The Camano Experience

[kramttocs]

Thanks - was hoping for some confirmation.
Even though it's only 3 amps, I think I may do the relay for the GVOD. Mainly to avoid having an inline fuse tucked up under the dash.

Right now the for the GVOD it is:

Control Box -> plug -> 3" wire -> inline 3A glass fuse -> about 12" of wire that was cut by a PO but I assume it was hooked to a fuse tap.

Is there a problem if I remove the glass fuse and make it a solid 7' run of wire to the relay that is then fused (at the relay as part of the ssVEC box)?

Do I have to have a fuse right next to the control box?

[Gary Lewis]

Let's see what other say.

But to me it depends on the size of wire you are going to use.  Fuse 9 is rated at 30 amps, so as long as the wire you use is rated at least at that then you are ok as a short in that wire will blow the fuse.  But if you use a smaller wire the wire could melt before the fuse blows.

From what I see a #10 wire is rated at 30 amps, so if you run that to the fuse holder and then something smaller, like #16 to the GVOD you'll be fine.

[Danny G]

I bought some 12ga wire for a 30 amp run after talking to a seller then found out I was hoodwinked after the fact (It's OFC CCA cable and the seller had me thinking it was good to go for my length). I thought it seemed a bit light duty for a 30 amp outlet. (its holding up but im pulling it out just in case). 12g can handle 30 amps but at like 4-5 feet.

10 gauge solid copper romex is used for 30 amp runs in houses, granted that's different wire.

10 gauge primary wire like Gary said will handle 30 amps but 7 feet is probably your limit, I would not go over 8 feet.

If you need more than 8 feet for 30 amps you may want to consider 8 awg.

[Danny G]

Gary,

 Went looking for a calculator seeing as wire size comes up a lot. I found a pretty nice one, we should link it.

https://www.wirebarn.com/Wire-Calculator-_ep_41.html


it allows you to calculate for voltage drop as well. So if your putting an actual 13.8V across a line and at the plug you only need 12V+/-5% you can realistically set the calculator for a 10% voltage drop and still be at 12.42V at the other end.

[Danny G]

Let me add to that great calculator a combined AWG calculator if you have a multi wire run

https://www.wirebarn.com/Combined-Wire-Gauge-Calculator_ep_42.html

[kramttocs]

I'll get a diagram drawn up with what I am thinking. Working late today so will be a little later.

TheScatch - I have very few sites bookmarked but that is one of them. The other I use a lot for quick reference is http://www.offroaders.com/technical/12-volt-wiring-tech-gauge-to-amps/

As far as online sellers (Gary, feel free to remove this if this isn't allowed) but I have bought a lot of wire from AC/DC Wire and Supply on ebay. Great stuff, great selection, and fast shipping. I've also called him on the phone and he is great to work with.

[Gary Lewis]

TheScatch wrote

Gary,

 Went looking for a calculator seeing as wire size comes up a lot. I found a pretty nice one, we should link it.

https://www.wirebarn.com/Wire-Calculator-_ep_41.html


it allows you to calculate for voltage drop as well. So if your putting an actual 13.8V across a line and at the plug you only need 12V+/-5% you can realistically set the calculator for a 10% voltage drop and still be at 12.42V at the other end.

Did you have an idea where we should put that?  I'm not sure.  Maybe we need a Calculators page in Electrical?  Or just a link?

[Gary Lewis]

Scott - I added AC/DC to the Resources/Electrical folder.

[kramttocs]

Thanks guys. I was thinking of the usage draw but not if the smaller trigger wire between the factory harness (fuse 9) and the relay shorted out. In that case, I can see that the wire would burn before the 30 amp fuse blew.

Running anything higher than 12awg to trigger a relay seems beyond overkill and a pain to splice into without a junction block so sounds like I'll need to place a fuse close to where I am splicing into the jumper harness no matter what. In that case I'll just put a 3amp in there and run it directly to the GVOD control box as the relay is unnecessary for this load.

I may drop the 30a Fuse 9 to a 15a or 20a anyways so if for whatever reason I remove the blower mod and the fuse blows it will make me think twice. According to an FTE post the blower uses 14a when on the factory wiring and 17a when with the relay.

[Gary Lewis]

And the 17 amps is when on high, so with the relay you won't be pulling that much through the fuse.

I think your plan on the GVOD is good - put an inline fuse where you tap off and go right to the OD.

[kramttocs]

Has been cold the last two evenings so did some truck wiring work inside the house. Got the choke jumper (off oil pressure switch wire) and the GVOD jumper with fuse (off HVAC dash wire) done so just need to plug them in when it warms up.

