Wiring Mess - Clean It Up - Advice Needed

[Stark in the Wild]

Hi all,

I have an older truck and am putting lights (fog / ditch / bed), winch, speakers, etc. on it which is making the wiring in the engine bay less than beautiful. More than that I hate having a ton of crap running directly to the battery. Any tips or advice on how to move the accessory wires else-wear in the engine bay w/out getting a short? I have some ideas but wanted to see what others have done before I attempt my idea.

Thanks and happy trails!

- Starkey

 

[NevadaLover]

Try these, they make them for positive and negative connections, run 1 big wire from the battery to the connectors and split all the accessories off from there.

PowerPost Connectors - Blue Sea Systems

Engineering high quality marine electrical components for safety, reliability and performance

www.bluesea.com

 

[Fadeagray]

The first step is to calculate the total amp draw of the circuits that you will be wiring. I would exclude the winch and mobile communications devises in the calculation, as both should be wired directly to the battery. The total amp calculation will help you select the correct in-line fuse and wire size to route power to an auxiliary fuse box from the battery. Auxiliary fuse boxes typically handle 100 amps max at 12 volts. Amazon has a good selection of wire, fuse boxes and circuit breakers.

Blue Sea Systems has a great app to calculate wire size and circuit protection on their web site.

The second step is to calculate wire size required for each circuit based on amp draw. After wire size is calculated, use the Blue Sea calculator to determine fuse required to protect the wiring.

I have found that a good set of ratcheting wire crimpers and heat shrink connectors make for a very clean and durable wiring install.

I hope this information is helpful for your project.

 

[Buddha.]

ST Blade Fuse Block - 6 Circuits with Negative Bus and Cover - Blue Sea Systems

Compact ATO® / ATC® fuse block consolidates branch circuits and eliminates the tangle of in-line fuses for electronics and other appliances.

www.bluesea.com

 

[Adventurous]

On my last truck, I had a power wire running from the battery to a resettable circuit breaker, then from the circuit breaker to a Bussman block that gave me 6 circuits fed through relays. Two ground bus bars provided grounds for all leads. That fed my lights and other switched accessories.

I also ran a power wire from the powered side of the breaker to an ANL fuse holder, then onto the winch.

It was clean, tidy, and required running minimal wires through the firewall.

 

[Hoooogan]

Aside from the fuse/distribution blocks other folks have mentioned, wire loom can help bundle and protect wires for a cleaner and more factory looking harness. This is most effective when you plan out your wiring routes throughout the engine bay. Follow the same paths to the battery. You want to bundle as many wires together as possible so you dont have 7 different looms of varying sizes all over/crossing the engine bay. Finish with a wrap of nice electric tape to finish it off; i prefer the Scotch Super 88 electric tape. Zip-ties should only be used for securing the loom down, not closing them off. Factory harnesses are built with electric tape closing them, so should you.

Hard plastic style: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TDG37Y8
Mesh style: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FVZLCQY

If you really want to take it a step further(highly labor intensive), some have disassembled adjacent harnesses to add to the bundle, so as to not create additional looms and give it a "factory feel".