OrangeTexan's Build

[OrangeTexan]

Herein lay the obsessive ramblings of an engineer…

AKA OrangeTexan’s Build!

She is a 1998 4X4 Limited 3.4L Auto with factory E-Locker and 4.30 gears. Anthracite Gray.

Here is the most current picture of the vehicle:

As of September 1, 2013 with ~145k miles

List of mods:

Engine:
-K&N drop-in filter (don’t like these for daily driving, but can be useful for towing, OEM paper style filter in for now)

-Deck plate mod

-Magnaflow Cat

-OEM style muffler – had a 16” magnaflow on it and it was just too much noise inside the cabin. The OEM style muffler made it quieter by a considerable amount without taking away that truck feel.

-Big 3 + 1 Power cable upgrade

-Bussman Relay Module Install for additional power circuits


Brakes & Suspension:
-Drilled & Slotted front rotors

-OME lift: 881 springs with 90004 shocks Front ; 906 springs with OEM shocks Rear (had the 60028 “comfort valved” OME shocks in the rear, but the “comfort” part is a LIE)

-Falken Rocky Mountain ATS 265/75-16

-LC wheels (painted with Duplicolor wheel paint)

-TrailGear 1.25” Spacers


Drivetrain:
-Rear Diff Breather mod/extension

-Welded steering wheel shaft coupling

-B&M 70268 Transmission Cooler (w/ radiator bypass)

-ABS Defeat mod

-E-Locker anytime mod AKA Blue/Red stripe wire mod


Body & Interior:
-Rola rack (not installed for Daily Driving)

-Tan Husky floor mats & Black Husky cargo mat

-Flat black TRD emblems in place of the side “Limited” emblems

-BullDog Keyless Entry

-PIAA 85110 Sport Horns 400Hz and 500Hz (no more wimpy asian horns)

-Front and cargo 12v socket mod

-Faux wood grain black out mod

-Dual Headrest DVD players (CLD-700’s)

-4th Gen sunvisors

-AutoDimming Rearview mirror with compass and outside temperature.


FUTURE MODS:

Hybrid Rack
Offroad/rock lights
Dual Battery setup
Adjustable suspension
Different wheels with the right offset (so I can get rid of the spacers)
Bigger brakes
Full armor
Winch
Interior entertainment
Whatever other silly upgrades I think up….


The end goal is an expedition vehicle.

So some of the upgrades you wont see much of a write up for, since they have already been done before. You can go find write ups of those here on the site without me repeating them. What you will see here are things I have not seen write ups for, or for mods that I am expanding on or maybe showing a different way to go about the upgrade.

I hope you find the following either amusing or helpful. Enjoy!

 

[OrangeTexan]

Front and Rear 12v Socket mod – Faux Wood Grain Black Out Mod

So one day coming home from work I noticed my rear tires needed some air. Being lazy that day and not wanting to drag out my air compressor in my garage, I opted to use the small portable compressor I keep with me in the truck. As luck would have it, on the second tire, the compressor stopped working. As it turns out there is a little gray wire on the back side of the rear 12v socket that I either burned through or it just broke while I was using it. Regardless, I wanted to keep a functioning 12v socket in the rear so I needed to replace it. Additionally, the front cigarette lighter would always pull out of the dash on me when I would try to pull out my phone charger. Obviously some clips or something on the back side was broken. So ordered two of these from Amazon:

I bought this particular one thinking that possibly it would just plug right in to the old connector.

BUT it does not. No big deal.

To start, you will need to remove the panel that the old 12v socket resides in. Start by prying at the top. This is the easiest way to get it off.

These are the bottom clips, which is why it wont pry from the bottom.

Once the panel is off I had to get creative with how to get the socket out. You can figure out the best way for you. The easiest way might by to disassemble the socket by removing the nut on the back, but I was impatient and just crushed the socket with some pliers!

You can reuse the negative terminal in the old connector, but the positive terminal will be too small to fit onto the blade connector on the new socket. To get the terminals out, you need to open the little doors on the connectors.

…like so…

 

[OrangeTexan]

…and then pry these little clips inside the connector away from the terminal with a small screwdriver

…like so…

Then you will need to cut the old positive terminal off and crimp on a new blade terminal. Make sure you use one with a barrier. BTW the positive terminal was the pink wire (’98 model), and this should wire to the center pole on the socket.

