Show off your aux fuse panels.

I think it's the dual battery isolator.

 

I'd like to add a 6-circuit Blue Seas fuse box to hard-wire a few low-amperage accessories (in a 5G 4Runner): USB and 12-volt ports, GMRS radio, fridge. I'm thinking to locate it inside the cab somewhere under the dash, with a 4 AWG cable to the battery (and a breaker under the hood). This shortens the downstream wiring, compared to pulling a bunch of smaller gauge wire through the firewall. Is there some reason that's a bad idea?

ETA
I'd also include a Blue Seas 7615 low-voltage/timed disconnect under the hood, since I've still only got one battery.

 

I did pretty much what you described. An 8-circuit fuse panel under the center console. Mines a 5-speed manual and has the 3-way cup holder which is removable so I located it under that and removed the yellow clips to make it easier to pop out. I used #10 with a 40A fuse instead because I know it won’t have a huge current draw. Everything on at once won’t top 25A so a heavy, expensive, cumbersome #4 cable like the ones serving the Bussman in the engine bay isn’t called for. I ran another #10 wire with it to a ground buss so any in-cab ground wires go to that rather than multiple long runs back to the engine bay. Same for the bed, power/ground to a distribution center convenient to a switch panel and branch my bed circuits from there. Size the panel to your projected needs plus some extra slots then size your supply wires to match. Really high drain accessories often require dedicated supply anyway since most panels are limited to ~30A per circuit even if the max for the panel is 80-100A or more.

 

Thanks for the confirmation--and additional input. I did forget to mention that I plan to run a parallel ground back to the battery's negative terminal, in order to minimize noise on the radio. I'll take a closer look at the various components' loads. BTW, I thought of putting it in the console, too, but there did not seem to be much room. (It's a 2022 TRD ORP automatic with the transfer case lever.) I also considered screwing it to the underside of the glovebox but am concerned about interfering with the passenger's knee airbag.

Edit: there did not seem to be much room

 

Never heard of this parallel ground before ? I'd be interested to hear about it.
I'm getting serious noise from my set up now. I have a blue sea panel and amp with Lc6 line out put converter and amplifier and noticeable white noise sound

 

Maybe worded sloppily. All I meant was running positive and negative wires together: battery <> breaker <> LVD <> fuse box <> etc. I would definitely take the radio's ground back to the battery (through the fuse box) rather than to the chassis or whatever. Having the fuse box in the cab with relatively short accessory wires facilitates this. Just a guess: your amplifier is probably the source of the noise.

 

Yeah, autos are different and I also don’t have the inverter or anything else under the console other than the e-brake cables so I tucked my air distribution stuff in there too since I use solenoid air valves and the switches are in the center cubby. Anyplace you can access a panel that won’t get buried when you’re packed will do. I just prefer a comfortable position when working on it so anyplace under the dash or under a seat was less attractive.

 

Installed a RTMR in the bed. It's mounted to an ABS sheet from Amazon cut to size to mount as a panel side on an aluminum extrusion drawer I built a few months ago. The fit is great.

I'm waiting on some appropriately thick grommets which I'll slip into some drilled holes in the bed to route the wiring in. I'm using 4awg from the battery and will be grounding to an existing factory ground in the drive side rear wheel well.

This project was, and continues to be, much more enjoyable than the RFRM project I wrapped up last month. The next step besides power and ground is making a switch box. Planning to get an ABS project box and cut it up to fit whatever switches I want and mount it to the molle panels I have on the bed sides. Very much looking forward to this part.

Speaking of, I setup my ditch lights with the RFRM to be left/right and backlit/on independently controlled with a double small Toyota switch from CH4x4 and a DPDT slider switch from Digi-key. And as the lights are low current (0.7A each) I didn't have to use a relay position.

 

I put mine inside the center console (in the main box, where the USB ports are). In hindsight, I would rather have it somewhere more accessible, because it's a bit of a pain when I have to to run new wires to it. Maybe up under the steering wheel / knee panel somewhere? I definitely prefer having it in the interior, though, rather than the engine bay.

