Need some help from you wiring guru's!

IMO

 

This is not electrical school, covering all the finer points of electricology (nice word). You've asked a specific question, were given many specific answers, now move on and do your project. Save the peripherals for another day. You'll learn along the way.

 

That switch should work fine as long as the accessory you are powering doesn't draw more than 3 amps. If you read on in the description, it says to be used with a fused relay only.
Sorry, I didn't see anything about the left side only.

 

Left side only probably means it will only fit the knockouts on the dash to the left of the steering wheel, the ones under the console in the middle near the 12v outlets use a smaller switch.

You're probably safer using a different supplier like mictuning or ch4x4 which are both available on Amazon ("Toyota" size futs the bigger spots, and "Toyota small" fits the center ones), the ch4x4 switches use a standard wire connector for both sizes and all connect using the same wiring order, plus they're pretty much all rated for 10A at 12V

 

So I need some advice. I bit the bullet and ordered all the stuff to install a new auxiliary fuse panel. Figured I want to go that way even though it's more expensive and time consuming than poaching off another circuit. And I get to learn with the help of you fine folks. So here's the deal. Current accessories draw 2.5 amp at 5v, so less than 1 amp at 12v. Future inverter will draw up to 12.5 amp (max 1500w inverter / 120v = 12.5 amp). Maybe a utility light under the hood also. Point is with everything I currently intend to put on the truck I am well below 30 amps. My plan is to run a line from battery to kill switch to 30 amp inline fuse through relay to fuse box. I am running 16 gauge line to all my accessories. Question is this: what gauge do I run from battery to fuse panel? I was intending on 10, but I now see that the harness for my relay and the inline fuse are 16 gauge wire. For what I intend to pull for power can I just run 16 gauge right from the battery (I realize that if I ever have to exceed that 30 amps I will have to change out that wire for something heavier)? I would like it to be heavier but don't know about connecting 10 gauge to 16 gauge wire. Can't see that being a great idea. I have no concept of what amperage is acceptable on what gauge line. The other question I have is I want to tap into a fuse under the hood for my relay, so that the new fuse panel will only power up when the ignition is on (I know I'll forget to shut things off ). Can anyone tell me which fuses in the fuse panel under the hood are switched to the ignition? And while we're at it, more for curiosity, once I switch my new fuse panel with a relay, how much power is required to trip my 30/40 amp relay to power the fuse panel?

 

Personally, I would run 4 gauge. That will give you additional conductivity and amperage if you decide to expand your accessories in the future. Or even a larger gauge if you like.

 

For the run from the battery to the aux fuse panel, 10 ga should be ample assuming the fuse panel is mounted in the engine bay and the fuse block uses a single power terminal for all the circuits, the block I have is 8 circuits, but has male tab connectors on both sides of each fuse so i have 16ga branch wires off a 10ga trunk line that's connected to the battery (I've run a total of about 250w of extra lights simultaneously through this). There's not really any need to include the in line fuse between the battery and fuse block, but for the length of the leads on an in line fuse holder, 16ga should be fine for up to a 30A fuse as long as the longer wires are sized appropriately.

The 5A adapter and the extra under-hood lights could share a 5A circuit if you want to conserve circuits, otherwise I'd probably use a 5A fuse for each just because 2.5A fuses can be harder to find and won't likely be used anywhere else on the vehicle. Depending on where you plan to mount the inverter, you may want to run 12ga wire to it just to be safe (the cost difference vs 16ga is a couple dollars for 25 ft, so it's not worth the worry)

 

The relay will draw less than 1 amp, and can be wired to the switch controlling it with 18-22ga wire with no worries. I've got switches controlling relays which are using 26ga for part of their run, but that's because i have my CB antenna next to the a-pillar and wanted shielded lines for certain circuits.

How many circuits is your fuse block? There's no danger to using 4ga if you're running 16 circuits or so, but it can be hard to work with in tight spots, and is far more expensive than 10ga. If you've got 4-8 circuits, and have a run under 24" from the battery to the fuse block, 10ga is plenty for a total of 40A, and 8ga is enough for 100A on that short of a line - go bigger if you're looking to put the fuse block near the rear bumper for some reason, 2ga is used for wiring rear bumper winch connections which draw 600+A, and 4ga is either half or a fourth of that capacity, so it'd handle about 200A on a 40 foot total run (from the battery to the back bumper and back to the battery).

 

My fuse block is 6 circuit, and is less than a foot from the battery. Mounting bracket is going on the two threaded holes in fender directly behind battery. I would still like to include the in line fuse for peace of mind especially since I already have the part. The fuse holder wire is 12ga and the wiring harness for the relay is 16ga. If I run 12ga from the battery to the panel can I connect that line to the 16ga of the relay harness? Can you mix wire sizes like that? Is there anything wrong with using 16ga all the way through, assuming I never add accessories that push me over 30 amps? What is the max amperage 16ga line can take?

I just read that and I know it seems like alot, and may not all be applicable, but I am learning lol. Thanks again for the help.

 

Rather than an inline fuse, why not a circuit breaker? Then you get the fuse and kill switch combined into one.

 

I have a breaker as well, but I went bigger than I need to accommodate anything in future. I did some shopping today and changed a few things. I picked up a new in line fuse that is 10ga. I also got some female ends that I will solder to my 10ga wire to hook into the relay. Now everything battery to fuse box is 10ga and from fuse box on is all 16ga. Way over kill for now but when I add more later it will still be good. The only thing I need now is to wait for my add a circuit to come in. Ordered one not realizing that the truck uses the small low profile fuses, not the mini ones. Oh well....

 

The mini add a circuit will still work! You just have to use mini fuses in it instead of the blade ones.

 

How? I tried fitting it in where the old fuse was and no go. Pins were way to wide. Maybe I'm calling them something different. Old blade fuses (ginormous), then the mini ones (not so ginormous, but with pins on the bottom) and then micro (the teeny ones that are in the 3rd gens with no real blades just exposed metal on the bottom corners). The add a circuit I ordered was for the minis. Not the micro. No way I could see it fitting. They ordered me the proper one anyway. If ice got that wrong can you clarify? Maybe with pics?

 

You're right in that there are normal, mini, and the blade. We have the blade, but the mini works in there. It MAY be different between the 2nd and 3rd gens, but I doubt it. I can put some pants on and snap some pics if you like.

 

If your close. But only cause I'm curious. Don't want to be blamed for making anyone put on pants!

 

Well, here you go! As you can see, I like add a circuits.....


Red is what comes from the factory, purple is what it's getting replaced with, and yellow is just for reference.

 

Interesting. Do you happen to know which of those fuses under the hood are ignition switched? And does the circuit I add have to be a smaller fuse than the original or does it matter?

 

I couldn't tell you off the top of my head. If you snapped a pic of the underside of the lid (assuming that's where it says what each one does) I could probably help you out.

To answer the other question, I'm honestly not sure. There are two fuse slots on the AAC. One for the existing fuse you're replacing, and one for the accessory you're adding. I don't think it really matters, especially in your situation. They say not to exceed 10 amps anyways with the accessory you're adding.

 

Yeah I won't even come close to 10 amps. All its doing is actuating the relay when the ignition is on. So paranoid about forgetting to turn off the accessories lol. This way there's never a worry. No idea what a relay pulls for power but I can't imagine it being much. Here's my lid. If you can pick a good one it would sure help me out!

 

Bit of a close up