With the old socket out the new socket just slides right in. Note the new socket fits right into the keyed hole.

Like a glove. You could re-key the panel if you want it turned in a different orientation, but for me it looks good for now.

This is what the cigarette lighter would do to me every time I pulled out my charger. What a pain! And it is probably close to breaking completely at this point, so might as well replace it now.

 

[OrangeTexan]

This is the nut I was talking about before. Note that I am showing the socket already out of the panel in this pic, but you will want to disassemble the socket starting with this nut. This makes it pretty easy to get out of the panel.

Part of the problem with the cigarette lighter pulling out. I cut the little white tab the rest of the way off to make a key way for the new socket.

Also while pulling out the front bezel, I noticed this little panel that houses the 12v socket needed painting. Here you see I have scuffed it up with a scotch brite pad. A medium grit works fine.

Instead of washing of the dust from sanding, I prefer to use these tack cloths. These will prep the surface perfectly without getting it wet and waiting for small crevices to dry out.

Ready to go in. I had a can of Duplicolor flat black in the cabinet. Worked great.

Going back together. There will be a clear light shroud that you will have to ditch. Even then the new socket will be pretty snug with the white shroud over it. As you can see, the light is still visible in the socket cut out and will shine nicely at night.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Installed back in the bezel

With the lights on...

Faux wood grain black out mod

While I had the front bezel out and my flat black paint, I figured I might as well attack this fake wood grain. I hate this stuff and I think black would compliment the tan interior better anyway for an offroad vehicle.

I also took the opportunity to fix the cracks in my center vents. With our lovely cup holders, some sticky stuff had gotten into the vents, and subsequent attempts to adjust them cracked the housings. I used super glue here. The key is to glue them and let them sit for an hour or so while you are doing other things. Then they will snap back in without separating again.

The front bezel scuffed up and wiped with the tack cloth. You will definitely not want to try and wash this with water. Too many nooks and crannies for water entrapment.

While I had the switch panels out, I noticed some of the screw bosses were cracking. Easy repair with zip ties.

About 3-4 coats on each piece will provide plenty coverage. I first hit the side surfaces and corners, then the front face. This technique will reduce or pretty much eliminate an runs you might get. If you can let the parts bake in the sun for an hour or so after you are done. This will help bake out most of the volatiles and cure the paint about 75%. Good enough to handle. The paint will still be a little tender so be careful during install. After a few days in the Texas heat in the vehicle and the paint had hardened up considerably.

Driver side installed

Bezel reinstalled. The flat black goes really well with the rest of the black plastics inside.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Big 3 +1 power cable upgrade

I decided that I needed to do the Big 3 upgrade, since I will be adding some considerable auxiliary electrical systems to my truck, which in turn will require some considerable electrical circuits. Instead of risking some sort of overload on existing power cables that are in an unknown state. The “Big 3” are: your 12v positive to the Alternator, the ground cable to the engine block, and the ground cable(s) to chassis. You will note that I am calling my upgrade the “Big 3 + 1”. This is because I have opted to also upgrade the large positive cable going to the starter. This cable will ultimately be too short when the time comes that I add my dual battery setup. I might as well do the work now since I will have everything else apart and I happen to have the cable.

Before starting:

You will note there are 2 cables on the positive harness going to the positive battery terminal. The large cable is the starter cable. It is approximately 2g cable. The smaller cable, approximately 8g, goes into the bottom of the fuse box shown in the upper pic. This has an inline fuse in this box. The circuit ultimately goes to the alternator positive terminal

On the negative side, there is a larger, approx. 4g wire, that grounds to the engine block. The smaller, approx 8g wire, grounds to the chassis as shown.

The engine block ground is attached to the block just under the oil filter, as shown here.

This is the main cable harness that I will be replacing. At one point or another all of the main power cables are wrapped up in this harness. Additionally, the alternator wiring, which has a connector on the bottom of the fuse box and the starter solenoid wire pass through this harness.

Start by removing the positive terminal and then the negative terminal. Push them out of the way so there is no way they can accidentally come back into contact with the battery terminals. Once you get all the other easy cables disconnected from the engine block and the alternator, we can start on the hard stuff.

This is the positive cable terminal. This is why I hate OEM battery terminals. You wouldn’t know there was so little metal to metal contact until you saw it removed from the battery. Additionally, there are lots of places for corrosion to build up where you cannot see it.

