DIY Aux Relay and Fuse Box

[Panik]

So I built this about a year ago when I was thinking about adding some stuff to our old Jeep Commander. At the time I was looking online at the relay assemblies folks were putting together for off road applications and wanted to give a go at building something that was relatively compact, self contained, and protected from the environments. Also was wanting something I could easily pull for trouble shooting and diagnostic purposes ('cause I'm a crappy electrician).

 

In any case I never got around to installing it because I couldn't find a decent place for it. We've since traded the Heep for a 2014 CC Sierra. I was thinking about throwing it somewhere in the Sierra's engine bay, hooking it up to one of the battery's aux. posts and using it as a starting point for adding on some extras such as lights. If I need more or want to redesign it I can always do so in the future and scavenge parts.

 

Figured I throw some pictures of it up here for critique, commentary, sh!ts and giggles and the like, seeing as it is a slow night in our household. I'm not overly thrilled about the way it turned out, but I'll take it for a first attempt. I would've like to streamline the location of the pass through's but constrained myself by the size of the box I used. Anyways, it's not really obvious in the pic, but the post for ground pass thru comes out on the right hand side and the power pass through is located between the two wire outs on the front face of the box.

 

 

[bdbake01]

Nice! For Ver 2.0, I'd suggest using plug in bases for the relays instead of individual spades. Would help with the troubleshooting you mentioned.

[kstruckcountry]

I think it's cool. I'd like to do the same thing with 2 or 3 relays.

[Panik]

Nice! For Ver 2.0, I'd suggest using plug in bases for the relays instead of individual spades. Would help with the troubleshooting you mentioned.

Thanks for the suggestion! I think if I do that I may have to find a different box, or switch to micro relays due to size and space constraints. I'm actually in the planning stages of building another box for my tractor and if I can I'll use pug in bases. So far the changes I'd like to implement are a) micro relays (w/bases), b) smaller gauge wiring, c) pass through Delphi pin connectors.

 

Kstruckcountry - Do it! It was a pretty satisfying project. I built this one during Jan/Feb on the dining room table when it was too cold to do anything fun in the shop. The most expensive single item was the pelican case.

[servantsalesmen]

You should do a more detailed write up on this box. It would he perfect for my application but I have no idea how to build one. My hope is to run a dual alternater set up on my 6.0 that charges an auxiliary battery. That battery would be totally separate from the main electrical system and I could use it to run my auxiliary lights and maybe an on board compressor. Looks like a great set up!

[Panik]

I'd love to a detailed write up. Unfortunately I am not sure if I have the time at the moment. If I do one it will most likely be based on the box I am building for my tractor. The guts should be about the same and that way I can take pictures of the build process. Not that building these are all that complicated, but the way my mind works it would be easier for me to do a write as I build rather than going back and trying to write it up from memory.

 

What I can do short term is look back through the links I've saved for reference and see if I still have anything relating to this build that might help you or others. If I find anything I'll post it here. One thing I can say about this box is that if I do use it I will have to add a relay into the power line that feeds it so that it will be RAP compliant, otherwise it will be hot all the time.

 

Servantsalesman, if I can ask, why are you going to run a separate alternator and battery setup? Why not just run the batteries in series and upgrade your alternator as necessary? Not criticizing, my experience with dual battery setups is nil so was just wondering why you are planning on going that route as opposed to say wiring the batteries in series and running a alternator with higher capacity.

[kstruckcountry]

It would be a lot easier to use a single alternator. There are a variety of ways you can rig it up so the aux battery won't drain the main one.

 

What relays did you use on this box? I think I'd just need one big one for RAP and then 2 smaller ones for lights.

[servantsalesmen]

Frankly because I hadn't thought about it much. I have minimal experience with electronic systems in cars so I figured that running an entirely separate system would be safer just so I wouldn't have to worry about screwing up the main system. And if you did a write up on the tractor I'd definitely follow that thread!

[Panik]

What relays did you use on this box? I think I'd just need one big one for RAP and then 2 smaller ones for lights.

 

Honestly I don't know off the top of my head. I'm out right now, but will check when I get home. The nice thing is they are velcroed in so if I need to change them out I can. Figured if it works for NASA it'll work for me :-)

 

Honestly I didn't consider RAP when I built this. It's a bit of a design flaw on my part. In anycase I'm not looking to power anything with major draws, some led lights primarily.

 

*Edit - The relays are rated at 40amp. I think I picked them up either at NAPA or Autozone.

 

 

Frankly because I hadn't thought about it much. I have minimal experience with electronic systems in cars so I figured that running an entirely separate system would be safer just so I wouldn't have to worry about screwing up the main system. And if you did a write up on the tractor I'd definitely follow that thread!

 

If it were me, and again I am coming from a very uneducated position, I would likely just wire the second battery in series and upgrade my alternator and be done with it. However, as Kstruckcountry said there are multiple ways to go about ding it.