Show off your aux fuse panels.

I'll check that thread out, thank you very much. Right now the relay grounds are just wired into the ground side on the fuse block.
This whole project ended up being way more intensive than originally thought. Seemed like a fun thing to try and build on my own.

 

Eliminate the buss bar feeding the switches. Fuse one wire and run it to the first switch with a jumper also crimped to that first switch connector and a jumper in each connector after that. Same thing for all of the pin 86 wires, each one goes to the next relay in line with the last one going back to the ground bar. You can allow for additional relays and switches in the future by crimping in a wire that is capped. When you add a switch and relay, add another capped wire to allow for more. When you’re sure that’s it, don’t add the extra wire anymore.

 

It’s a great learning process and comforting to really know how it’s put together. This forum and that thread in particular were real eye openers for me.

 

Brilliant! I remember seeing that somewhere and totally forgot about it. That would save me a ton of wires and no bus bar.
I understand removing the bus bar part, but for Pin 86: wouldn't one switch turning on trigger all the relays at once if they are jumped to one another?

This place has saved me a lot of money and been invaluable for info. I'm a visual and very slow learner, but sure enough I'm getting it sorta. Albeit very very slowly.

 

Great thread - sub'd - thanks for all the info - very helpful!

 

Sorry, you’re right. See you do understand.
For you the switched positive sides (pins 86) are all on separate wires from each switch. The ground sides of each relay(pins 85) are already all connected to ground, daisy chaining just eliminates a bunch of excess wire on the ground side of each relay and the positive side of each switch. Daisy chaining all the pin 86 wires would definitely have the effect of any switch activating all the relays so that’s to be avoided.

 

Appreciate the confirmation, electrical definitely confuses me. I am barely grasping the new to me concept. Much respect to the wizards of this stuff, especially wiring diagrams. I have the confidence to build a knife from scratch, but tell me to wire up more than one relay and my brain takes a dive.

The relay block thread has me rethinking this build. I suppose that will be a future project for fun. Ultimately I plan to run a switch pros or spod, just out of my price range right now.

 

There are good reasons for using any of the options out there. Understanding your choice and how to maximize its potential is key to minimizing frustration later on. A really common problem is having space for the panel but finding you don’t have room for all of the accessory cables and connectors that feed to/from it. Having a few different small panels akin to sub panels in a house can help with this. It can also serve to separate in-cab accessories from those outside or provide ready access to always hot power vs ignition hot power. Controlling which of these is fed to a daisy chained switch bank let’s you organize switch banks accordingly.

 

Updated mine to add a few more fuses. Was tired of how dirty the panel got, so I built this one in a project box. Also finally replaced my stock battery.

 

That's a nice setup! What plug/connector are you using for the relays?

 

@Mudman

I used a pair of deutch style bulkhead connectors to allow for quick and easy removal of the full panel and mount. And I used these compact relays

ESUPPORT Car Heavy Duty Relay Switch 12V 30A SPST 4Pin Wire Socket Plug Harness Waterproof Electrical Automotive Pack of 5

$12 ESUPPORT Car Heavy Duty Relay Switch 12V 30A SPST 4Pin Wire Socket Plug Harness Waterproof Electrical Automotive Pack of 5

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RVCFNCK

 

Nice work!

I used a project box for the aux fuse block on my 06 Tacoma.


I only needed one relay so I used the empty relay position in the factory RelayBlock#2

 

Sweet, I totally forgot I had a small Deutsch connector kit. Gonna try that out now, I dig the way yours is setup.

I'm trying to run that braided sleeving on everything, looks like crap if you suck at it. But I'm not ready to redo it all yet.

 

Very solid advice. Definitely don't forget to take into account wiring taking up a bunch of space. An RFRM with 10 relays and 5 fuse slots wired barely fits but it's not pretty. If I had to do it over, I'd definitely use an RTMR and maybe a fuse block in the cab.

 

I started working on the fuse/relay setup for the bed. This is a separate fuse/relay location located behind the driver's side taillight.