Big Daddy - the starter cable. This one will probably take the most time if you want to replace this one. It might seem a little intimidating at first, but it just takes some patience. You’ll need to remove both skid plates in front.

This is the cable raceway for the starter cable and the solenoid wire, located under the engine. It is held on by two clips that release when you insert a flat screwdriver and pry outwards. One clip is shown, the other is behind the AC compressor tensioner pulley. You’ll have to unclip this one blind but you should be able to feel the screwdriver engage the clip release.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Once you remove the gray cap off of the starter terminal, you should see this from under the truck. The terminal in the red circle is where the larger cable attaches. The black connector is where the solenoid wire attaches.

Remove the nut from the starter cable and pull the cable off the terminal. With a long flat screwdriver, you can then depress the button on the black connector and pull the cable off with your other hand.

To get the wires loose from the fuse box, unbolt the fuse box from the fender and remove the bottom cover. This will expose a window on the side of the fuse box.

This is where the smaller cable from the positive battery terminal attaches. This circuit goes through the alternator fuse (100A) and then goes to the alternator. This second cable is attached in the same area of the fuse box but on top.

This should get the entire main power harness out of the truck. I have it here labeled for you for easy reference. Note the large blue cable laying next to it. This is the 0 (zero) gauge cable I will upgrade the starter cable with. I had this left over from a previous vehicle where I had upgraded the electrical system for a 1000w stereo install. You will need a cable about 50” or so. Mine was over 50” since I wanted it longer to accomodate the future dual battery setup.

Most of the tape should just unwrap for you to disassemble the harness. Once you are done, this is all that you will re-use, which are essentially the alternator and solenoid wires.

Just for comparison, this is the old starter wire and the size of the new cable that will replace it.

 

[OrangeTexan]

The new 0g alternator wire installed. Note the zip tie on the gray insulator end cap. The new wire is so big the insulator will not snap back into place.

Progress…. Here you can see the 4g wire coming in the top and leaving the bottom of the fuse box for the alternator circuit. This wire just fits without cutting.

I wanted to add an additional breaker in line with the alternator circuit. This will add some protection to the existing circuit but also adds a convenient place for me to tap the alternator circuit with large gauge wire when I add the auxiliary battery. I used an existing breaker that I already had, which is 150amp. Our OEM alternator will only provide 70 amps, so this is overkill for right now, but should still throw in case I get a direct short since the battery will push more than that. I’ll eventually upgrade this with a larger one once I upgrade the alternator.

Anyway – I need a place to mount it and on top of the fuse box cover is irresistible, especially since there are not any other convenient places to mount 3 of these! I don’t like the idea of metal fasteners falling into the fuse box, so I devised a way to use zip ties. I placed the breaker on top of the cover where I wanted it, then marked where the mounting holes would go, being careful that the position would not interfere with anything on the back side of the cover or anything inside the fuse box. I then took a 1/16” drill bit and carefully made slots that the zip ties would snugly fit through, with the head of the zip tie on the inside of the cover.

I then installed the breaker and cut off the head of another zip tie, and used that to tighten the breaker down. Once I had it tight enough, I cut the zip tie to length. The result was a clean looking non-conductive fastener made to length.

While rebuilding the wire harness, I harvested these from the old one. You will find a few of these rubber protectors and harness clamps (about 4 of them) as you remove the old harness. I re-used all of the protectors and clamps to secure the new harness in the original positions

One cable I have not seen mentioned on other “Big 3” threads here is this one.

 

[OrangeTexan]

This is a chassis to engine block ground, and this cable gets overlooked many times. It is approx. 8g just like the cable going from the negative battery terminal to chassis. I replaced it with a 4g wire.

More progress. Note the 0g wire (in the split loom) coming from the alternator positive terminal to the 150a breaker. From there you see the 4g wires going into the fuse box.

Back under the vehicle: again this part takes the most patience. Feeding the 0g wire through the old cable raceway is a tight fit, and with the solenoid wire I could not get it to snap shut all the way, so I just used zip ties to secure the lid. Getting the new cable to go through that 90 bend takes some time getting it positioned just right for the raceway clips to line up on the engine. I reconnected the cable and connector at the starter first, then worked my way towards the battery side. Once I got the cable in the right position, I zip tied it and snapped it into place.

Here is where I made the connection from engine block ground to the negative battery terminal. This is better than the stock location because it is closer to the alternator case, which is your ground reference. I used 0g cable here.

