fonseca

I've tried several fuse blocks over the last year, and have yet to find one that really does what I want, which is one power input, and six outputs that connect with quick disconnects, and is waterproof. Here's my latest purchase:





Tight fitting cover, very compact, several mounting options The only downside is that these have six separate inputs, when I would prefer a single power input. I'll rig up some quick disconnects in series I guess, probably better than soldering wire directly.

Anyone here using a good one? There's really not much available for small (16-22g) wires. I plan to put one of these under the hood, hopefully somewhat hidden. It will power:

Alarm
Remote start
Horn honk relay
Piezo siren / timer relay

I don't want to have easy to pull fuses for the alarm in the cabin of course. I'm thinking about installing a second one beside the factory fuse block by the driver's door, which will power:

Heated seats
Carpc (6 amps max)
Monitor

As well as a few misc items and switches. These blocks are rated for up to 30 amps at 32 volts. Putting one under the dash would eliminate several wires currently running from the battery.

I also plan to pick up this:



That would let me run a single 4 gauge wire from the battery, instead of my current setup with one four gauge for my main amp, an 8 gauge for my carpc, and another 8 gauge for my small subwoofer amp. Additionally, I could go from that to the little accessory fuse block I first posted above with an 8 gauge wire. So I would have only two wires on my positive terminal: alternator and Stinger fuse block. I replaced the factory alternator wire with Streetwires 4 gauge already, it's just visible in the first photo. No need to leave the factory wire in place.

I'm going to buy a new negative terminal with another spot for a ring terminal, like the positive one. I have already purchased a single 4 gauge in, 4x 8 gauge out distribution block for grounding.



I plan to pick up one of these ground terminals as well for the main negative terminal to chassis, which is currently just a ring terminal where the old factory one was:



If anyone knows of a better way to do this, please chime in. My goal is minimal wires at the battery, and everything neatly routed. If I had $200 to kill I would pick up a Phoenix Gold Distribution Center, which is an amazing product, but alas I do not.

phorq

I've done something similar, but each line doesn't have it's own fuse. I have a single inline fuse leading to a radio shack distribution block for the positive, and another block wired to a ground. This is all behind my cup holder in the console. As of now, it powers my angel eyes, my vent halos, my underbody LEDs, and my under-dash neons. Out of all of those, the 6" neons are probably the most taxing on power. Not as swanky as what you're requesting, but it's worked for me for 2 years now. I can take pics if you want.

supry

I've got a couple of those streetwires blocks in my toolbox, they work pretty good. Try checking out "painless wiring". Most of their stuff is for old street rods, but I do know that they have lots of fuse boxes. If you do find exactly what your looking for post it up, cause I'm looking for just about the same thing for under my dash.

01tibby

my power situation in pretty extensive. i bought two fuse blocks, one is a constant and the other is an ignition switched. they are like 3wx2lx1h(without fuses). 4 gauge input and screw terminals for each of the 6 outputs. i have them up under the dash in abs project boxes i bought from allelectronics.com. here is what i have done/will do soon power/ground wise. i dont have the cap/subs/sub amp installed yet. ill get some pics tomorrow.

1. battery(using extra wing nut terminal on blue top battery)>0 gauge>capacitor>fused ANL dist. block>sub amp and component amp

2. battery(using "tsunami" battery terminal 8gauge input)>8 gauge>fused BLADE dist. block>

[*]alarm[*]sensors/backup battery[*]sirens[*]trunk pop solenoid[*]window/sunroof roll up and down modules[*]relay for ignition switched power(powering heated seats and super mirror)[/list]3. 16 gauge speaker wire running from each component crossover(4 total) to 4 channel amp. i have the rear crossovers right underneath the lip of the rear bench seat, screwed into the vertically flat bench. the front crossovers are in the map pockets of the doors. making tweeter pods out of the front triangular side view mirror covers. the rear tweeters are mounted in the interior quarter panel peice using the flush mounts.

4. 12 gauge speaker wire for the subs>mono amp

5. all dash grounds are on a bolt i put right through a thick braket welded directly to the frame

6. amp/cap grounds are pretty weak actually. i used the hole where the mount is for the bottom of the antenna, and the metal there is pretty thin. it works great for the 0 gauge terminal im using, but i will probably end up moving it.


ill have to make room in my constant block for the carpc. i can double up on some things and put a higher fuse in there. right now im going through making a bunch of panel connectors for all the wire i want to run in/out of my case. opus 120w wires(yeah,6 total), gps antenna cable, touchscreen power, and maybe the power and seek leds.

fonseca

I look forward to seeing pics.

My common ground is actually under the center console, near the emergency brake. But both my amps have their own grounds, no problems with noise yet.

