Lighting/Power ideas

OK...been doing some research and thinking about ways to add lights/12V power to the bed. Problem being, I'm not a electrical engineer so I'm not sure what is needed to pull this together. How/where do I run the wires from the bed into the cab/engine compartment? Do I need an additional fuse box? etc. etc. My goal is to make it look clean/professional and allow room for future expansion. I plan on adding an onboard air compressor at some point.

First things first...I would like to add two 12V sockets: 1 in the bed and 1 in the engine compartment somewhere. These are the ones I was going to use: http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=4306 I want to flush mount one in the bed, probably above/near the existing electrical, so it looks clean and neat; I've not found a location in the engine compartment yet that would accept a flush mount. Ideas? Or is it possible?

I was also toying with purchasing 4 of the stock license plate light assemblies from Toyota and mounting one on either side of the bed near the rear tailgate pillars (slant slightly inward) facing forward, and two up front above the plank support facing rearward. I'll put higher powered LED bulbs in the assemblies. I would like the lights to be controlled via a pin switch (or similiar) and only come on if I had a minimum of my parking lights on. Where do I get the power and can one source provide enough power to run all 4 lights? Questions, questions, I know....

Anybody willing to assist with explaining a way to wire up this hair-brained idea?

 

I'll give some advice, maybe not the right advice, but its something.

Since you are planning on adding lots of accessories in the future - it may be beneficial to install and auxiliary fuse block as to not overload or clutter up the stock fuse block with many add-a-fuse's. Especially if you want a nice clean look.

I'm not afraid to post up some internet gem's.

http://www.waytekwire.com

Look at the ATO/ATC fuse blocks, they have some really nice ones that even have clear dust covers, their products are very good, and I have been using them for a long time.

Another thing they have that works great are their Contura rocker switches, you pretty much configure it the way you want it.

I have used waytek in the past for use in the robotics field.

I guess I would suggest thinking about where most of the accessories are going to be mounted, then decide where to mount the fuse blocks. If your going to be putting most of the accessories are going to be in the bed, it may benefit you more to put the fuse block in the bed. I would think about putting it in one of those storage bins with the covers on it in the bed area. that way it is out of the way, well protected from the environment, and will give it a nice clean look.

Now, if your going to run a hot wire along the frame of your truck from the battery, it is important IMO to have a circuit breaker after the battery, but before the wire run to the rear bed mounted fuse block. This is for protection in case the wire gets chaffed through or somehow cut and shorts against the frame or some other metal/grounded parts, the circuit breaker will trip saving your electrical system (hopefully - thats the theory anyway).

With choosing a breaker you don't want it rated too low, or you'll trip it every time you use your air compressor, but you don't want it rated for too much, or it may never trip. For the wire run you should make sure you use some type of wire protection, loom, or something similar to help keep it from being damaged.

I'm just spitting out ideas. Hopefully this will get you on the right track, haven't had my first cup of coffee, so I can not be held accountable for being nuts. As always, any modification to your trucks electrical system should be done carefully..and I can't be held liable for shock, death, hair setting on fire, etc, etc...lol.

 

Also, I am assuming you have some basic wiring skills. Crimping/terminating ends, etc.

For the circuit breaker you should look at the marine, or high amp manual reset surface mountable - used the high amp ones in the past, and they are "water proof" but the marine use ones are nicer, and appear to be able to withstand more punishment (I have a over-engineering complex) which I call the "ession-complex", but you would have to know the essions. Not everything can be to mil-spec.

They have some nice expandable sleeving, and flame-resistant wire loom.

Now, I am not sure what is the easiest way to tap into the battery before the factory fuse block, I haven't had this truck long enough to know really where anything is. I knew my last truck inside and out, every screw, and electrical connection, but that took 5 years and many long nights in the garage breathing life back into it.

You'll probably want to take power at a point that is only powered when the vehicle is running, or the key is on, otherwise if you accidentally leave something on you could kill you battery. Unless you want to be able to use your accessories with the truck off.

Note: I'm gonna get some coffee, and re-read what I posted. I'm just tossing one ideas out there, feel free to use all, some, or none of these ideas. There are many ways, right, and wrong to do what you want to do. It comes down to your skill level, the money your willing to spend, and the vision in your mind of how you want it to come out.

 

First and foremost ...thanks for taking the time/energy to put your thoughts together - especially the diagram. I've seen everything under the cheap mods/tutorials but I was looking for a bit more technical info. Once I start tearing into the electrical system I want to ensure it is done clean/professional the first time out so I don't have to re-engineer the systems later. I like the idea of the using waterproof marine components for the bed of the truck. That was my thinking on the 12V plug.

Any more ideas come to mind - please keep them flowing.

Also I see you are an USAF Crew Chief. I'm retired from the AF and have worked on lots of a/c in my time (E3, RC/KC/EC 135s, C130, C5, B52, B1, F15, HH53, HH60). Funny...I can t/s and fix aircraft but don't have a clue when it comes to working on the electrical system of this truck. Then again...I had access to a library of wiring diagrams/schematics and technical info .

 

Yea, it is nice having access to a library of technical data for our planes (I work on LC-130H's).

Here's a mini tech data library on the web for our trucks.
-pay special attention to "In depth electrical", and a file with in the folder/circuits/ power sources.pdf.
http://www.markass.com/toyotanation/In_depth_Electrical.zip

When it comes to this stuff, I'm with you. Do it once, and leave enough room for expansion without having to re-engineer the system. Compared to our planes, the trucks not that complex electrically speaking, but have many similarities.

I'm sure I'll come up with some more ideas to help you. Besides, in a year or so, I'll probably be in the same boat, and will probably do what I described already.

 

Edited: Sorry, I guess Waytek does not allow for direct linking to individual pages.

 

Another great TW thread. I wish I had the knowhow on these things.
For some reason the rockerswitch link isn't working for me.

 

Thanks for the links and zip. I downloaded the zip but kept getting internal error messages when I tried to open the links (internal server error) . I wound up just going to waytek wire site via a google search.

Here's another great site for project supplies:
https://www.smallparts.com/

I'll study the wiring diagrams and then design and compile a shopping list of supplies. May take a while (given everything else on the honey-do list) but it'll be worth it in the long run. I'll continue to feed this thread with info others may be able to use.

 

It's late, and I didn't read everything that was posted, but I added lights to the bed, cig plug under hood, and one in the bed. All documented in the link in my sig.

I also have some pics of a fuse panel/secondary battery under the hood. Might be in my gallery, but I don't remember. If not I can always post it to give you ideas.