 

I just got done mounting my auxbeam AR-800 using a homemade mount. I have all wires ran and now to figure out where to mount the switch panel. I like the 3d printed parts on Etsy to mount it in the switch area to the left of the steering column yet I have a 3d printer and can't bring myself to buy a piece I can make. We'll see....

 

3d printing your own is much more fun and rewarding. When your printer works, that is. Mine likes to clog itself and I haven't attempted to diagnose it yet.

 

LOL aint that the truth. Only used mine a couple times in the past year and luckily no bad juju. Just printed an extended fuse panel cover.

 

You oughta post that in the 3d printed parts thread!

 

Can you send me a link to that thread pls? Been looking for it. TY!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/post-your-3d-printed-accessories.593430/

 

That was basically a BlueSea fuse block in a project box mounted on the aux battery.

Below is my aux fuse/relay for my 2022 Tacoma:

My design criteria:

Use a

$57 Victron Energy Smart BatteryProtect 12/24-Volt 65 amp (Bluetooth)

MOSFIT low voltage cut off device to prevent draining the main battery (which I already replaced with a deep cycle Odyssey Battery PC1700)

$22 True Mods 12V DC Auto Waterproof Fuse 5-Pin Relay Box Block [6 Bosch Style Relay Holder] [6 ATC/ATO Fusible Holder] Universal Relay Block Box for Automotive Vehicles Cars Marine Boat Light Equipment

Waterproof fuse/relay block
Use a separate fuse block in the cab and in the bed (so I only need to run one wire to those locations)
Fuse/relays for up to 6 accessories
Don't obstruct access to factory parts
Don't power stuff directly through switches (that is what relays are for)
No metal edges on fuse block mounts to cause shorts in wires
No negative terminals on the fuse block; there are factory ground points all over the truck
No dual battery (no room, so use a

$100 NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines, Gray

lithium ion jump starter battery instead).

Here's the (almost) finished project:


To make room for the fuse/relay box, I had to relocate the factory Relay Block #2. On my 2006 Tacoma I just zip tied it to the side of the the engine bay using those extra bolt holes.


But on the 2022 the cable is much thicker and I didn't like stress in that position. So I made a mount to hold it in an accessible location:

The mount is secured with a bolt using the existing hole though the wheel well (obstructed in the above photo)

All of the parts were made using FreeCAD software and 3D printed with a Prusa MK3S printer in PETG plastic.


I used this for the fuse/relay box:




I needed a way to mount the fuse/relay box so I designed a mount which could also be used to hold the low voltage cut off switch.






If you look carefully, you will see a hole on the left side for the main power from the battery. The long screw post on the low voltage cutoff eliminates the need for a bus to run power to the individual fuses.

The mount has two holes for bolts though the wheel well and tabs that use the factory fuse/relay box mount:


There is also a spacer to provide extra room for wires under the fuse/relay box:


Here's the base installed before adding the fuse/relay box:

I needed to drill a hole to secure the mount on the upper left in the photo above. The other bolt uses the existing factory hole in the wheel well.

You will notice a fuse/breaker on the left in the photo above.
I designed a mount for the fuse/breaker that slides into the Factory fuse/relay box


Here's the cable to the battery and Victron Energy Smart Battery Protect




Before:


After:


Wires to the fuses in the fuse block are done like this.


Here is how all of the parts fit together:


and with the spacer for the fuse/relay block


Here's the finished project:



CA4WDC #11593
My projects on Etsy
YouTube
*****Don't believe everything you think*****

 

Awesome design and fab work.

 

Thoughts? I don't have all the parts yet, but drew up a template based off Blue Sea provided dimensions.

This is without the bending and mount tabs yet.

 

Most of the Blue Sea fuse blocks I see installed have a negative bus for ground wires. But there really isn't much point to running ground wires back to the engine bay because there are factory ground points located throughout the truck. Also, if you use relays, you can run lower gauge wire from your switches because they only need to carry a very small amount of current.

Power should go from the battery, to a fuse in your fuse block, to a relay, to the accessory, to a factory ground point.

In some cases you may decide to power something directly through a switch, but then you need to make sure the switch can handle the current. I did this for the compressor in my on board air setup, and burned out several switches even though they were supposedly 30A.