Baja Bug Wiring (Complete Build Up)

Post by **2088 bob** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:42 pm

One other thing Steve if you were to have an electrical problem down the road which i am pretty sure you won't ....you are going to be pretty confident on trouble shooting it and as i have said in the past you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of you did a fantastic job and lastly you learned alot

Post by **2088 bob** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:44 pm

Tako the fuse blocks you want to use are an excellent choice

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:43 pm

Those are the fuse blocks that I would recommend for a couple of reasons... They already come "set-up" and there is no time wasted on crimping and soldering the fuse blocks, which is a PITA. Also, with having their terminals off to the side, there is no worrying about having a stand-off on your fuse blocks because there is so much wire. Only thing with those fuse blocks would be to pre-plan where they will be mounted, since all of the terminals exit the side... pre-plan meaning if you use more than one fuse block.

After all is said and done I will be making a dust, dirt, water cover for the entire control panel. I doubt anything will be 100%, but it should cut down on alot of the dust and dirt.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 6:58 pm

Finishing wiring up the accessory equipment. Installed the GPS today and routed all wires for the radio, intercom, and sat radio. The GPS was probably the easiest thing to install, literally about 5 minutes to wire up and have acquisition...

Also, started in on wire looming everything to make it nice and tidy. This split braiding if ordered through Painless Wiring is quite "painful" on the wallet. But Waytek makes one very similar at about half the cost... makes everything look nice and clean.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 9:29 pm

takotruckin wrote:you say you would have gone single color with a labeling system, which labeling system would you have chosen?

Yeah, to do it over again, I would go with a single color for cost effective reasons. After you order 100+ feet of 14 different colors the price starts to add up. As long as you wire up one circuit at a time, it is pretty hard to get lost in it. Also, if you use terminals blocks to branch out as I did, maintaining the same color as it changes in gauge size and through different sub-harness', makes for some interesting times. A single color with labels could avoid this.

As far as labeling goes... alot of them will do the trick. When I was researching it, I liked the snap on numbers. There are some label makers out there, but I did not want to spend the money for a one or two time use. If it was a business... label maker all the way... Hobby? hmm, not so much.

The only labels that I thought were a waste of money were the shrink wrapped labels and the labels that you write on.

Just my 2 pennies...

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:11 pm

Been a few days... have been placing all wires into the split loom and zip-ties O' plenty. Had a chance today to install the Intercom, Race Radio, Ipod, and Satellite radio. I found the Satellite radio interesting... basically install, turn on, pay money, and voila... by the time I walked back into the garage from the computer, it was playing music... pretty slick.

Now while driving, the driver can talk between the passenger while listening to either the Ipod or Satellite radio. If desired, the driver can toggle a switch to activate external speakers. Also, installed a push to talk button onto the steering wheel... so with a push, you can communicate with another car or just monitor all race frequencies while around a race.

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:14 pm

Oh, time invested so far on this wiring project... about 150+ hours, and sore fingers, hands, back, etc...

Also, as wired, will probably end up around $1500.00 minus components... major expense two Optima Yellow Tops ($200.00 a piece)

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:57 pm

In regards to the things that get changed along the way... here was one that was changed. Initially, my plan was to have each fuse block controlled by a 75 amp relay and have the power to those components run through the relay.

This was the initial plan:

However, here is only two "relayed" components, such as off-road lights, and those two with the toggle circuit would have come in around 45 amps. The 5 amp toggle circuit could be smaller... but you get the idea. If I was to add even more components... fuel pump, more lights, etc... I would have been asking the "ignition" relay to continuously supply near or beyond its 75 amp rating. And at any rate, 75 amp relays are not cheap...

What I ended up doing was wiring all of the "Big Boy" components and their relays off of the Battery fed fuse block. Then on the Ignition fuse block I had one circuit (5 amp) that will supply only the toggles that "energize" the coil of the relay so power can move onto its final destination.

This is what it ended up to be:

So even if I leave a light on and turn the car off... the light will still turn off. Power may be at the relay, but since the Ignition power to the toggle is not there... it "de-energizes" the relay which will stop the power at the 30 terminal of the relay.

Now instead of asking a 75amp relay to push its limit, it only has to pass 5amps. This is one of those... "If I knew then what I know now" deals... Had I planned it initially that way I could have gotten a $2.00 30amp relay instead of the $29.99 75amp relay

MarioVelotta · Post by **MarioVelotta** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:09 am

I have a small bit to add in about wiring up relays. At work I wire them backwards, constant into 87 and out 30. This doesn't leave 87a exposing a constant 12v when not in use.

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:55 am

Interesting.. do your relays last this way?

MarioVelotta · Post by **MarioVelotta** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 1:28 pm

They last just as long as hooking them up normal.

rickosuave1987 · Post by **rickosuave1987** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:40 am

So the car gets drivable and we dont get any more updates?

I take it you havent started any fires or melted any items in your dash.

Any shots of the finalized "brain"?

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:00 pm

Still working on putting everything into the split loom and zip tying into place. However, I did get a chance to install the external speakers and amp. As far as the speakers, I am using the BOSE 151 outdoor speaker. When I purchased them they had the sample inside a fish tank as the demo... supposedly water tight. I will use some panty hose legs as an outerwear to keep dust on while driving.

The amp is marine grade and is obviously designed for boating applications. Hopefully, these things will make the stereo system as durable as can be.

Tomorrow (I Hope) to finish up the wiring...

As far as wiring this project... one mantra keeps coming to mind:

PLAN-PLAN-PLAN

However, keep in mind that even with all the planning, things will still come up. Just be flexible enough to accomodate things when they do (And they will) come up

Mario: Excellent tip for wiring the relays...

MarioVelotta · Post by **MarioVelotta** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:00 pm

Thanks. Do you have a write up on the rest of the build anywhere?

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:08 pm

...The other part of the build

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=104494