joe002

I wanted to add some auxiliary electrical circuits to my '08 Wrangler:
1. to turn my winch on/off (when the key is turned on and a switch is flipped)
2. to turn on my HIDs (when at least the parking lights are on and a switch is flipped)
3. to turn on my Rock Lights (same has HIDs)
4. I wanted the switch indicators to be lit like my stock switches
5. I wanted something on the switch to indicate the switch was on
6. I wanted a fuse box that could hold relays and fuses
7. I wanted to use automotive grade materials where possible
8. I wanted to be able to modify the connections to my fuse box “easily” in the future (I’ll have additional circuits to wire)
9. I wanted to mount the relay/fuse box near the existing fuse box and battery.

Here’s a short summary of what I did.

Disclaimer: I know it’s not the most cost effective solution (note: a “cost effective” solution was not in my list), and there are better/worse/other ways to do it.

First, I looked for switches. It took a bit of hunting, but I found these Carling Contura II Rocker Switches (Model V1D2GHNB-AAC00-000) that are automotive grade, sealed, have a green LED backlight that can be wired to come on when the lights are turned on, and a red LED that can be wired to come on when the switch is turned on:


Now that I had the switches figured out I could come up with a wiring diagram. I decided to get a 4 switch setup (only using 3 switches right now) and figured it was best to protect the main power with a fuse because the winch wire would go through a relay instead of a direct connect:


Next I had to find that relay/fuse box I wanted. I finally found a Bussmann RTMR Panel (Model 15303-5-2-4) that can hold 5 relays and 10 fuses. Here’s a shot of the panel along with some of the terminals use to wire it up:


The winch is supposed to draw 416 amps at max, so I wanted to use a 500 amp relay for it:


I didn’t want to use the cheap wire you find in the stores, but wanted good automotive grade wire. I got TXL wire, and got a lot of different colors, which is not the cheap way of hooking things up, but certainly makes it clear how things are supposed to be connected:


I had a hard time finding the legend stickers for the switches. I eventually had to order some from the UK. I knew before I purchased them that they would look good (with some mods) at night, and OK during the day. I could have purchased ones that looked good in the day and OK (but reversed) at night, but went with these:


I (test) mounted the Bussmann Panel between the battery and stock fuse box:


Instead of soldering the wires to the switches, I made standard connectors and plugged them into the back of the switches that I mounted on a Daystar Panel:


All wires were crimped and soldered (Termals: Packard 630):


I wanted to wire the RTMR Panel so it could be removed and re-installed fairly easily as I haven't decided all of the circuits I will house in it, so I have all wires in connectors. Here's the wiring diagram:


I wired up the Bussmann Panel. The wires were all crimped, soldered, and came with a sealing gasket (Terminals: Metri-Pak 280):


A view of the bottom with all wiring completed:


The relays are Song Chuan 301-1A-C-R1 (ISO 280, 35A, sealed). All wires were run to a standard, sealed, automotive grade connectors that were color coded, and wires were placed in looms:


The Bussmann Panel mounted in the Jeep with the connectors ready to be hooked up:


All grounds were made to existing ground lugs found on the Jeep:


I fit the winch relay next to the stock fuse box and air box:


Everything hooked up:


I wanted to stop any light leaks from the LEDs in the switch, so I globed some Grip Guard around the edge of the legends. I didn’t do a really neat job, but it looks a lot worse in the picture that it does in person:


Here’s how they look at night with the Rock Lights on:


I purchased a 500+ amp ANL fuse holder to hold the 250 amp fuse, and mounted it just behind the battery:


I have a lot more pictures and info if interested.

Update: See this link for updates to my rocker covers: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-e...1/#post2908523

joe002

ECHO - thanks it was my biggest project yet.

sburggsx

I'm just starting my wiring "project" but now I read this. You sir have just made everything I was thinking of doing seem like a joke. Thanks a lot.

Seriously, that's just plain impressive.

joe002

sburggsx - Thanks. I’ve been planning it and searching for parts for months, and spent the better part of a week putting it all together. It’s nice that you can actually find all of the “standard” automotive components to complete a job that appears to be “stock”.

TDJK

man that looks amazing, i thought i did neat tidy electrical work
that is very impressive

joe002

tainted_darkness - Thanks. Wire looms, zip ties, and crimped and soldered terminals really make the job turn out neat. Also, using automotive electrical connectors help when having to do maintenance.

JINGLES

Very nice work!

I think a list of your sources for the automotive parts would be greatly appreciated by this forum.

A few comments.... I'm looking at your wiring diagram; and it appears that the 8AWG "feed" wire to your aux relays comes after your winch fuse (250Amp). If you blow that fuse while winching; you will lose all power to the other aux items. I’m confused by the winch switch / cig. lighter and relay circuit diagram. Where does the “In / Out” winch control switch fit into your diagram? And… why do you have four switches controlling the same “light bulb” relay?

Littlejon

For the switches did you ever check Over The River & Through the Woods? They make switches with the logo on them you want.

joe002

Thanks. I'll see what I can dig up...

Good questions…

Yes, I wanted to just use the one fuse for both the winch and the Bussmann Panel. I do know that if I blow the fuse all of my circuits will go dead. I originally thought of running the wire directly from the Battery to the Panel, which is the way it’s done on our Jeep, but wanted the protection if I had a short in the wire. I am carrying two extra fuses, but I don’t really expect the winch to blow the fuse as I’ve only had to use it 3 times so far (though I’ve used the compressor on almost every trip). I think if I did blow that fuse more than once I would consider running the wire with a separate in-line fuse for the Panel separately, but like I said, for me, I want to have that fuse protect both the winch and wire to the Panel.

To engage the winch, I wanted to ensure that the key was turned on before the winch (switch) would work. The cigar lighter turns on with the ignition switch, so I connected my relay there. I didn’t want to wire in/out from inside the Jeep, I only wanted to wire on/off. The in/out is stilled controlled by the remote switch.

All of the switches have a light that will illuminate with the other dash lights. In the last picture the green parts come on when I turn on the lights and the orange par comes on when the switch is turned on.

joe002

Can't say that I found them when searching the Internet.

Carling has a large selection of labels, but nothing good for off-roading. I also found a number of companies that had labels that were inversed or were different colors. I could only find the labels from a shop in the UK.