Auxilery Relays, Fuses and power!

[Geobloke]

I suspect I am not the only one with relays and fuses for auxilery items spread around my vehicle where ever was convienient when installing the auxilery item, be that spot lights or electric fans.

Well I am fed up of having wires criss-crossing my cab and engine bay creating a spagetti wiring loom and getting in the way! :rolleyes:

Well I popped down to my local scrap yard the other day and came up with the answer to the problem. I am going to create a secondary fuse and relay box for the auxilery items behind the passenger seat.

I have picked up a rover 800 fuse box (see pics) and have re-orgaised the wiring in it so that each relay gets power through a dedicated fuse.

I plan to mount it as high up the bulkhead as I can (just incase the waters rise up me chest :p ), run a couple of conduits down through the floor and then in to the battery box where I will have a dual battery set-up. The power for this fuse box will come from the auxilery battery and the other battery will be soley for the vehicle electrics. I suspect I am not the only one with a load of cables coming off the positive terminal of my battery and going off to various places! Well this plan aims to tidy all this up and ensure that I always have enough battery juice to start Eva!

All the relays are standard relays and will control; 2x work lights (wired in seperately so either or both can be switched on), spot lights, fog lights, electric fan (this might remain on the vehicles battery!). There will also be a couple of relays spare for further auxilery items, such as roof mounted spot lights, might be planing a roof rack at some point!

The items will be switched on and off from the dedicated switch panel (see work lights thread for pics) and a volt gauge will be installed to keep an eye on the two batteries. By use of a switch the voltage from each battery can be checked!

From the battery box there will be another length of conduit that goes to the engine bay and on to the fan, spots and fog lights. There will also be another length of conduit going through the bulkhead and to the back of the truck to the work lights.

I know this is going to mean major wiring movement but when it is done everything will be sooo much simpler and easy to access!

Thought you lot might be interested! :p

[Ben Breese]

he he, good luck. i just spent all day re-wiring a sheep trailer. got caught with a smashed lens, but only one brake light worked anyway. think it was the one with the smashed lens :p . got fined £60. not worried though, not my trailer and wasn't me driving ;)
keep us updated, when are you planning on doing it? all in a weekend?

cheers, ben

[Geobloke]

Hi Ben! yes over a weekend! I have all the bits I need pretty much, need to order some switches from VWP tomorrow and buy in some cable and two smaller batteries! the one I have is HUGE and has to go! ;)

I suspect I could do it in a weekend but the fiddly tidying bits could take a little longer! I will keep you updated!

Oh so much to do!! LOL! :D :rolleyes:

[kev hughes]

I rewired mine in 1 day now got 24 fuses and 8 relays instead of the standard 4 or what ever a Series 3 comes with. :D



Kev

[Geobloke]

I rewired mine in 1 day now got 24 fuses and 8 relays instead of the standard 4 or what ever a Series 3 comes with. :D



Kev

Wow your series is almost modern now Kev :D

[jjsaul]

sounds good, keep us updated pls :)

[Pete H]

I will keep you updated!
Hmmm,ill keep me eye on this thread methinks ;)

[Geobloke]

Hmmm,ill keep me eye on this thread methinks ;)


Hmmmm I bet you will! :D

[kev hughes]

Wow your series is almost modern now Kev :D


Nearly :D


Kev

[Geobloke]

Ok has taken me a while to get around to doing this but I have now started!

Here are some pics of the auxillery fusebox in position behind the passenger seat in Eva. The fusebox is mounted on a length of 1/2" box section from an old roof rack and bolted through the bulkhead! Which reminds me I must cover those exposed bolts on the otherside!

The +ve wire will go down through the floor behind the seat and in to the battery box through the already present hole.

The battery box will also have 2x 072 batteries in it sitting on a raised platform (which will be there to level the floor of the battery box which is stupidly shapped at the moment!).

You can see the mess that I am going to be tidying up, yuk yuk yuk terrible wiring at present, am quite ashamed!

The front battery will be for the normal vehicle electrics and the back battery will be for all the auxilery equipment that Eva has and will have.

My local garage is doing an 072 battery for 40 notes at the moment which is about 1/2 that of halfrauds! just goes to show that sometimes it can be a daft thing not to look around!!

I am going for the 072 batteries instead of optimas or such like purely because they are stupid expensive and I cannot afford them at present!

There will also be a split charge system in there too, which at present I am not sure whether to mount in the battery box or higher up on the bulkhead. Am inclined to mount the relay on the bulkhead so there is slightly less chance of it getting soaked! we'll see! could be a tupperware box moment!!

Anyway just thought you lot should see what I am doing!

[Geobloke]

Ok have done a little more of the new electrics system this eveing.

What I have done is link the bulkhead mounted auxillery fusebox to the battery box, using 20mm black corregated conduit and connectors.

This should hopefully keep most bits nice and dry (there will be copious quantities of silicone being applied later), oh and safe from sharp edges and snagging!

I think it looks quite smart IMHO, but then again I would cos I did it!! :D

Oh dammit my head has just filled the room! and I need a wee! :eek: ;)


Anyway!

[Geobloke]

Oh and I forgot to say. The next step is to get the new batteries and get the split charge relay setup too!

after which will be the complete re-organisation of all my auxilery electrics, spots and such! Hmmmm better get some more cable and connectors!! :p

[Geobloke]

Right well today I picked up 2 of the more important bits of the dual battery setup, the batteries! and here they are. I have gone for 2 standard batteries (072s) purely because I cannot afford to buy any fancy ones at the moment so these are a stop gap until I can! Plus being 80 notes for the pair I got a damn fine deal considering if you go to halfrauds you won't even get 1 072 battery for that money!!!

Next I am going to have to fit a tray to fill the gap underneath them and a clamp to hold them in place. actually with 2 of them in there it is a snugg enough fit that they aren't going to move too much!

and I am about to go and fit the split charge relay to the bulkhead next to the auxilery fusebox, keeping as high as possible whilst as secure and safe as possible too.

[TheGurkha]

Taking shape nicely mate.

Don't lick the terminals.

[Geobloke]

Taking shape nicely mate.

Don't lick the terminals.

Cheers mate and your a bit late with the tip, my nasal and ear hairs are all standing on end as I type!! :D

[TheGurkha]

Ok, well, don't lick them AGAIN!

[Geobloke]

Ok, well, don't lick them AGAIN!

yes sir! :p

[Geobloke]

Right well the split charge relay is now in place near the auxilery fusebox. All I have to do now is wire it up, which shouldn't take too long!

Anyway here is a pic!

[Geobloke]

Right onwards! ;) This evening I have basically wired up almost all of the split charge system and auxillery fusebox.

Am making great strides forward in tidying up the electrics in Eva, am well chuffed with my progress this evening, got loads down!

The auxillery battery is now earthed to the primary battery and the positive is now attached to the auxillery fusebox. Yes thats right all those relays and fuses are now powered! :yay: just they aren't actually connected to anything just yet, will be just not yet!! ;)

The relay needs one wire splicing in to the alternator charge light wire (thin brown with yellow flecks) and the relays positive feed from the primary battery attaching to the terminal of the battery. The wire is ready, O-ring souldered on and all.

Gaud I am looking forward to having tidy wiring, am so fed up with the birds nest on the primary batteries positive terminal and the numerous relays spread around the engine bay!!
The tidy wiring is the new stuff, the messy stuff is what I am trying to get rid of! :rolleyes: Why didn't I do this sooner?!?! :rolleyes:

Anyway heres some pics!

I need to secure the batteries as well (battery tray), not sure what to do just yet, build something meself or buy something in. What do you lot reckon?

[buzz]

Very nice job Geo. Very tidy.... :yay: :thumbsup:

[Geobloke]

Very nice job Geo. Very tidy.... :yay: :thumbsup:

Thankyou fella, I was pretty chuffed with meself last night too! :p

[whitewolf]

very neat job matey......the factory couldnt have done any better!:D ;) .

Are you taking orders?:rolleyes: :p ......Geo's world of wires i can see it now.

[Pete H]

Lookin good mate. ;)

[jjsaul]

geo, i gotta do some wiring....you dont fancy popping down to wolverhampton do you ?? :D

[Geobloke]

very neat job matey......the factory couldnt have done any better!:D ;) .

Are you taking orders?:rolleyes: :p ......Geo's world of wires i can see it now.


Oooo that has a nice ring to it that does! :D :rolleyes:

[Geobloke]

geo, i gotta do some wiring....you dont fancy popping down to wolverhampton do you ?? :D

Am affraid Geo's world of wires doesn't do house calls just yet! ;)

[jjsaul]

Am affraid Geo's world of wires doesn't do house calls just yet! ;)

Tesco's car park then ?? :D :D :D

[Geobloke]

Tesco's car park then ?? :D :D :D

Aye that'll do! although I suspect we'd get some weird looks from the shoppers!

[Geobloke]

Ritgheo then! I did a little more last night after work and now have the split charge relay system working perfectly. I also tidyied up the mess of wires in the battery box too, desperately needed doing! :p

Anyway here are some more pics for you to look at.

All to do now is re-wire the auxillery equipment that currently is unplugged, you can see 3 of the wires drapped over the seat box in one of the pictures.

Getting there! ;)

[TheGurkha]

Impressive set-up, and no afro either. Way to go.

