korey99@yahoo.com wrote:
[...]
: What I wish I saw was a great big sign saying
: "plug new wires here", like a terminal block or something.
Yep, the manufacturers don't exactly build their vehicles to be easy
to customize/accessorize. They basically figure somebody is going to
buy it, take it to the dealer for its regular oil changes and then trade
it in on a new one. For the most part, they're right. :-) So adding
electrical accessories is something of a compromise; a lot of times,
exactly how you do it depends on what you are trying to do, your future
plans for the vehicle, etc.
: The instructions on
: the controller say to hook straight to the battery, but it seems there must be
: a neater way than to hook each new accessory straight to the terminals on the
: battery.
If you are only planning to hook up a couple of accessories, and don't
mind the look, you can buy what is essentially a plate with male spade terminal
extrusions on it, that hooks into your positive battery terminal like this:
http://www.jonsteiger.com/www/barracuda/efi/PICS/144.jpg
Obviously, that only works for a few accessories before you run out of
room, and it doesn't exactly look "factory", for those folks who care about
that sort of thing. :-)
: I haven't looked underneath that fuse panel, but is there a way to
: add a new circuit using it? I see that there are "spare" fuse slots. Is there
: some better place to do so that I haven't seen yet? The brake controller
: requires a 20A auto-reset breaker. I don't have the trailer tow package, BTW.
Yes, you should be able to add new circuits to it if there are blank spots,
but how you might go about doing that depends on how the fuse block is set up.
It might already have the "bus" side of each fuse spot in place in which case
you just need to get the proper fitting to hook to your circuit and insert into
the underside of the fuse block (its sort of like a female spade terminal), or
both sides might be in place which would require some soldering. If the bus
side isn't already there, then you need a way to get your +12v into it also.
What kind of connectors you might need really depends on the configuration
of the fuse block. Sorry, I know that isn't any help at all but without
being there in person to see the fuse block, the variables are so many that
its hard to say much more than "it depends".
An alternative is to add your own fuse block. Autozone sells an ATO
style 4 fuse block for less than $4. I used one to add an auxiliary fuse
block for my EFI system and a power outlet in my Barracuda. Pictures of this
fuse block can be seen here:
http://www.jonsteiger.com/www/barracuda/efi/PICS/139.jpg
http://www.jonsteiger.com/www/barracuda/efi/PICS/140.jpg
http://www.jonsteiger.com/www/barracuda/efi/PICS/141.jpg
This is basically like the terminal block suggestion you have already
received, but allows you to put a fuse on each circuit. Wether that is
a help or a hinderance depends on your particular situation. If you decide
that you don't need a fuse on each circuit, you could use a terminal block,
and either get one that has a "bus" side and individual outputs on the
other side, or just a regular terminal block can be configured as a "bus"
style simply by using short wires to connect all of the terminals on one
side. There are also jumpers designed specifically for this, its basically
a little metal clip that runs up and over the plastic divider between two
terminals. It looks cleaner, but the wire does the same thing and is
cheaper.
Pic of a 6 position and a 10 position terminal block:
http://www.jonsteiger.com/WWW/ram3500/airhorns/27.jpg
Terminal Blocks (and the jumpers I was referring to) at McMaster-Carr:
http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=676
You may notice in the picture of the 2 fuse blocks (at the 27.jpg URL)
that the terminal blocks are protected by pieces of plexiglass. If you use
this style terminal block, doing something like that would be a good safety
precaution. Some terminal blocks come with a cover for this purpose, but
if not, you can usually use just about any non-conductive material to build
one yourself. An alternative is to use a "touch safe" terminal block like so:
http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=677
That style greatly minimizes the opportunity for a spare bit of whatever
to touch the electrical contacts.
Wether you use the fuse block or a terminal block, these can be mounted
under hood, but in the cab would be preferable. If you do mount them under
the hood, try to pick a spot where they will be protected from the weather.
[...]
: Can anyone point me to a web resource or something that could get me started?
: If I _am_ supposed to just hook straight to the battery, can I hook to the
: positive terminal at the fuse panel? There's only 3 inches of wire between
: them.
Yep, either place would be fine.
: I do have a 20A circuit breaker that I need to use - it goes on the positive
: wire between the battery and the brake controller. It looks like this one:
: http://tinyurl.com/7o5qq I presume I'm supposed to bolt it down somewhere.
: Does it matter where I bolt it? I also presume there should be as little wire
: between the battery and that breaker as possible.
You can mount it pretty much anywhere, either using a bolt or two
or sheet metal screws, or just leave it hanging. If you do leave it
hanging, be sure to wrap it in something which will insulate the
terminals in case it touches something conductive. (Actually, even
if you mount it, you should probably do that anyway, just in case
something touches it; who knows, a stray screwdriver, a bolt or nut
flung up from the road, whatever.) Wherever you do end up mounting it,
if you can provide some weather protection, that will prolong its life.
This goes for the fuse block, terminal blocks, etc. The dryer you
can keep this stuff, the better it will work and the longer it will
last. This is especially important for contact points since these are
usually spots where dissimilar metals are being joined, which would
promote corrosion due to galvanism as it is, but throw some electrical
current in there and you add electrolysis into the mix which accelerates
the process. Keeping it dry will slow down the corrosion (or stop it,
for all practical purposes).
--
-Jon-
.-- Jon Steiger ---- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com --.
| 1970 Barracuda - 1990 Dakota 'vert - 1992 Ram 4x4 - 1996 Dakota |
| 1996 Intruder 1400 - 1996 Kolb FireFly - 2001 Ram QC 3500 CTD |
`------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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