I'm almost too embarrassed to post shots of the mess behind my monitor. I have my ITPS in a project box in there, which I am now maxxing out BTW, it can't handle my monitor in addition to PC. Time for a Carnetix unit. For now I'm going to power my Xenarc straight from the battery, hopefully the onboard voltage regulator can handle it.

I'm also working on a rotary switch to control my remote turn-ons, which will replace two SPDT rocker switches for controlling my ITPS, amps and DSP. That will give me: off / auto / always on / always on with amps and DSP off (no need to keep two amps running if I don't feel like music). The problem is that turning the knob breaks each contact, so it's going to take some diodes and creative wiring.

Here's my ITPS with temp-sensing fan setup, multiple fuses and a plethora of wires exiting which can't be seen (ITPS is a DC-DC voltage regulator with built in shutdown controller for those who don't know. It has its flaws):



That little 8v regulator powers my SPDIF coaxial-optical converter. The ITPS sends remote signals to my amps and DSP as well. I haven't yet gotten around to it, but it would be easy to send a latched signal from my alarm to the turn-on input for the ITPS, which would let me remotely power up my system without starting the car.

There's two problems with the ITPS. It doesn't survive crank, which sucks, and even if it did, the accessory line in Tibs loses power when cranking, so I would still reboot. That's why I'm wiring a constant on option in my switch. The other option is to merge the accessory and ignition wires, diode isolate both, and use that as the remote lead. It shouldn't lose power when cranking, the ignition wire only cuts on at that time (I think, haven't tested yet).

One day my car will be done, I swear. I miss the days when my interior was 100% assembeled, every screw in its place. sad.gif There was a lot less rattling then too.

01tibby

some pics. yeah, the trunk looks like crap right now. i will be replacing the big three, i just got too much other stuff on my plate right now.

fonseca

Wow, very nice battery terminals. What's that one little ground wire? With its own post. laugh.gif I hope you got those tsunami parts online and didn't get reamed by Circuit City.

Here's my real rat's nest. It's a monster just hidden by my LCD. I'm going to devote serious effort to cleaning this up and organizing everything. The sad part is, fully half the wires aren't even visible in this pic:



I couldn't find a good place for this fuse block today, and I'm not happy about how I had to wire it up:



I'm not going to try and hide it, since that wouldn't hinder a thief with access under my hood anyway. Eventually I'm getting an electric hood lock that will lock when I arm.

01tibby

lol, no. i ebayed that ish. my buddy was dumb and got a one farad cap from best buy i think it was, and payed more than i did for my entire wiring kit+10 farad cap of the same brand. i really like the terminals too, they have zero gauge inputs, i just wanted to use one of those nifty terminals and that secondary post was unused, so i figured why not.

that one wire is for the voltage readout, which is so innacurate i dont even know why i have it hooked up. i think the thing has a calibration pot., ill have to mess with it.

check this out:

near stock:


half-way through adding stuff(you can see the constant fuse block in there):


there is probably actually twice as much wiring as there is in that last pic. i do have some loom under there to help neaten it up, but its still unbelievable.




why dont you install a hood pin switch as a additional trigger on your alarm? dont you need to have one on a remote start? my alarm said it needed to be installed, even though it wouldnt have made a difference. i put one in, but with a switch so that if i want to start the car iwth the hood up i can.

fonseca

I can't believe how completely raped your tib is in those pics. I'm actually a bit jealous. wink1.gif Did you put sound deadening all the way up the firewall (I may have asked you that before)? If I had removed my whole dash, my wiring certainly could be a lot neater. Maybe if I have a week free this summer.

I have a hood pin switch, just not a hood lock. It actually needs replacing, I bought a cheap one on ebay and it's all rusty now.



I want to get a nice brass one that can be flush-mounted instead of using a bracket. Is this where you installed yours?

Take a look at this. Even if someone breaks in and pops the hood, they won't be able to open it. I have a backup battery that I have yet to install either, so I'm feeling vulnerable with all the electronics I'm driving around with.

I'm installing the second fuse block I bought right above the main factory one in the cabin. I've been working on that today as well. Power for heated seats, trunk pop relay, carpc, constant for switches, and sub amp. I just need to decide the best way to route this. I guess I'll do a dedicated 8 gauge through the firewall, as I already have one present. It's time to buy that Stinger block.

01tibby

deadening only extends about 6 inches up underneath the bottom of the factory firewall deadening stuff. by the time i got to that stuff, there was no way i felt like taking out more things, and there is a LOT that need to be taken out to get that factory deadening off.

here is my hood switch:


if you want to know a ok spot to put a backup battery let me know. i have a picture of where mine is, i just dont feel like posting it all over the internet. someone can get to it, but it would take a while and i dont know if they could stand my piezo pain generating interior siren for that long. wink1.gif