Everything back together. I used Audiopipe battery terminals BTP705P (positive) and BTP705N (negative). You must order positive and negative. If you will notice, your battery positive and negative posts are slightly different sizes. I use these Audiopipe terminals because: 1. they come with insulating covers 2. they can accommodate a 0g, a 4g, and two 8g wires on each terminal 3. they are cheap at less than $10. 4. They are not gold plated, I hate that blingy crap. 5. lots of surface area on the terminal which means good current flow to the battery terminal.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Notice I left some of the wires quite long. This is to accommodate the dual battery setup later.

Note that you do not need to buy expensive micro stranded wire like I have here. I used this only because it is what I had available in my garage. You may read that micro stranded wire is good for carrying large amounts of current and reducing losses in cables, but this advantage is only seen in large voltage higher frequency applications. Not so much in 12v systems and is only marketing to those installing high powered stereos. I bought this cable a long time ago for cheaper on ebay than I could buy regular primary power wire. I cannot find it this cheap any more. Your normal auto cable primary power wire will work just fine.

What I DID try to do, is upgrade each wire at least one cable size from the one I replaced. Anything that was 8g, I went to 4g, anything 4g or bigger I squeezed in 0g!

Not sure I really notice any difference from the upgrade at this point, although I was not having any electrical issues anyway, and I am not pushing the limits of the electrical system at this time. As I said before, this was really for preparation of future upgrades.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Upgrading power distribution: Bussman relay power modules

I have planned a significant number of electrical upgrades, of which if I don’t plan them out ahead of time could make for a rat’s nest of wiring and loads of work later on. This would inevitably end up being a fire hazard and if anything fails later on it would be a nightmare to troubleshoot. With some pre-planning and pre-wiring I can spend a bit more time up front and make installing accessories later on much easier as well as safer and more reliable.

To facilitate the upgrades I have chosen to use Bussman’s power relay module. These are the same modules that Eric over at Wired Wagon used in his pre-made setups. He is no longer making these, but they were all wired generically. I have some very specific wiring that I want to do anyway so they would not have worked for me. However I did use some of his diagrams as an inspirational starting point. Bussman produces these modules in a number of configurations. The one I chose is part # 15303-5-2-4. This particular configuration allows the use of 5 type 280 Micro relays and 10 mini fuses or breakers, and accepts 22-12g wire. The power lug on the bottom of the module is hard wired directly to the fuses, which will simplify my wiring significantly. Additionally this part number includes the “tall” cover, which will allow me to use circuit breakers (rather than fuses) and relays in the module. I’d like to use breakers because this is more convenient on the trail than carrying around a bunch of fuses for your accessories. Shown here is the module and 5 relays that I’ll use. This makes for really compact, customizable power distribution.

This module is rated for 80 amps max and about 60 amps continuous use, but I shouldn’t get that close in total usage. The relays I am using are SPDT (single pole double throw, and rated at 35 amps max on the switched (aka “Normally Open” or “N.O.”) leg and 20 amps on the Normally Closed (“N.C.”) leg. The single pole means there is one switch in the relay. The double throw means there is a “NO” leg and a “NC” leg. The NC leg is what the relay is switched to when not energized (reason why it is called “Normally Closed”). The NO leg gets switched to when the relay energizes. For the most part I will only need the NO leg in my circuits, but I will have a few that use the NC leg as well. So I use all double throw relays just in case I have one burn out on the trail, I can swap relays in a pinch. Besides they are only a buck or 2 more.

I ordered this stuff through Waytek Wire. The module was Waytek # 46345 and the relays were #75735. I had to order a number of the terminal connectors that fit into the module and a crimping tool (#408), along with various mini circuit breakers. I wanted the module to ultimately be weatherproof, so I also ordered wire seals of the appropriate size, and cavity plugs to seal the unused circuit holes.

I want to use switches that are lighted. Because of this, I’ll need to wire the relays “12V switched”. This involves running one more wire per switch back to the module, but is sure is nice at night to have the lights. Below you can see an example of Eric’s Configuration B that he offered. The first 3 relays are 12V switched. The last 2 relays are negatively switched.

I can explain in detail why you need to do this (if someone asks), but long story short is that wiring it this way puts the relay coil resistance in the right place so that the electrical current also flows through the switch lights.

Below is a circuit diagram of the Primary Module (this will be powered by the primary battery in the vehicle). The accessories powered by this module are essentially all of the accessories that I would still want to function even if my auxiliary battery were dead or removed. Also below is a diagram of the Auxiliary Module that I will build in the future once my dual battery setup is completed. A little sneak peak into some planned future mods. The upside-down triangles denote path to Chassis ground.

1. The top circuit is essentially my isolated 12V switched power. I will use this to turn on my relays in this Module, as well as run some other small accessories in the future that need key ignition switched power. Each relay coil will pull about 1 amp, so this way I am only burdening the stock circuitry that I tap off of by only 1 amp (from Relay #1). I am then free to pull up to 20 amps on my own circuit.

2. Relay #2 will power my DVD players. Note that I wired the relay a little unconventionally (compared to Relay #3). I wired 12V to the relay contact, not to the relay pole like you normally would. Additionally, you do not normally want to power your accessory through the switch mounted on your console, just for additional safety and the switch will last longer. However these DVD players only pull like 1 amp of power, very little. Wiring it this way saved running an extra wire to the console. It also will later allow me to easily set it up so I can watch movies in camp, running off the auxiliary battery instead of the primary battery used for starting the vehicle (see my Primary circuit diagram, and reference the Auxiliary diagram below).

3. Relay #3 is pretty typical and will power my future fog lights.

4. Relay #4 grounds the appropriate wire on the ABS module to disable it (see below for a quick write-up).

5. Relay #5 will be used for a future project were I intend to add a few 12v sockets for the rear seat passengers.

Also below is a diagram of the Auxiliary Module that I will build in the future once my dual battery setup is completed. A little sneak peak into some planned future mods. As shown, anything I wire into this module will be hot all the time, meaning I can switch on the accessory (light, or whatever) without the vehicle key on. This Module will come later once I get the dual battery setup installed.

 

[OrangeTexan]

So lets get started. This is the crimping tool I bought for the job. It will crimp all the connectors that use 22g to 14g wire. If you remember, the module can accommodate 12g wire. This would require buying another crimping tool that was much more expensive than the one I just bought, so 14g wire is the largest wire I’ll be using. This should be big enough for what I’m running through the modules anyway.

Here is what the crimps look like using this tool. OEM quality.

I began by making my power jumpers from the fuses to the relay. Just over 2 inches seemed to be plenty. Here I was using 14g wire.

Once that was done I then began making my ground harness using 14g wire. 14g should be good for around 40 amps on short wire. I may get close to that in total amps so I made it double ended so the current had 2 paths to flow down, effectively doubling the current capacity of the harness.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Making progress. Here you can see the ground harness installed as well as the independent coil power harness installed. Also you might notice that I moved my power wire jumpers over a bit to make the wiring a little cleaner.

When it came time to figure out a good home for the module, I noticed I only had a few options. The module is compact, but it is also not tiny. When using the optional mounting brackets as I will, it will also add a bit of height to the module as well. This left only a few obvious choices. There is very little room in the engine bay to mount these AND keep wire lengths to a minimum as well. Additionally, I’d like to mount both the primary and the auxiliary modules next to each other. As I began looking at my circuits and studying wires required to go outside the cabin vs wires required to go inside the cabin, the mounting choice began to become more clear. If I mount the modules inside the cabin, this will require less wires to pass through the firewall (for my particular circuits). Inside the cabin it is.

The best place is in the area under the dash to the left of the brake pedal. For you guys with manual transmissions, this might be an impossibility. I will still have a significant number of wires in varying sizes passing through, so I decided to drill a new hole. This is quite a tight squeeze under the dash, so I had to use this contraption to drill the hole. Even then, it almost did not fit under the dash.

I first used a punch to create a divot in the firewall for the drill bit. This kept my bit from wandering all over the place before it made a hole.

Resulting hole, which was 1.25” in diameter, from the inside.

And from the engine bay.

I then cleaned up the sharp edges with my dremel tool to keep it from cutting the firewall grommet seen below.

This is a 1.25” grommet I found on Amazon. As you add more and more wire, you just cut down the end of it to allow a larger wire bundle.

Grommet installed.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Wiring all done on (for now) on the module. You’ll also notice the Delphi Weatherpack connector I wired in. This goes to the ABS Defeat switch on the dash in case I ever need to disconnect it for whatever reason. The ground wires are all ganged together on the corner screw that threads into the module body and holds the mounting brackets on. I bought a few screws that were extra long for grounding purposes. The mounting brackets will electrically connect to ground via the firewall.

Here you can see what the relays and circuit breakers look like installed. I only have a few populated for now. Since the module is all pre-wired based on my diagram, all I’ll need to do later is slip in a relay and breaker in the appropriate spot, crimp on a terminal and slip a power wire into the module and I have a power wire. In some cases like for my DVD players I wont even have to pop the hood to install them.

My previous work with the battery terminals made sourcing battery power to the module easy. I installed a 70amp circuit breaker in the same fashion as I did the previous breaker on the fuse box. I used 8g wire (the red wire you see coming from the battery terminal) for power to the breaker.

As you will notice, I am starting to cover up the fuse box schematic that is on the lid. Before I started I took a picture of it, and recreated it on a laminated card that I will keep in the glove box, as sort of a cheat sheet.

Anyway, I then ran wire from the breaker through the new firewall grommet into the cabin. Here you can see it all tidy with wire loom. The second wire loom is the wire coming from the ABS module.

Finished up with the cavity plugs and about to mount to the firewall. Now it is weatherproof. I have not connected the main battery power wire to the module yet in this pic, in case you were looking for it.

In the final location. There will be enough room right next to it for the future Auxiliary Module.

 

[OrangeTexan]

I ordered some of the stuff to do my ABS Disable / Defeat circuit, since I knew it would be quick to do while I was installing the rest of this stuff. My truck comes with an E-Locker, which when engaged, disables the ABS systems for trail use. However, there are times when I might want to disable ABS without engaging the locker. You may have read in a few threads where people have cut the gray/red wire at the ABS module to cause fault in the ABS module, which then disables the ABS. You do not need to cut the wire to patch in a circuit that interrupts this signal. You just need to create a fault, which can be simply achieved by grounding this wire. See below where I have tapped into the gray/red wire.

Cleaned up a bit.

A quick note on the use of these “Vampire Taps”. You will have undoubtedly heard stories where these taps are not recommended. In stock form out of the box, I do not like them either, but just in the general sense. This is because they are very easily mis-installed. They are either used with the wrong sized wire or not carefully installed, both of which can cause damage to the existing and/or new wire, and many times just simply results in a faulty connection. However, if you take plenty of time to insure that both wires are lining up with the metal tap, using the correct size wire and not installing it in a bind, your tap should be fine. You’ll also notice some “goop” in my first pic. I like to squirt some silicone sealant (NOT adhesive) into the tap after I’m done. This will stabilize the wires and protect the tap from vibration and movement, and has the side effect of weatherproofing if you use enough sealant. Don’t use adhesive because sometimes you need to take things apart!

Regardless, this method keeps you from cutting an OEM wire, which I try to avoid whenever possible.

For the next part of the install, I needed to locate a convenient wire that had 12v to it when and only when the ignition was in the ACC or ON position (aka switched power). I’ll use this to power the first relay in my circuit, which will then provide my own independent “switched” power to my other relays. I created an independent switched power circuit because the relay coils will pull about 1 amp each. This way I am only pulling an additional 1 amp from the existing vehicle circuit instead of a potentially overloading additional 4-5 amps (if I had all the other relay coils wired into it).

Luckily on the 98 models, there is a blue/red stripe wire coming from the ignition that does just that. I traced it down in the harness a bit to a location more accessible for the tap, just under the steering wheel.

Next was to locate a source for the night time lights on the switches that would dim with the gauge lights dimmer. This is easily found on the dimmer rheostat itself. Seen below is the connector pulled off the dimmer. I used the green wire for 12V and the white/green stripe wire for Negative. If you don’t care about dimming the night time switch lights you can use any 12V that comes on with your gauge lights and any ground.

Below you can see the pre-made ground harness for the night time switch lights. As you can see, I plan to have a lot of aftermarket switches in the same area, so I pre-wired all the leads and just shrink-wrapped the ends until I need them. I also left one long lead on the end that would extend to the center console since I know I will have a few switches there as well. I used 18g wire here.

I made another harness just like this one but with red wire for the 12v. I tapped directly into the rheostat circuit this time (instead of going through a relay like for the independent switched power above) since each LED in the switches will only pull 20 mA. That would take a lot of switches to add up to any significant power draw, so using the existing vehicle circuit is plenty safe here.

