"No more Psychedelic Spaghetti",
or "Managing Your Electrical System"
I had added a whole bunch of electrical accessories to my truck. These included:

two seperate two-way radios (VHF and CB)

a pair of Hella 500 Fog Lights

a pair of Hella 530 Driving Lights

a pair of rock lights under the floor

an air compressor (not yet installed)

an electic radiator fan

a winch (not yet installed)


All those items, although never likely to all be run at the same time, are a potential burdon to the electrical system of the truck. I beefed up the system with a new Optima Redtop battery and a 110A alternator from Downey, but I still had to organize everything. The first step was to detach all the single power wires from the positive battery terminal, and do it right! I ran a 10 gauge line from the battery to a marine fusebox attached to the firewall, and put a Bosch 30A relay on each circuit to manage the power and prolong the life of the switches. I bundled the wires as much as possible and wrapped them in cable wrapping from Candian Tire. This protects the wires from wear AND cleans up the engine bay considerably. It's still not perfect, but it's getting there. I decided that I could do without my centre heating vents, so I yanked them out and cut a pair of aluminum switch plates to fit where the vents were. I painted them with the left-over paint I used to jazz up my rusty chrome wheels--lucky for me I'm such a cheapskate!! There was a small piece of ductwork behind the vents which just pulled out, creating a massive conduit for many, many wires, hoses, and cables to run discreetly from the switch plates to the hole in the firewall. I added an led to each switch, so I can tell at a glance if I left something on.
Shortly after completing the fusebox install, I decided to run it from a switched circuit instead of directly from the battery. I tapped into the feed for the daytime running lights, as they only require <7.5Amps to operate. The fusebox is governed by a Bosch 30A relay, and is 'off' when the ignition isn't engaged. No more dead batteries for me!
Here you can see the new fusebox, and the Bosch relays for foglights, driving lights, the air compressor, and the accessory bay. It's virtually waterproof as it's designed for marine use, and it's located high up, well away from potential water hazards. Since taking this photo, I'v wrapped more of the wiring, and cleaned it up a little. The big blue line is the air pressure gauge feed, and has since been relocated.
The radios and stereo are all wired into the stock radio circuit, which has been upgraded to 30A. The rest of the electrical accessories are governed by the marine fusebox on the firewall, and my custom console. From the bottom, up: fire extinguisher, CB radio, VHF Radio, CD/stereo, tilt clinometer, and the custom switch bays. The one on the left is a separate circuit for the air compressor, and the pressure gauge which connects to the reserve tank.
The Bay on the left controls (from l-r): rock lights, winch master switch, and accessory switch (I haven't added a third item yet, but I wanted to have the option. A waffle iron, maybe). The three switches on the right are fed by a common line, as they are not high-consumption circuits.
Here's a closeup of the air compressor console. The air hose for the gauge juuuuust fit through the existing hole in the firewall along with all the other wires. I managed to get everything through that one hole, and sealed it from water with silicone caulk.
The fog light, driving light and fan kill switches are mounted in the stock accessory switch locations, in the dashboard just to the left of the steering column. I used Cole-Hersee low profile toggles here to reduce the risk of injury in case of an accident. The last thing I want is a toggle switch lodged under my kneecap, especially if I have to walk everywhere! The small green switch on the lower level is the fan over-ride switch. It is made by Flex-A-Lite (but, of course, "sold seperately").
The master kill switch will also go here eventually, for easy access from outside the vehicle in case of emergency.
This is the wiring harness which runs to the switch bays. Note also the blue air line running to the in-dash air pressure gauge. Everything fits! The hole has been silicone caulked since this photo, just incase there's enough room for water moleculed to leak in.