[Geobloke]

Impressive set-up, and no afro either. Way to go.

ROFL nah had me hair cut before I started!! :D

[Geobloke]

Right ok boys and girls during me lunch break I drew a wiring diagram up for you all. Having spent a few hours trying to decipher what the smegg the instructions that came with the relay meant I thought you lot might benefit from having one that made sense!!!

So here you go, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

[jjsaul]

nice diagram geo.

btw, cheers for all the advice / info this morning ;)

[Geobloke]

nice diagram geo.

btw, cheers for all the advice / info this morning ;)

No worries matey am always happy to help! ;) and sorry for missing your call earlier! was having tea with Pete and Lisa110 and didn't here the phone ring! :p

[jjsaul]

No worries matey am always happy to help! ;) and sorry for missing your call earlier! was having tea with Pete and Lisa110 and didn't here the phone ring! :p

LOL no probs. will ring you shortly then :p

[Geobloke]

LOL no probs. will ring you shortly then :p

Go for it, am awake now!



Just! ;)

[Geobloke]

Right ok am waiting for a parcel from vehicle wiring products before I can continue with the re-wiring of Evas electrics. Should be here today hopefully.

So after work yesterday I did a little maintenance, in the form of fitting a new oil pressure sensor and replacing all of the lock barrels on Eva! It had gotten to the stage where I could open all the locks with my fuel cap key and house key, or any other key for that matter! :eek:

Anyway the first door took a little while to do, partially because I was working out how to do it as I went along and partially because I was contemplating what was the best thing to do with the now very rusty door bottoms!

But a couple of hours later and all the doors had new locks that actually prevented the doors being opened with anything that resembled a hair slide!

Few! slightly more secure now! :p

I have also half wired up my rear work lights, as in the wires go up to the new fuse box but no further, kinda ran out of wire! Ooops! oh and gas for my souldering iron too! double Ooops! :rolleyes:

I have also started to wire up the switch panel too. Twas a little confusing at first, trying to get the LED to light up when the switch was thrown was a little challenging, but sorted now. Will post pics later!

So not a bad evenings playing all in all!

[Sir Lostalot]

Thanks Geo. Lots to take in.:scratchCh

[Geobloke]

Thanks Geo. Lots to take in.:scratchCh


Yeah but is all really easy stuff to do. If you have any questions just ask! :p

[Geobloke]

Wooo Hoooo me wire and connectors have arrived! Yay! :yay:

simple things in life eh? :rolleyes:

[Geobloke]

Right split charge...


...again!

The way I have decided to do this is to employ a "simple as possible" method and this happens to be a 100amp relay and a switch to manually opperate it.

I have recently fitted an electric winch, 4 roof lights, work lamp and a 100amp uprated alternator, so after frying a 30amp relay I bought a chunky 100amp relay. Oh and I have gone down the budget route and am using 2 standard 072 batteries, cheap and easily sourced/replaced.

There are 2 ways of turning on this type of split charge, by manual switch or by your ignition switch, I decided on the manual switch cos it is more simple and also makes the system a stand alone from the main switchgear.

See wiring diagram for explanantion of how it is wired up.

I have also fitted a volt guage and switch (MOM/OFF/MOM) so I can check the voltage of both the batteries.

There is also a winch cut off switch on the passengers seat box as well.

Simple. Really simple!

[Pete H]

Right ok boys and girls during me lunch break I drew a wiring diagram up for you all. Having spent a few hours trying to decipher what the smegg the instructions that came with the relay meant I thought you lot might benefit from having one that made sense!!!

So here you go, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Not seen this,whats the diagram for,i guess that you have now used the latest diagram for your split charge and not the one you posted previous..?

[Pete H]

Not seen this,whats the diagram for,i guess that you have now used the latest diagram for your split charge and not the one you posted previous..?

This one (http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=21971&d=1122043820)

[Geobloke]

Not seen this,whats the diagram for,i guess that you have now used the latest diagram for your split charge and not the one you posted previous..?

Ah yes the previous diagram was for the bought split charge relay kit, like the ones from halfrauds!

This is much much simpler as I am sure you can see!

[kev hughes]

The manual switch split charge is good idea as long as you remember to turn it off when you turn the engine off. If you forget then both batteries will discharge together when using the auxillary bits with the engine off. On the other hand though you can use it to jump start yourself should the main battery go flat ( The realy wont like you much though :rolleyes: ) I have fitted a small Anderson plug to mine so I can jump myself (Oooeeerr missus :eek: ) it's the grey plug on the left, the red one on the right is where the jump leads go if needed.

