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Custom switch panel.

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by Idahoffroad, May 22, 2022.

  1. May 22, 2022 at 10:03 PM
    #1
    Idahoffroad

    Idahoffroad [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2022
    Member:
    #397797
    Messages:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Oakley
    Vehicle:
    2020 Cement TRD OFF-ROAD
    OME BP-51 shocks, heavy duty Dakar leaf pack, RCI 12” bedrack, Ikamper Skycamp mini, Rotopax fuel tanks, maxtrax traction boards, element LED amber and white micropods, black rhino armory 16” -10 offset, Cali raised LED roof rack with 43” light bar, Cali raised ditch lights, pelican vault roof case, rigid industries light pods (bumper mounted), Lil B’s fabrications front bumper with low bull bar, anytime backup camera front camera, custom switch panel.
    Hey everyone. For a while now I’ve been building my Taco, and have been running a switch panel from Cali Raised LED. However recently I decided that wasn’t enough, and that I needed to make something custom. As if I didn’t have enough things to do already.

    I had three main goals I was trying to accomplish. 1. I wanted it to look like it fit in the truck. Something that blended with the rest of the interior.
    2. No holes in the dash. This is a big one, I didn’t want to drill any holes.
    3. I wanted physical mechanical switchs. I like the look and feel of a mechanical switch vs a electronic push button.

    With those three constraints in mind I started looking around the cab for a place to mount it. I finally settled apon the wireless phone charger. I have used this one time, because I broke a cord off inside my phone. Otherwise it had accumulated junk. Now that I had found my spot I could begin to fabricate a mount.

    I started with cardboard, and moved onto steel. The main problem I ran into was that on the left side of the cubby there was a curved edge, so it didn’t want to sit flat. I eventually fixed this by creating a bracket to hold it in place. Once i had the panel, it was time to drill and put the switches in. Very simple process.

    I feel as though I should lead this next part by saying I am in no way an electrician, nor do I know much about electricity and currents. However I do know how to use google. I started with a test wiring consisting of a relay, a switch, and a fuse. Power ran through the fuse, then separated and went to the relay and the switch. Power then went from the relay to the light, and then the ground wire tied back into the relay’s ground wire. Low and behold it worked.

    i now had a working proof of concept, and a panel to work off of. Now it’s just time to wire it up. At this moment in time the panel is wired up, and waiting to be connected to a fuse/relay assembly. My thought process is as follows. I will buy a 6 fuse fuse box, and use that for my relays and switch power. I will also be running power off of a terminal block as to decrease the amount of wires running around. I also still need to figure out how to take out the wireless charger, and make a bracket to mount all the fuse boxes and relays on in the engine bay. Oh and did I mention I’m trying to get it done by this weekend?

    i will update as I move along, we’ll see how far this goes. Honestly this could cost me as much as a nice switch control unit, but I place a large value on learning how to do it myself.

    PS: my test wiring is obviously lacking, in final stage everything is insulated correctly.

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