Aftermarket Fuse Panel Help

I am looking to get the overland equipped aftermarket fuse box for my 3rd gen. The kit overall looks like exactly what I want but my only gripe is that it’s got constant power from the battery. I want to wire up a relay on the power side that only supplies power to the box when the ignition is on but I have absolutely no idea what amperage rating relay I need to be getting. If anyone has any good ideas or has done this themselves, any help on what relay to use is much appreciated!

 

What size relay you need to use is dependent on what loads you plan on running.

I have my eye on this kit as well, although I may just buy the bracket as I already have a Blue Sea fuse panel with

$50 Blue Sea Systems 5032 ST Blade Fuse Block Dual 12 with Ground and Cover

two separate circuits. I plan to use one for constant and the other for ignition powered devices.

 

I want to run a 100-120 amp relay. This will provide a lot of overhead for any additional modifications I may add. My main question is if I get a relay of that amperage, what amperage will the coil side of the relay need in order to close the switch side? Does it just need to see amperage or does it have to be a certain amount of amperage?

 

Ahh, So this is an electronics question. Relays use a small amount of power to control a large amount of power. The coil side of the relay will draw some number of amps (single digit or even less) in order to engage the contacts that will pass 120 Amps. Suggest that you use a high quality relay (Bosch, Denso ...) rather than chinesum brand. Check the data sheet for the expected coil current.

 

More like milliamps...

 

Normally I would agree with you, but at 100—120 amps 12Vdc, I'm not sure what kind of solenoid shenanigans are going on in the coil side. That's contactor levels of power I think. I have not found a data sheet for a brand that I would trust yet to know for sure.

 

Here's a "nice" one with 3.9 amps for coil:

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...3rd-gen-today.399305/page-14079#post-29878451.

 

that's watts, so less than 0.33A

 

Someone has a keen eye.