Kev

[Geobloke]

The manual switch split charge is good idea as long as you remember to turn it off when you turn the engine off. If you forget then both batteries will discharge together when using the auxillary bits with the engine off. On the other hand though you can use it to jump start yourself should the main battery go flat ( The realy wont like you much though :rolleyes: ) I have fitted a small Anderson plug to mine so I can jump myself (Oooeeerr missus :eek: ) it's the grey plug on the left, the red one on the right is where the jump leads go if needed.

Kev

Ah yes this is true! But as long as you remember you'll be fine! When I get out I check that all the LEDs in the switches are off! I have already jump started Eva a couple of times off of the 2nd battery, was when I had alternator troubles!

[Geobloke]

Righteo then this is a close up of the relay I used showing the terminals.

The ring terminals go to the batteries and the spade terminals are to the switch!

[Stephen]

Righteo then this is a close up of the relay I used showing the terminals.

The ring terminals go to the batteries and the spade terminals are to the switch!

hey thats a nice heavy relay, where you get it?

[Geobloke]

hey thats a nice heavy relay, where you get it?

From my local garage! they are about 20 quid but heck are they worth it!

[kev hughes]

You can get a 180amp version from Vehicle wiring products. It's the one I use on my split charge.

Kev

[100WattWarlock]

I've read and re-read, and then read again this thread with great interest, I was wondering what your running off the second battery? You mention you've got lights, winches etc. I've got a similar system (not as tidy as yours, but I'm working on it) the relay that you originally fitted was/is crap, the back fell off it, and so now it's held together with Gaffer tape, and sealed with silicon on the back! (Is silicon conductive?? I can't remember) anyway... right now the 2nd battery just sits there, nothing connected to it, because the guys where I bought my defender from said it would be better to connect everything to the main battery, what do you lot reckon?
Cheers

[Stephen]

Nothing is wired on my main system to work without having the ignition on, and the main is isolated with a cut-out switch.

I have a auto split charge setup using a normal 30amp relay I do not need a 100amp switching relay as only charge current is passing though it, not a drain from heavy equipment load. I also have the volt gauge and switch (MOM/OFF/MOM) as geobloke as mentioned as it a good indicator.

I run an 120v inverter on my aux battery which powers my laptop, video camera and various 120v capable charger units (phone/pda/satnav) to be independent of the main battery. Also my CB radio and linear is now wired to the AUX battery. When I get around to it I will but the cigar light socket on the aux also. The aux battery can power all this equipment for a good few hours if needed and leaves my main battery tip-top for starting.

Previously without the dual charge and aux battery I had problems in winter when running equipment as well as lights, wipers and frequenting starting whilst greenlaning (low revs not full charge from alternator plays part too). Had to result to the hand crank a couple of times.

BTW, I use a 120v inverter as it is a fairly good model which I bought for a Californian road trip and have yet a reason to fork out for a uk 240v one, I also suspect 120v model would have a lower current draw.

[Geobloke]

I've read and re-read, and then read again this thread with great interest, I was wondering what your running off the second battery? You mention you've got lights, winches etc. I've got a similar system (not as tidy as yours, but I'm working on it) the relay that you originally fitted was/is crap, the back fell off it, and so now it's held together with Gaffer tape, and sealed with silicon on the back! (Is silicon conductive?? I can't remember) anyway... right now the 2nd battery just sits there, nothing connected to it, because the guys where I bought my defender from said it would be better to connect everything to the main battery, what do you lot reckon?
Cheers

Well your welcome mate, it is why I posted the thread in the first place.

Right off of my primary battery I have all of the standard vehicle electrics.

Off of the auxillery battery I have the winch, 4x roof lights, 1x rear work light, CB, driving lights, stereo, kenlowe fan. Also plan to have rear cig lighter sockets, inverter and maybe on board air too.

As Stephen said the reason for this setup is that no matter how dead the auxilelry battery gets the primary is still capable of starting the engine and driving home on.

I'd replace your broken relay with a new unit that is big and strong, I like my electrics to be sealed and broken casings are a definate no no!

Why did they say it'd be better to connect everything to the main battery?

[100WattWarlock]

Why did they say it'd be better to connect everything to the main battery?

dunno, I guess they just felt it was better, more along the lines of, if your main goes dead, you start from the auxillary (I'm guessing here).
Anyway assuming my battery is actually working, see my other posts, I'm off for a few days, when I get back I will tackle this, and rearrange everything (again!)

[Geobloke]

dunno, I guess they just felt it was better, more along the lines of, if your main goes dead, you start from the auxillary (I'm guessing here).
Anyway assuming my battery is actually working, see my other posts, I'm off for a few days, when I get back I will tackle this, and rearrange everything (again!)

Good luck with it when you get back from your break. LEt us know how you get on!