 

[Ireland]

Depends
Not very necessary if the fuse block is close to the battery. But the more the supply cable between the fuse block and battery bends or passes through nooks-n-crannies, an inline fuse is a good idea.

Should that cable get nicked, you want a safeguard to keep the vehicle from burning down. For instance, I have a fuse block mounted inside the cab of the truck and powered through a battery that's in the cargo bed. So the power line is rather long and also passes through some holes in sheet metal (with rubber grommets and wire looms, of course). Inline fuse is in order.

Thanks, Yeah my fuse block is right by the main battery with 12" long leads.
You posted a very good reason for the inline fuse though (long cables) so i will keep that in mind for any future projects...

 

[DaveM]

Pretty much all of the hook ups I'll be doing right away will be in the bed of the truck so I was trying to avoid running 2 lines for each back to the engine bay. But I agree its probably a better idea to include a neg bus just in case.

So, how bad is it to locate the aux fuse block in the rear cab behind the back seats? I'd put a inline fuse right at the batt and bring the batt to fuse block lines in from under the floor at the back seat. Then all new accessories can be routed to the fuse block in the cabin and not all the way to the engine bay.

 

[daverami]

Ok, this may sound dense, but...
The negative buss, is that a direct line from the battery negative, or is it where you just attach a negative lead from a circuit?

 

[DaveM]

Ok, this may sound dense, but...
The negative buss, is that a direct line from the battery negative, or is it where you just attach a negative lead from a circuit?

I think the way the neg bus on the Blue Sea units works is that it is grounded to the frame or negative batt terminal, allowing you to then connect the negative end of a circuit back to the fuse block instead of grounding to the frame somewhere.

The alternative fuse block without neg buss means you must ground your circuit on the frame or individually back to the neg batt terminal. No option to return the circuit back to the fuse block.

anybody know if I got the right?

 

[sinuhexavier]

Here is a nice write up on a very clean install.