On to redoing the headlight harness since I am going from four relays to just two.
The factory wiring was already cut for the relays so I added some mp280 connectors to each side. The drivers side will get capped off and the passenger side will go to the relays. For the connector on the headlight I am avoiding splices there so I ordered some tabbed, uninsulated female terminals. Unfortunately I didn't expect there to be multiple widths so I have a bunch of 1/4 ones now... I reordered the correct width and those came in from Summit today. Fit on the headlight tabs is great.
The two packages I ordered are below. Because I am using 12awg I wasn't sure which I would use. The 12awg txl fits fine in the 'single' one and two wires fit fine in the double.






Here's my question - any reason why I shouldn't use the double in the passenger side headlight connector to be the junction for the drivers side vs having the two power wires join at the relay?  The only downside I can think of would be that the power wire between the relay and the passenger plug would be carrying the load of two headlights. That will be something like 3'. I don't want to risk too much heat at the passenger headlight terminal. Hoping the 12awg will prevent that though.
Thoughts?

[Gary Lewis]

I think using the terminal as a junction point is fine.  And you aren't going to overheat the terminal at the headlight.  The current is wire-to-wire, assuming you get a good joint there.

Are you going to use a terminal block for those terminals to go into?

[kramttocs]

Thanks Gary. I didn't think I would be at risk with the amps and length but I second guess myself on this stuff.
Yes, when the PO did the relay mod they bought some headlight jumpers and must have tossed the factory ones.
Motormite 85810 is what I found from the number on the block. I'll remove the jumpers in there that were butt connected to the relays and snap my new ones in (tanged).

[Gary Lewis]

That appears to be a part number used by several vendors.  Anyway, you have a good plan.

[kramttocs]

Need to take some photos as I haven't added any in awhile.
Had some comp time so took the day off to work on some more wiring.

Took longer than planned doing the headlight relay but it's all done now and working great.

I ended up running the headlight wiring thorough the channel at the top of the core support. It's electrical tape wrapped and then ran through some nylon sheathing so should be protected. Had some grommets that fit in the holes on each end to protect against those edges. I think the factory connectors for the fuel pump harness that goes over the radiator are all too big to fit in the holes but may try it with the trailer one as it cleans it up a little.

Also installed the HVAC jumper that was spliced into and fused for the gvod module. I haven't ran all of the other wires for the gvod but I plan to run it in inactive 1:1 mode anyways for awhile so I can get some mpg values before I turn it on for some comparison.

While on the topic of wiring, I pulled a couple firewall grommets from some computer controlled trucks at the jy a few months ago and finally got to use one today. These are the grommets above the drivers side valve cover that have a mess of wires in them. I removed all the wires and am using this for any of my firewall penetrating add on wires. I am using some stainless steel harness clamps bolted to various bolts (like gas pedal or passenger side dash supporting bracket)that stick through the firewall to route the wires safely away from the engine to either side as needed. Will have to find a way to seal the grommet when done as I won't have as many wires as factory.
I installed it today because I ran the ground wire to my in-cab ground bar. The blue seas ground bar screwed to the center dash support base without any modifications - while it wasn't dead on, there were two factory holes close enough that the screws got started and could draw it in tight. This has given me a good solid ground point where I don't have to stack a bunch of ring terminals together. The bar was grounded already by the screws into the cab but I ran the dedicated ground wire anyways. I have several more grounds needed than factory with the gvod, led flashers, remote entry, automatic window module, brake controller, etc and since any removable metal (like the dash skeleton) where things were grounded previously was either painted or powder coated I didn't want to have to scrape it off.
This photo is from awhile back as all of the screws are about filled up now.

[Gary Lewis]

I like that ground strap.  Blue Seas?

On the headlight wiring through the core support, the later trucks ran a lot of wire through there, so I'm hoping to do the same.  Not sure the core support will allow it, but I sure hope so.

Anyway, good progress.  

[kramttocs]

https://www.bluesea.com/products/2306/Common_100A_Mini_Grounding_BusBar_-_6_Gang

I didn't know newer trucks ran wiring through there but that makes me feel better. I was trying to figure out if there was a reason factory didn't (aside from labor) that would mean I shouldn't also.  Now that I know that I  going to take another look and see just how much I can run through there.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks for the link.

As for through/over the radiator support, here's the harness and I've drawn a line showing what goes through:

[grumpin]

Nice job! That's a great idea running a dedicated ground for that. You can't be grounded too good.

I do that with CB antennas, even though they have a good ground I'll run one from the mount to a good ground.

[kramttocs]

Thanks Dane.  Was working in getting the cb antenna wiring figured out so may be directing some questions your way

The factory hole in the cowl is too small for the Tri band antenna end so I unsoldered it from the splitter board today and will solder it back in after running it through the hole.