12
Stage 1: Wiring
The nervous system of the project. The whole thing is basically wire management. Where to put them and how to control them.
PARTS LIST
So many wires ... to keep them all straight and somewhat coordinated, I decided to use striped wire. Sherco Auto & Marine in Florida sells it in 25-foot rolls. It is good quality tinned copper marine wire with thick insulation. The stripes are "okay" ... not great, but they are there and really help keep track of everything.
I used a braided sleeve for wire management and protection inside the vehicle. It comes in several colors and sizes. The trick here is that the listed sleeve size is the width of the FLAT SLEEVE; when filled with wires, the CIRCUMFERENCE of the bundle will be twice the width of the sleeve. So if you have a bundle that is 1/2-inch DIAMETER, then the CIRCUMFERENCE of that bundle is (1/2)*pi ≈ 3/2-inch and you will need a 3/4-inch sleeve width. Clear as mud? Yeah.
The braided design allows it to expand and contract somewhat, so the numbers are a bit flexible. The ends also have a tendency to unbraid when cut, so it can be tricky to work with. Melt the ends as you cut it with a "hot knife" keeps the ends from fraying, but then the end cannot expand or contract. I ended up using shrink tube to bind the ends. End result was worth it, I think.
Outside the vehicle, I also used plastic split loom in addition to the braided sleeve, and wrapped the loom with vinyl tape. Secured the ends with Super 88.
Everything had to run to the right rear corner. The factory CD changer location looked to be the best place for me to mount the controller. Here is what it ended up looking like (not a great photo):
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Ran the bundles up along the D pillar. Put a relay behind the trim panel on each side for the rear roof lights. That coil of wire to the right is for the rear back-up lights; it eventually got stuffed through the factory grommet to the tail light assembly.
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All tucked in:
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To get the wires outside, I had to drill a hole. Used a step-bit and came in from underneath. Deburred the edges with a round file and painted the bare metal.
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Added some black RTV silicone and installed the cable gland. Trickier than it sounds.
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With cable:
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Up on the roof:
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I needed to run three wire bundles up to the front, 2 for switch wires, and 1 for light power. This is where they went. The big one in this pic is the 1/0 awg cable that runs to the rear battery; it got a layer of braided sleeve, too.
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Here is the harness I built for the roof lights, all loomed up and wrapped.
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The nervous system of the project. The whole thing is basically wire management. Where to put them and how to control them.
PARTS LIST
Striped Tracer Wire (Sherco)
Flexo TightWeave -- braided sleeve(WireCare)
ShrinkFlex -- shrink tube (WireCare)
Split Loom (Home Depot)
Cable Gland pg13.5 (Amazon)
Tapecase TC790 -- non-adhesive vinyl tape (Amazon)
Super 88 electrical tape (Home Depot)
Flexo TightWeave -- braided sleeve(WireCare)
ShrinkFlex -- shrink tube (WireCare)
Split Loom (Home Depot)
Cable Gland pg13.5 (Amazon)
Tapecase TC790 -- non-adhesive vinyl tape (Amazon)
Super 88 electrical tape (Home Depot)
So many wires ... to keep them all straight and somewhat coordinated, I decided to use striped wire. Sherco Auto & Marine in Florida sells it in 25-foot rolls. It is good quality tinned copper marine wire with thick insulation. The stripes are "okay" ... not great, but they are there and really help keep track of everything.
I used a braided sleeve for wire management and protection inside the vehicle. It comes in several colors and sizes. The trick here is that the listed sleeve size is the width of the FLAT SLEEVE; when filled with wires, the CIRCUMFERENCE of the bundle will be twice the width of the sleeve. So if you have a bundle that is 1/2-inch DIAMETER, then the CIRCUMFERENCE of that bundle is (1/2)*pi ≈ 3/2-inch and you will need a 3/4-inch sleeve width. Clear as mud? Yeah.
The braided design allows it to expand and contract somewhat, so the numbers are a bit flexible. The ends also have a tendency to unbraid when cut, so it can be tricky to work with. Melt the ends as you cut it with a "hot knife" keeps the ends from fraying, but then the end cannot expand or contract. I ended up using shrink tube to bind the ends. End result was worth it, I think.
Outside the vehicle, I also used plastic split loom in addition to the braided sleeve, and wrapped the loom with vinyl tape. Secured the ends with Super 88.
Everything had to run to the right rear corner. The factory CD changer location looked to be the best place for me to mount the controller. Here is what it ended up looking like (not a great photo):
Ran the bundles up along the D pillar. Put a relay behind the trim panel on each side for the rear roof lights. That coil of wire to the right is for the rear back-up lights; it eventually got stuffed through the factory grommet to the tail light assembly.
All tucked in:
To get the wires outside, I had to drill a hole. Used a step-bit and came in from underneath. Deburred the edges with a round file and painted the bare metal.
Added some black RTV silicone and installed the cable gland. Trickier than it sounds.
With cable:
Up on the roof:
I needed to run three wire bundles up to the front, 2 for switch wires, and 1 for light power. This is where they went. The big one in this pic is the 1/0 awg cable that runs to the rear battery; it got a layer of braided sleeve, too.
Here is the harness I built for the roof lights, all loomed up and wrapped.