Once all that was wired up, I now have all the wires needed to install my ABS defeat switch. I ordered a momentary Normally Open switch from OTRATTW, and a switch cover that has “TCS” (for Traction Control System) on it with a little wheel spinning on it. Seemed perfect. When depressed it energizes the relay and grounds the gray/red wire (see my circuit diagram above). As you can see below I moved my factory Rear Locker switch over and put the TCS switch in its place, since I figured I would be using the locker switch more.

There was one small issue with the switch. At night the night-time light is not shrouded completely, and you can see its reflection off the windshield. I fixed this by inserting a small strip of foam that I use for sound deadening under the cover. Since it has a sticky backing it stays in place and blocks the light. It even actually made the switch feel a bit more solid when activating it, which is a nice touch.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Dual headrest DVD players

I’d like some dual headrest DVD players please! With a youngster, and a wife who likes to ride in the back with him, I’ll need 2. Also, I’ll want to wire it up so they can watch their own movie, or they can switch to the aux channel to watch the movie on the other DVD player.

This is what I’ll be installing. The CLD-700. This is the DVD player model. If you don’t want a DVD player, just the monitor, you’d get the CLS model. I found these on Amazon for a great price and they had good reviews. So far they have been great.

First thing I did was remove the seats and get the console removed from the truck.

Here you see where I moved both factory switches in the center console down to the lower sockets. This was the best place to keep from stretching the factory harness too much.

The switches I got from OTRATTW do not quite fit in the factory locations, so I used this dremel wheel to knock them down. Low or medium speed is all you need. Don’t go so fast as to melt the plastic (makes it messy and will fling hot plastic on you).

This is the clearance you need. Go slow and make small adjustments trying fitment of the switch along the way. If you get it too big the switch wont fit right.

New switches installed.

 

[OrangeTexan]

Since I had prewired everything from my previous Module mod for this, I just extended the power wires and the night time switch light wires over to the center console.

Here you can see I’m already wiring in the switch sockets and have the power wire loomed and running to the DVD players. I opted to use the switch sockets so I don’t have to figure out the wiring every time I need to pull the switches out for something.

I’ll need 2 audio video cables, about 3ft in length each. Actually they could be shorter, but that is what I had in my cable box in the garage. Anyway, this will make for a decent size harness, so I want a good place to run it from one side of the vehicle to the other. Here I am pointing out where it will run under this bracket. This seemed to be the best place to keep it out of the way of the parking brake.

I wanted to keep track of the end of each cable as well, so I could easily tell which I was using for the “IN” and “OUT” on the DVD players. I simply used red and green zip ties.

Center console wiring and the A/V cables loomed up and ready to hook up to the DVD players.

There are 2 cables coming from each DVD player. Each one has a color coded connector on it and is long enough to reach the bottom of the seat. Feeding the DVD cables through the seat back is easy. They basically feed themselves down. Here you can see the player connectors have already been hooked up and I have heatshrinked them.

 

[OrangeTexan]

One cable has DVD power and a set of AV Out cables, the other is the AV IN cable. The power cable comes with another connector that allows you to plug in either a 12v socket adaptor or the hard wire harness (shown). You also see that I have installed heat shrink on this connector. This part of the harness will be laying on the floor. In the case that I might get a little too deep into a creek or something I’ll definitely want these connections to be weatherproof.

Weatherpack connector installed on the hardwire harness. I did this in the case that I needed to disconnect the large A/V cable harness feeding both players for any reason.

Everything plugged in and heatshrinked on the driver’s side. The passenger side will look the same.

Since the A/V harness was so thick, I decided to dremel out room for it to keep from pinching any wires.

Center console and switches all going back together.

I grounded the DVD players at this bolt on each side. Additionally, I made sure to move the seat back and forth through its full range of motion to make sure the harness had plenty of slack.

 

[OrangeTexan]

The finished product! Worked the first time too. Since I already had it all planned and pre-wired, I didn’t even have to pop the hood for this install!

The units come with 3 different colors for the headrest covers. Black, gray, and tan. The tan is not an exact match for our tan, but it comes close enough. The manufacturer has something like 13 other colors, and there are a few other shades of tan which I'm sure one would match really really close.

 

[bvrr0]

Wow. That is an awesome amount of work! I would never have the guts or know-how to do that electrical stuff. Good job!