DIY Spod on the super cheap!
03-14-2015, 08:52 PM
#11
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Alright... So now you need to find a spot to mount the box. I bought some vinyl grommets to bring my 8 gauge wire into my box, switch wires and power wires to the accessories out of my box, and the ground... I was thinking I would get the box done first, cause that way you would just have to run wires from the terminal block to wherever you needed... If anyone smarter than me wants to chime in and let me know if I'm about to mess anything up or burn down my jeep I would appreciate it. In the meantime... I think I'm right... Any questions feel free to ask. If I can't answer maybe someone else will chime in... Makes you feel pretty confident about my skills doesn't it...
03-14-2015, 09:00 PM
#12
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Alright, things you will want to add...
8 gauge from the battery to a circuit breaker to your fuse box...
additional power to your switch if you want it to light up...
Anyway its definitely time for bed. Hope it helps.
8 gauge from the battery to a circuit breaker to your fuse box...
additional power to your switch if you want it to light up...
Anyway its definitely time for bed. Hope it helps.
03-15-2015, 03:37 AM
#14
JK Junkie
I love when someone takes the time to build something rather than just buy it. 
Nice work, chemlight_ninja!
Just a couple of points for anyone who may not be as electrical savvy as chem and wants to try this...
1. The switches will need to be fed 12V whether or not you have LEDs in them since pin 85 is attached to ground. An alternative would be to attach pin 85 to 12V under the hood and then run the other side of the switches to ground in the tub.
2. Using 16 gauge wire for the power circuit (pins 30 and 87) limits the amperage of the accessories you attach. If you can keep the length of each accessory power and ground wires combined to 13' you should be good with an accessory UP TO 5 AMPS. So if you want to run 2 lights off one switch then EACH light will have to be under 2.5 Amps. If you decide to increase the gauge (lower numeric number) of the power circuit you will also have to increase the gauge of the power wire to the fuse box. This wire must be rated above the COMBINED AMPERAGE OF ALL ACCESSORIES.
Good job, chem...I think it's great that you want to help others build their own.
Nice work, chemlight_ninja!Just a couple of points for anyone who may not be as electrical savvy as chem and wants to try this...
1. The switches will need to be fed 12V whether or not you have LEDs in them since pin 85 is attached to ground. An alternative would be to attach pin 85 to 12V under the hood and then run the other side of the switches to ground in the tub.
2. Using 16 gauge wire for the power circuit (pins 30 and 87) limits the amperage of the accessories you attach. If you can keep the length of each accessory power and ground wires combined to 13' you should be good with an accessory UP TO 5 AMPS. So if you want to run 2 lights off one switch then EACH light will have to be under 2.5 Amps. If you decide to increase the gauge (lower numeric number) of the power circuit you will also have to increase the gauge of the power wire to the fuse box. This wire must be rated above the COMBINED AMPERAGE OF ALL ACCESSORIES.
Good job, chem...I think it's great that you want to help others build their own.
Last edited by 14Sport; 03-15-2015 at 05:28 AM.
04-05-2015, 07:29 AM
#17
JK Enthusiast
Thread Starter
You can find all that stuff at auto zone or another parts store. I have also found terminal blocks at boat stores and dealerships. You can find fuse blocks there too.
04-19-2015, 05:37 AM
#18
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Awesome work on the box! That should be great for people who want to run their own light setup. Like the other poster mentioned, you're limited by your wire gauge, but you can easily change it out for thicker wire and run higher amperage.
The formula, if you're curious, is watts/volts = amp draw. For example, if you want to run a pair of 55W Daylighters, you'd need to account for 110W / 13.5V (standard output with the engine running) for a total of 8.15A. Now, I know all the kiddos are running fancy square LEDs now, and LEDs draw less amperage. However, your typical 50" LED bar is around 300W, so around 23A for just that one circuit. Add a 10" hood bar (6A) and a pair of D2 cube lights (2.5A x2) and you're at ~35A. Not really a big deal, but it's something to consider for your main power line, your circuit breaker, and your main fuse.
Now, another cool mod you could use, to reduce the amount of wiring going to the cab, would be to use CAT5 wiring. It gives you 4 pairs (8 wires) in a small, flexible strand, that you can run into the cab for your switch box. Use one side of a pair for power, the other side for the signal to the relay, and your ground terminal for the switches can all be run to one common wire in the cab. You don't really need to worry about power draw on the CAT5, because the switches are run through the "low power" side of the relays.
Keep up the good work! I might need to steal this idea eventually when I get around to adding lights and stuff to my Jeep.
The formula, if you're curious, is watts/volts = amp draw. For example, if you want to run a pair of 55W Daylighters, you'd need to account for 110W / 13.5V (standard output with the engine running) for a total of 8.15A. Now, I know all the kiddos are running fancy square LEDs now, and LEDs draw less amperage. However, your typical 50" LED bar is around 300W, so around 23A for just that one circuit. Add a 10" hood bar (6A) and a pair of D2 cube lights (2.5A x2) and you're at ~35A. Not really a big deal, but it's something to consider for your main power line, your circuit breaker, and your main fuse.
Now, another cool mod you could use, to reduce the amount of wiring going to the cab, would be to use CAT5 wiring. It gives you 4 pairs (8 wires) in a small, flexible strand, that you can run into the cab for your switch box. Use one side of a pair for power, the other side for the signal to the relay, and your ground terminal for the switches can all be run to one common wire in the cab. You don't really need to worry about power draw on the CAT5, because the switches are run through the "low power" side of the relays.
Keep up the good work! I might need to steal this idea eventually when I get around to adding lights and stuff to my Jeep.
04-22-2015, 07:37 PM
#19
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Del City - Electrical Supplies & Professional Grade Wiring Products has a good assortment of electrical components.
