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Blue Sea Fuse Block Install


Disco2Guy

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There were so many terminals on the aux post of the battery, it looked like a squashed octopus. It was time to get this fuse block and get the wires off the battery. I grabbed 5' (each) of red and black 4 AWG cable, a 125 amp MEGA fuse and holder from NAPA. I don't have a clear pic of that fuse location, but it's mounted to the inside of the hydraulic jack compartment. You can see the bolts sticking out in one of the pics.

 

The location was tricky to determine, mainly because of the SAI pump on the firewall taking all the good space. I decided to use the 2 bolts at the end of the main fuse box as a mounting point for a bracket. That's where Pedram comes into the picture. I sent him a pic of where it should be mounted, and we got together today. It was just going to be making the bracket and hooking the block to the battery, but instead we started by rewiring everything first. Pedram had the good idea to relocate the relays on an extension of the bracket, which wound up making the whole install cleaner.

 

No complications except for one of the HIDs on the roof rack must have an internal short. This started on the Lost Coast trip. When I got home, I was able to isolate which light (outer driver) had the short, and thought it was in one of my terminal connections. The connections were re-made today, but the fuse would still blow for that one light. The light will have to be removed and inspected to confirm and (hopefully) find the short.

 

Now that it's installed, the next step is to get the ARB fridge wired to a constant power supply, a mobile HAM rig (the Yaseu FT-8800), and 20" light bar in front of the winch.

 

Here are a few pics from the day.

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I think that Brenton stayed over at my "Shop" because I did what he would of wanted done in the first place. It's funny because before Sunday you could see a cluster of wires going to the battery and about 15 ground wires mixed in there. After I finished Sunday night it looked like a very organized mess.

 

I would of spent more time popping fuses and ziptieing but Brenton had to leave with some yummy pizza leftovers. I almost installed the light bar. But he now has space for another relay and now has to figure out where to stuff more wires into that firewall.

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You know, I don't think I've ever seen a multi-relay box like that in the marine world. And I doubt I will in the future as we're moving away from discrete systems and toward integrated stuff that's more of a PITA to work on.
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I did a Blue Sea fusebox in the rear of the P38 and plan to do one in the LR3.

 

If you want to run the ARB, I suggest you run a 10g wire (minimum size) to the rear for a dedicated connection and the 12v plugs are crap on washboards. I switched to Anderson plugs and they are much more secure.

 

http://www.speichers.com/pictures/rover/rr_12v_anderson_wires.jpg

 

(I can't open the 'add image' pop-up on my MS Surface. Link to pic above)

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Brenton already has about 6 open connections in the engine bay for more accessories. So we can just run a 10-8 gauge wire back and leave the fuses up front. Maybe if he needs more power in the rear we can run a distribution block for that.
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I did a Blue Sea fusebox in the rear of the P38 and plan to do one in the LR3.

 

If you want to run the ARB, I suggest you run a 10g wire (minimum size) to the rear for a dedicated connection and the 12v plugs are crap on washboards. I switched to Anderson plugs and they are much more secure.

 

http://www.speichers.com/pictures/rover/rr_12v_anderson_wires.jpg

 

(I can't open the 'add image' pop-up on my MS Surface. Link to pic above)

 

Hmmm, I might switch the plugs, but to be honest, I've never had an issue with the plug coming loose. The ARB was installed just before the 2013 DV trip, survived the trip from Lippencott Grade to the Hot Springs without issue and continues to do so. BUT, not having to worry about it is probably a good idea.

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I did a Blue Sea fusebox in the rear of the P38 and plan to do one in the LR3.

 

If you want to run the ARB, I suggest you run a 10g wire (minimum size) to the rear for a dedicated connection and the 12v plugs are crap on washboards. I switched to Anderson plugs and they are much more secure.

 

http://www.speichers.com/pictures/rover/rr_12v_anderson_wires.jpg

 

(I can't open the 'add image' pop-up on my MS Surface. Link to pic above)

 

I'll second this. I did OK with the stock 12v plug in the rear of the console for a while but then it started getting flakey. Switched it out to power poles and haven't given it a second thought since.

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One thing that most don't realize is that your CT has the main battery underneath your drivers seat. Which makes running power in the engine bay fun. So you need at least two of these. The third is a bonus.
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True that. Also, my headlights were powered through the switch on the steering column which made them weak. Now i use the same system but added relays for H-L and ran 1 power wire to the fuse block. The center was for the HAM radio and the usb/12v sockets and B's fav the pelican case in the rear is for the CB, fan, work lights etc
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Anyway to tie these to the existing hood pin-switch? Not sure if that pin is throwing a ground or closing a circuit but would be cool to have it activate the under hood lights. Hmm maybe I have finally found a use for a couple strips of DRL LED's...
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