How to keep wiring organized

[THansenite]

By the time I sold my tC, I had accumulated a lot of accessories that had been wired in at various points in the car. Putting the car back to stock was a nightmare because of all of the wiring. I vowed that I would do things differently in my next car. I had this idea for a while now, but finally got everything put together last weekend.

I wanted to be able to have both always on and ignition switched power blocks and have each individual circuit fused to help with troubleshooting. To do this, I ordered two power blocks, one 6 circuit and one 10 circuit, from www.wiringproducts.com (http://www.wiringproducts.com)

From the battery, I used some old 8 gauge amp wire with a fuse to supply the main power. Once it reaches my panel, the 8 gauge is split into two 10 gauge wires. One runs to the constant power 10 circuit block and the other wire runs to the relay controlling the switched 6 circuit block. I have everything mounted to a spare piece of plexiglass I had laying around.

The thing I really like is that the power outputs from the blocks are common spade terminals. When I get a new accessory, I just crimp on a spade connector to the power wire and plug it in. I have a Dymo lable maker that I use to lable all of the wires so I know which one goes where.

If you are adding powered accessories to your car, it is worth it to spend a little extra time and money to keep the electrical stuff organized.


http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c68/THansenite/Subaru/DSC_5994.jpg

[SS1088]

Blue Seas makes some good fuse blocks for this purpose.

I got some pics below.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/sublimewind/subaru%20install/DSC05540.jpg)http://shop.sailnet.com/images/cwr/16507.gif (http://shop.sailnet.com/images/cwr/16507.gif)
http://www.enge.ca/%7Eaustare/ustare/gallery/albums//album473/IMG_2516.sized.jpg

[A Retarded Kid]

ok this might me a tupid question but i have a fuse box like the OP has but i dont kno how to wire up everything. can someone help

[Kid Morbid]

You run a main power wire as the op stated from your battery to your fuse box. Make sure to fuse it and it's a large enough wire to support everything that will be on your fuse box. If you are doing just lights mainly then a 10-8 will work. From there, place the box where you find it convinient to access and hide. Needs to be a central spot so all your wiring doesn't run to one corner of your car for example.

Have your accessories, led strips, single leds, etc, connect to your fuse block. Just the power wire now. Easiest way is to use a spade connector and crimp it on the end of your wire, then slide it onto the terminal on the fuse block. Your ground needs to connect elsewhere.

I actually have this same setup almost just without the multiple blocks and relay. For the ground, I have a terminal strip, you can buy them from radioshack or lowe's. It works the same way as your fuse box but instead of everything being fused, it's just all connected. So run a main ground, equal to the guage of wire used for the power or larger, to a close ground point. Run your power wires into the fuse block so they are fused, and run the ground wire to the ground block.

The only issue I have with mine is that I ran mine under my driver side seat. It's conviniently hidden and easily accessable since I've got 2 control boxes under there too so I can reach them while driving, but you've gotta manage the wires so they aren't getting tangled in the seat traks. I'd suggest if you have plenty of wires to run, as I do, then select a more open spot. I will probably end up moving mine this summer.

Here is a diagram from the StreetGlow forums that someone made a while back. Just replace the positive barrier strip with your fuse block.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/LincolnTowncar/Streetglow/Diagram2.jpg

[A Retarded Kid]

thanks

[THansenite]

Yea, I have an 8 gauge power wire coming from the battery to the spade terminal on the upper right. That way, if I need to ever pull the fuse block, it is easy to do.

I saw the blue seas block, but those things are spendy. I think I built my entire block for less than $30.

In my tC, I used a terminal strip for my turbo gauges and while it was nice, the screws were a pain to deal with in tight spaces. That is why I went with the fuse blocks. Everything would be fused on seperate circuits and the spade connectors would be easy to connect and disconnect without having to deal with tiny screws that like to jump away.

[XD2O]

:up: