[Friggin Idiot]

28Jul2020 98,460mi

I finally had a chance to get out and work on the truck! Since it was holding up other mods, getting power to the aux fuse block was the first thing that needed fixed. I debated about how I wanted to wire it, whether to include a relay so that it would only be on with ignition, or if direct battery power would suffer too much parasitic drain when the truck sits. I thought hard about the latter, in the end decided the relay was too much work for little concern. Being essential public safety personnel, my truck never sits for more than a week between running. With the DC Power & Engineering 270A alternator installed, the battery should be getting a full charge even from my 20 minute commute. Though the fuse block is full of fuses, it's not fused itself. I decided to put a 100A circuit breaker in the positive line, it just took me forever to decide where to mount it. I had concerns about allowing water into the underhood fuse box, but ended up mounting on top of it anyway because it just made the most sense with routing. My first attempt at making heavy duty cables last week didn't come out very professional looking, so I took another swing at it, this time without soldering the connectors on. I used some SimPull 6AWG, should be more than enough copper for the max draw.




Being the last parts I ordered, the horns were the next upgrade at the top of the pile. I had intended to add a PA speaker and some cool sound effects like this guy. I even bought most of what I needed for it, I decided it was going to be a little more wiring involved than I would like. I think the 4Runner horns are ok, but I really wanted something more truck like. My stupid COVID purchase was a HornBlasters Tug 37 air horn. Thankfully I failed to figure out a place to mount that 37" monster, as it would have required me to add an on-board air compressor and pressure tank. I was ready to go that route, until I realized that there's just not much left room in or near the engine compartment for things of such size. Since I never put a winch in the SSO bumper, I had room for the compressor and tank there, but that still left the horn. Hornblasters was nice, and got a chuckle that I had ordered the Tug to install on an SUV without doing a spare tire delete mounting.

So I decided to look into something more size appropriate, and in the direct drive category because at the end of the day I just can't justify on board air. My portable SmittyBilt is working just fine. Still wanting a low tone, I picked up the biggest/longest direct driven horn I could find, Hornblasters Musket. Since I'm a gun guy, the Musket just seemed right in a karma sort of way too! When I found out the OEM horns are 400 & 500 hz I decided to go lower on them too, and picked up a set of PIAA Superior Bass at 330 & 400 hz.

When I need the horn, I want it loud enough people notice. Although full on train horns are not required or appropriate for most situations, the direct drive air horns aren't as powerful. I'm also not a big enough A-hole to go around startling people just for kicks, remember the original intention was "Nicest Car Horn." I used the factory mounting location for the PIAAs, decided to move the OEM horn to the center bumper support, and just had to find a place for the Musket. Again there wasn't room in the engine compartment. So I removed the grill and bumper for better access to the center bumper and winch area of the SSO. In doing so I saw the line from the coolant pump on the intercooler loop chafing against the SSO bumper. I zip-tied a double layer of wire sheathing from the boat trailer project around it as a sacrifice instead of the line.




Long and straight is more difficult to mount than you'd expect! There aren't a ton of places that even the 18" Musket would fit nicely, and not be in a position which could be submerged. I also wanted to keep it on the driver's side so that the wiring would be shorter. I must have spent 90 minutes before getting the idea to mount it inside the fender above the wheel well. While this would not be an easy place to mount it, it had plenty of room, was out of the way, on the driver's side, dry, and available. While I would have liked to mount it forward facing, getting the wheel well liner off was turning out to be impossible. Even with body panel removal tools, I fought for an hour just getting 2 of the plastic plugs out, removing the other 4 to mount it forward facing wasn't going to be worth it. So It faces back towards me as the driver, but that made mounting the compressor easier and closer to the relay too. The compressor went into an existing hole between the headlight and fog light behind the bumper cover. If I ever have a problem with it, I can at least get at it easily again. The horn would be a different matter.






I read at least one thread where aftermarket horns eventually caused a failure of the K-block in the under hood fuse/relay box, so I wanted all the aftermarkets run through a relay and from the newly working aux fuse block. I realized that removing both factory horns could leave me without a horn if the fuse blew or the breaker tripped. Since I only needed one of the factory connectors as a trigger for the relay, I decided to keep the 400 hz horn and just mount it differently.


The PIAA instructions said to cut off the OEM connectors and use factory wiring. Already decided that wasn't an option, and all they had included was a ground wire connection. There was no wiring included with the Musket either, so I cut everything to length with rolls of 14AWG that I bought for reasons like this. While I prefer to solder the connectors on, again I decided it would be too much work and mess. Thinking about it revealed the utility of the small handheld torches though, and I might have to add one to my tool box. In the mean time I ensure that everything was VERY well crimped. I tied both the PIAAs and the Musket into the same relay, adding a special switch or toggle for the Musket just seems like more hassle than it would be worth. I hid the relay under the upper front cross beam with some double-sided Gorilla tape. Then added wire loom and zip ties to clean everything up.





Hear them in these videos.
OEM 400HZ ONLY
OEM 400HZ + PIAA 330HZ & 400HZ + Musket

[Friggin Idiot]

20Aug2020 99,543 mi
The long awaited time finally came, and I checked off 2 more mods off my to-do list.

