wiring diagram needed

[chuckn]

Does anyone have a good wiring diagram that they have put together for a 99 Discovery 1? I'm looking for ideas on how to wire the following:

1) Ham radio (icom ic 208h)
2) Refrigerator
3) Winch
4) Aux Power Outlets
5) Aux Lighting

I have read Scott Brady's article in OJ (fall 2008) on what he is doing with his Land Rover. I like the idea of staying with one battery. I currently have a Die Hard Marine installed in my truck. Any ideas (and pictures) would be great.

TX

 

[stevenmd]

I ran a separate line for my fridge with the fuse as close to the battery as possible.

 

[chuckn]

Did you install an aux fuse box??

 

[Abel Villesca]

I've got an aux fuse block installed that feeds the aux lights and other accessories. In the Defender it is in the seat box with the battery. I'm not sure who makes it, but I'll try to shoot a pic for you soon.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Painless wiring makes some very good aux wiring systems that are easy to install and very well designed. Might give them a look.

 

[stevenmd]

Did you install an aux fuse box??

I did not as I only have the fridge installed. I will do an auxiliary box when I add a winch and a few other goodies.:bike_rider:

 

[WoldD90]

Chuck,

Any reason that you would not want to install a second battery? It would be a pretty simple and cheap endeavor, less than $200. You could always wire them together, negating the need for a battery system.

If you are going to run a fridge, a winch, lighting and additional accessories, you will use a good bit of juice. And if you are going slow on a trail, your alternator is not going to be providing a lot of charge to you battery.

 

[Alaska Mike]

The winch would not be routed through any auxiliary system. It would be wired directly to the battery.

For refrigerators and other steady drains, I would want an isolated, multi-battery system to avoid killing your starting capability. For any effective aux lighting system (and winching duty), a high-amp alternator and stout battery (or batteries) are almost requirements. The alternator helps somewhat offset the drain and speeds recovery time. I ran a winch with a single battery and a 63 amp alternator for a couple years, but when I went to dual batteries and a high-output alternator is was like I added an overdrive to the winch, and my pulling duty cycle was also favorably impacted.

I can't remember your exact configuration. Do you have dual front tanks? If not, that's another potential battery location.

 

[chuckn]

Thanks for the input. I have looked into getting a duel battery system, however, there's not a lot of room for it in my Discovery. Would like to see a picture if anyone has one.

I like the idea of putting in an aux fuse box at the start of this project so that I don't have to add it later on. Looking at the Blue Sea System. Anyone have experience with this??

 

[benlittle]

I have an AUX Marine fuse box mounted under my steering column, next to the stock fuses.

That is always hot and I believe I used marine grade 8g wire. From that I have a direct pos/ neg wire going to a 12V marine plug, mounted next to my fridge. Again, always hot.

I also have 4 Hella 4k's and 4 hella rock lights going from factory binnacles to the battery and marine box. I've wired a switch for a hella rear work light but haven't routed and mounted the wire/ light yet. The 4k's go around the marine box and I have inline amps/ fuses directly to the battery. The rear work light and rock lights go through the marine box.

Winch is wired directly to the battery.

I'm good at a couple things, electricity isn't one of them. If I can do it, you can too.

 

[chuckn]

OK, I took a look at the Painless Wiring stuff. Looks very nice. Which system are people using?

 

[Mike_rupp]

I just completely rewired my 97 D1 last summer as a result of being disgusted with the rat's nest that was around my battery. Instead of thinking long term, I initially just ran circuits to my battery for each new circuit. Eventually, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

I used the Blue Sea marine fuse block and installed it underneath the steering column. On the other side of the steering column, I installed a relay block for the 4 different circuits of auxiliary lighting.

From the battery to the fuse box, I ran 4 awg JL Audio wire that EE sells. I ran it through the firewall right under the brake booster and used Streetwire firewall bushings from Crutchfield to protect the wires and keep everything sealed. I also used a circuit breaker for the hot wire, but I can't remember the amperage. It adds another level of protection as well as being a way to switching all of the accessory wiring. If I remember correctly, I used some Hella 40 amp relays from Rallylights.com.

 

[chuckn]

This is great. I like the idea of a circuit breaker. How much was the system? Do you have a dual battery?

Thanks.

 

[Mike_rupp]

I have no idea of how much it cost to put together. I really don't keep track of how much I spend on things. If I did, I probably wouldn't want to keep this truck anymore.

I don't have a dual battery setup. I have a hydraulic winch, so I don't ever really run the battery down. I've had the fridge running on plenty of overnights in the summer and never turned the fridge down without any battery issues, so I never thought it was necessary. It probably makes sense to have another battery, but I just haven't made it down that road yet.