Darth Taco

Okay, I have officially ordered parts for my auxiliary fuse system. Going with some marine-grade stuff, so I just spent $80 on a fuse block, circuit breaker, and relays.

Also, I will be ordering my Avid armor soon, so there's that. Probably gonna get a CaliRaised 32" bar to go with it.

And as far as that exhaust cutout.... not really much room to put one, so that idea is canned for now.

 

I have begun my next project: The aux electrical system. I have been designing it for the past couple weeks with the help of an electrical engineer, so it "should" work.

Here is the first part: A home made mounting bracket and the main power relay that will be attached to an ignition signal. I have included a pic of my schematic for your viewing pleasure.

So here is the basic theory:
1. The aux system will draw power from the battery, but will have an ignition relay so the system shuts off with the truck.
2. The LED's (Front bar and rear floods) will use a switch/relay system to keep high amps out of the cab. Each of the 2 light switches (front & rear) will be powered from one of the fuse block circuits with a small, 2A fuse.
3. The CB, since it has it's own fuse, will just draw power directly from the aux fuse block.
4. This one is my special feature: A manual override switch that has constant power and, when activated, trips the main ignition relay. This will allow the aux system to be used without having the vehicle's ignition on.

 

Today I built a custom switchplate to house my front LED, rear LED, and bypass switches. I took out the useless cubby thing above my left hand control box and added a custom-fabricated plate and wiring harness.

 

Installed the plate back in the truck and rigged up the wiring. Only thing not connected now are the LED relay signal wires and the power line that will feed the fuse box. I am really pleased with the way everything looks... and the fact that the Taco hasn't spontaneously burst into flames.

 

Started laying out the second half of the aux system. Also got my LED's in! I don't have the avid bar yet (still being fabricated), but I will be able to mount the smaller lights under the rear bumper sometime next week!

 

Today, I installed the rear LED pods.

The stock brackets worked perfectly so no additional fabrication was needed on those.





I abandoned the last design of my fuse box in favor of a new, smaller one.





These little buggers are pretty bright for their size. I am definitely happy with them!

 

I hope your extensive knowledge of electrical wiring can help me out. I installed a 4-wire power switch to control my hardwired dash cam. Red & Green for switched power connection, Black for Ground and Blue for Illumination. I used the blank spot where you have the clutch switch. I've got it wired and controls the dash cam as needed. It lights up when power is on as wired, but I need an illumination connection to get dimming I assume? I see the A/C 120 switch has a blue wire in its wiring and wonder if that is what I need? Would appreciate any help you can provide.

 

What are you dimming, the switch or the video screen?

 

It would be the switch which illuminates when the power switch is "ON". It's just an on/off switch. There is no video screen on the dash cam. The directions say wire blue to the illumination connection of other dash switches. I understand the illumination connection dims the switch when the lights are on based on the dash light setting I use.

 

In that case, yes, you would need to connect to a dimming source, but you need to make sure that your switch's illumination is actually dimmable (I'm guessing it's and LED). Most LED's can be operated at different brightness'.

I wouldn't mess with anything on the AC selector, even if the blue wire is the right one. Personally, I'd find another.

Did your switch come with a diagram that you could upload? Might make this easier.

 

Wire diagram? Well unfortunately, that has gone missing.... As I was searching for a picture of the switch and wire harness I learned that the Upper LED is ON when swirtch is in ON Mode. Off when in Off mode ( makes sense). The Blue wire is to provide illumination power for the Lettering on the switch when the dash lights are on. The Switch I have has a Lightening Bolt on Top for when Power is On. And the word "Power" on the Bottom which would light up when the dash lights are on regardless of whether the Switch was in the ON or OFF position. So what I am looking for is a wire to tap that is HOT when the Dash lights are on.

Here's a link to a switch very similar to the one I have. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Push-switch...-POWER-LED-green-Sequoia-Tundra-/261688175638

 

Okay, I see what you are saying now. I haven't dove deep into the stock wiring, but tapping into one from another nearby switch might be your best option.... just try to avoid the AC one. A simple multimeter should help you figure it out if you un plug the "donor" switch. Test the pins with the lights off first, taking note of which ones don't have power. Then turn your lights on and then see which one now has power. That should be your illumination wire.

 

Thanks. My problem is that the AC switch is the only one on the left side of my steering wheel. Don't want to deal with the center console area as getting to those I hear is a bear.
If the AC switch is a no go I guess I can do without.

 

If someone else has a definitive answer as to which wire is the lighting control on the AC switch, then you should be okay. I only advised caution because I wouldn't want to mess anything up in my new truck.

Here is an idea: Tap into the power wire for the "mood light" LED in front of the shifter. That only comes on when the headlights are on and it's fairly easy to get to. If you run a wire from there, run it around the driver's feet, just under the edge of the carpet. From there, go up the side and to your switch.

 

Well thanks for the help. At least I now know what I'm doing with that illumination wire. I may just test the wires on the AC switch to see which one goes hot when the dash lights go on. Otherwise I'll probably just go without. The Power will be on most of the time and lightening bolt illuminated as I only have to turn the dash cam off when I go into some restricted areas at work. So no real need for the dash light illumination.

 

I installed my catback before I started this thread so I didn't get any good pics of the process, but here is a clip of how my Gibson system sounds.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6QKXYiKXtMpUWtWN0hqOTY1RDg

TW says that AVI files are invalid, so here is the link to my Google Drive

 

Just ordered my exhaust today! Thanks for the sound clip

got mine from autoanything for $209 shipped i finally had to pull the trigger

 

That's a pretty good deal.

Just a heads up, with the way the pipes are bent, it got a little close to my spare tire. I used a steel strap and some spare hardware to pull it off to the side. I coated the strap with undercoat spray to protect it. You can't tell that it's there unless you already know that it's there.

 

Just an update on what I found in my search to illuminate a Power Switch I installed. Even though my Taco doesn't have Cargo lights, the connector for the switch is hidden behind the cubby insert that holds the AC switch and the Power switch I installed. And don't you know the Illumination wire is "hot" on that connector when the Lights are turned on. Was able to run the Power switch illumination wire to it so now my Power switch lights up at night with the rest of my gauges.

 

Nice thinking!