Mod #1 @Antman 's Fog Light Mod (Start at post #22)
This has been on my list ever since I had to drive in white-out conditions with the HID low beams. Just parking lights and fog lights is all I wanted, and there was no way to do it without modding the vehicle. Of course every vehicle and need is different so I skewed from Antman's instructions, but they were a great help and influence. I elected not to complete the upgrade to the dashboard as it seemed unnecessary. With the Baja Design Squadron Sport fog lights, the only time you don't know they're on is full bright day light, and even then you can see the reflection on any road sign.

Step #1 - Ensure proper supervision.


Disassemble Dash. That's a lot of wires, and I'm still adding more!


I wasn't tapping into the OEM fuse box, but just adding to the aux fuse block that I have under the hood. It meant fishing wires through the firewall grommet, but I've gotten pretty decent at it. While occasionally useful, I also don't like using body grounds for things that can be turned on while the vehicle is off, so add another line to the negative side of the fuse block.
I tried to decide on wiring ahead of time, but wasn't sure exactly how I wanted it until I could get the dash apart. It was also based on where I mounted the relay. My relay terminal 86 is wired to the brown wire on the OEM switch. Then OEM switch goes to fuse block negative. I skipped the IGN-ON circuit option Antman presented, so fuse block positive provides to both terminals 30 & 85. Terminal 87 runs to the White/Silver wire depicted in Antman's thread.

Wiring for the OEM stalk switch


Relay mount location. This came in really handy and wasn't being used for anything while still being hidden behind the dash.



Mod #2
While I had the dash apart, all the supplies out and a mess made of the truck I decided to finally get around to put wiring behind those switches I drilled into the dash for my ditch lights. I've only had the ditch lights sitting on the work bench since 2018, but my reduced work schedule meant I had the time to finally install them. No time like the present.
There were 2 big issues with ditch lights:
A) Baja Designs wiring harness isn't long enough
B) I wanted each light switched individually
The reason for Issue B was that I often drive in mountainous areas, where one side can be a sheer cliff, and the other side a nice pasture full of deer. I don't want dazzled from the light on one side while missing the deer on the other. This meant making my own harness, somewhat intimidating for someone who's not done it. But when I realized it was just running wires where I needed them and adding connectors it became much simpler. The hard part was figuring out how I wanted it wired. In the end I decided several things which really made this more simple.
Each BD Squadron light can draw a max of <3A. With that low of a draw, I could wire directly through the switches, no relays required. I did ensure the switches I purchased were rated for up to 12v 25A, so they shouldn't have issues. In wiring directly through the switch, I can run positive from the switch to each light individually, and leave the negative shorter by running direct to each light.
So there's a single power run from the aux fuse block to a quick disconnect behind the dash. The quick disconnect makes it so that the dash can still be removed without removing the switches. I decided this was important and worked to my advantage to serve as a point to split to each switch close to them. Then each switch runs back through a quick disconnect, the firewall grommet, and out to each light.

Behind Switches/Dash


I debated about running the passenger side across inside the cabin then out closer to the light, but the HVAC system really makes that look difficult. Tearing apart the passenger side of the dashboard also was not appealing. I tried to run along the main harness at the top back of the firewall, but had trouble getting through any but the first retainer. So I cheated, and ran both wires to the passenger side light through the seal under the top of the hood. I don't think the hood puts enough pressure on that seal to smash the wires let alone wear on them.

Driver's Side Wiring


Passenger Side Wiring

[Friggin Idiot]

Ditch Lights Continued

The switches completed and dash reassembled


Ditch lights




And now I can finally signal the International Space Station from my truck! (All lights can be on simultaneously)

[Axix23]

Love the thread. Any output beam photos of the GTR ultra 2 Leds?

[Friggin Idiot]

17Sep2020 99,575 mi
Finally got the new tires installed. Went with Toyo Open Country AT3 P285/70R17. I debated about the sizing for months, along with P vs LT C loads. In the end, my off-roading is limited, I wanted to reclaim a bit of a smoother ride without losing even more MPG because of the larger size. I can tell you the ride home was noticeably smoother and taller.
I trimmed about 1/2" of the bottom of the bumper in the wheel well, and had to push the fender liner forward some (new holes). The driver's front seems to be rubbing on the mudflap, but it could be rubbing the body mount. I'm going to be watching it carefully. I'll probably end up ordering a BMC kit in a week or so if only for peace of mind.

[Friggin Idiot]

29Sep2020 100,000mi
I finally reached the end of the break-in period!

[Friggin Idiot]

20Jan21

My co-pilot and long time best friend Piper passed on today. She'll always have a place in my heart and dog hair in the truck.

[Zeusmotorworks]

Sorry brother... that always sucks.

[91foxbody]

Great looking dal, my copilot is one as well. Sorry about your loss!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Matt831]

Sorry for your loss.

[Cymon]

Sorry for your loss. Our girl is 17 so it’s a matter of time now. Looks like a lucky pooch to have been able to join on so many adventures.

[spartacus]

Sorry for your loss. I also lost mine a few years ago a boxer and GHP.

[Akkording]

RIP Piper, I'm sorry for your lost.

[97BlackAckCL]

Sorry to hear, that's always hard

[Saker]

Sorry for your loss!

RIP Piper