We use our bed as a sleeping platform with an ARE Z-Series Truck cap so we need power for:
1: Always on USB ports
2: Always on 12V cigarette adaptor as a universal fit for random stuff
3: Lights inside the bed

Also since I'm running 12V to the rear of the truck, I'll use that as the power source for:
1: Rear lights (when I get the new rear bumper)
2: Side lights that are mounted to the ARE truck cap

I didn't want to crowd the fuse/relay block located in the engine bay or run all of those wires to the rear of the truck. So I ran one 10AWG wire to a secondary fuse box located in the bed.

To power all of this stuff and provide switches, I ran a 10AWG wire from the front Aux fuse block to a new aux fuse block located behind the driver side taillight.

In addition to the 10AWG wire, I ran multiple wires to power lower amperage switches and relays. Here I'm wrapping that wire harness with multiple layers of sheathing. The copper pipe is just used to make it easier to add sheathing to the wound wire harness by running the wire though the pipe and the sheathing over the outside.



So here is the fuse block and a couple or relays I installed behind the driver side taillight on my 2022 Tacoma.

The fuse block housing was designed using FreeCAD software and 3D printed using a Prusa MK3S 3D printer:


I started by looking at prefabricated project boxes but none fit my exact dimensions and all would have required extensive cutting for all of the holes I need. In the end is was easier to pre-fab what I wanted in cardboard and then print the fuse box with all of the holes right where I wanted them.






This fuse block housing was designed for a

$18 WUPP 12 Volt Fuse Block, Waterproof Boat Fuse Panel with LED Warning Indicator Damp-Proof Cover, 6 Circuits with Negative Bus Fuse Box for Car Marine RV Truck DC 12-24V

WUPP 12 Volt Fuse Block that I got on Amazon. It is slightly more compact than the Blue Sea fuse block that I used in the cab.



Here the fuse block housing is installed behind the driver's side taillight. I'm using existing holes for the bolts that hold this in place.



10AWG wire from front Aux fuse block


And starting to run wires from a switch panel in the bed to the new fuse block:



The 18AWG wires shown above go to a switch panel installed in the bed.

The new switch panel is a

$17 FXC Rocker Switch Aluminum Panel 4 Gang Toggle Switches Dash 5 Pin ON/Off 2 LED Backlit for Boat Car Marine Blue

FXC Rocker Switch Aluminum Panel 4 Gang I bought on Amazon.

I designed and printed a housing for it that fits in that cut out in the bed near the tailgate.





Here is the hole in the bed near the tailgate that I'm using


And here is the switch panel installed



I hope is is OK that it will take multiple post to document this but I didn't want to start a whole new post on this project. That's all I have for now.

 

That looks well thought out and nicely executed.

 

Looks like it will be a nice setup! Not sure if you planned on it, but make sure you use some wire loom back there. Lots of sharp edges.

 

Good job, a few strategically placed sub panels does wonders for reducing the overcrowding of wiring to any one panel as well as cutting down on the amount of wire used overall.

 

Yeah

$16 Keco 100ft – 1/2" PET Expandable Braided Cable Sleeve – Wire Sleeving for Audio Video and Other Home Device Cable Automotive Wire - Black

wire loom,

$17 ZhiYo 50FT 3/8” Wire Loom Split Tubing Auto Wire Conduit Flexible Cover | High Temperature Heat Resistant -40F to 257F | Plastic Cover for Electrical Wires & Cables

split conduit,

$14 XFasten Wire Harness Tape, 3/4" x 50-Foot (5-Pack), High Temp Wiring Loom Harness, Self-Adhesive Felt Cloth Electrical Tape for Automotive Engines, Noise Dampening, and Cable Protection

wire harness tape, and

Tintvent Rubber Edge Trim Black,U Channel Plastic,Car Door Edge Guards,Metal Edge Protector Fit for Most Car, 16.4ft(5M)

Rubber edge trim are all in use on this project.

 

getting to the final stages on this project. Power to the rear auxiliary fuse block is complete, power to the switch panels and interior lights, and switching of the rock lights from both drivers' side and passenger's side are complete. I still need to wire the relay for the rear lights but I' waiting until November to the the rear bumper installed. I also want to have switches and power for side lights that are mounted on the Yakima rails, but I've had a hell of a time finding a mounting for the rails themselves.

Anyway, the two most important switches are working now.








Next is wiring the 12V cigarette adaptors and USB ports inside the bed for powering accessories and 110V inverter.