Ran Expandable Power to Rear for Fridge and Future Accessories

[JasonKoko]

I badly needed to update my rear power situation (actually, everything I'd done previously needed to be updated) to handle powering my fridge and cover any future need I may someday dream up. I wanted something expandable so I didn't have to hassle with running power all the way back up to the battery and it needed to be able to handle whatever load I may throw at it. I also wanted it to be flexible so I could send power forward as well, through solar or a trickle charger... I've learned so much from many of you over the years and this latest iteration is so much nicer than what I had before!! Hopefully this is of use to some of you!

 

[bigguy02]

I'm looking forward to watching this video. I need to do some stuff like this soon.

 

[Antman]

Just an observation...

It really is a huge waste of time, effort and money to run the ground wire from the battery. The battery is grounded to the chassis. The chassis is grounded to the body. There are really good factory ground points throughout the entire 4Runner, and for most items almost any metal part will work as a ground. Almost all of the factory grounds are throughout the body in fact.

Those fuse blocks provide a ground location for applications like fiberglass boats which must have a ground directly back to the battery.

Just trying to save some folks from unnecessary work.

:thumb:

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Yeah I didn't understand why he ran the long ground when you can easily ground just fine back where he mounted the bus bar.

 

[JasonKoko]

I'm looking forward to watching this video. I need to do some stuff like this soon.

Thanks!! This was an interesting project - glad it's over! But also glad to have all the benefits from having a good source of power at the rear!

 

[JasonKoko]

Just an observation...

It really is a huge waste of time, effort and money to run the ground wire from the battery. The battery is grounded to the chassis. The chassis is grounded to the body. There are really good factory ground points throughout the entire 4Runner, and for most items almost any metal part will work as a ground. Almost all of the factory grounds are throughout the body in fact.

Those fuse blocks provide a ground location for applications like fiberglass boats which must have a ground directly back to the battery.

Just trying to save some folks from unnecessary work.

:thumb:

The infamous ANTMAN!!

I think about all the content you've created on here all the time!

This was a big topic of debate for me as I had very qualified people with great reasons why TO run the negative and why NOT to run it. I am not an electrical engineer so I consulted with one who advised me on this project.

As always, I would highly recommend anyone doing a project like this to do their own independent research to make their own decisions and not rely on a novice such as myself!

 

[Antman]

The infamous ANTMAN!!

I think about all the content you've created on here all the time!

This was a big topic of debate for me as I had very qualified people with great reasons why TO run the negative and why NOT to run it. I am not an electrical engineer so I consulted with one who advised me on this project.

As always, I would highly recommend anyone doing a project like this to do their own independent research to make their own decisions and not rely on a novice such as myself!

I get it- you can get ground loops that can cause interference and such- but typically only for sensitive electronics. What you did looks good- but you know I’m always trying to do stuff well AND cheap lol

99.999% of the time chassis ground is perfect.

 

[Bumbo]

Just an observation...

It really is a huge waste of time, effort and money to run the ground wire from the battery. The battery is grounded to the chassis. The chassis is grounded to the body. There are really good factory ground points throughout the entire 4Runner, and for most items almost any metal part will work as a ground. Almost all of the factory grounds are throughout the body in fact.

Those fuse blocks provide a ground location for applications like fiberglass boats which must have a ground directly back to the battery.

Just trying to save some folks from unnecessary work.

:thumb:

This is all good and correct for the most part. There are certain situations where it may not be sufficient, but none of those scenarios are presented here.

If you are running very high loads, then you may need to improve on the chassis ground connection to the battery, often done in the car audio world “the big 3”. Alternately, in older vehicles, it would be wise to check the ground resistance to make sure that path is free of resistance.

Other than that… ground away to the chassis.

 

[57buick]

Makes for a better and safer ground and its really not much extra work if your running the power anyway, I like dedicated lines in my wiring where feasible

 

[Antman]

Makes for a better and safer ground and its really not much extra work if your running the power anyway, I like dedicated lines in my wiring where feasible

Ground wires should be as short as possible. How exactly is a 15' ground wire safer and better?

 

[57buick]

Ground wires should be as short as possible. How exactly is a 15' ground wire safer and better?

I think dedicated grounds are better than multiple items to same grounds

 

[wcjeep]

Ground wires should be as short as possible. How exactly is a 15' ground wire safer and better?

Dedicated ground could be fused. If aftermarket electronics develop a hard short they would probably not effect factory grounds. No dedicated ground might cause problems with communication equipment. Dedicated grounds also helps troubleshooting.


On bigger power hungry items I run dedicated ground. On my cheap led off-road lights I did Not run dedicated ground. Each light has a 1amp draw.

 

[Xtremluck]

Love your channel Jason!

Just a couple pieces of feedback:

1. Cable Termination - You already mentioned it but the way you terminated your cables is not ideal. I'd be willing to bet you could easily pull off those lugs with your fingers. Now imagine thousands of miles of off-road and on-road vibration on those things. I see loose lugs in your future A hydraulic cable crimper and some solder goes a long way.

2. Cable Runs - I would have used split loom for all those cable runs. The cables are rubbing up against bare metal and sharp surfaces. With vibrations you have the potential for things to eat away the housings and introducing the risk of shorts. Not ideal.

Great job overall on this project though. Looks really clean.

 

[Bumbo]

Makes for a better and safer ground and its really not much extra work if your running the power anyway, I like dedicated lines in my wiring where feasible

Same here... Even though I said it isn't necessary, I still do that in my own installations. I just like it and I like using zip cord... early ever am I "searching" for a ground point.

Especially for smaller things... like USB outlets, various small loads, it's just convenient with consistent service points and the added cost is minimal.

 

[Bumbo]

Dedicated ground could be fused. If aftermarket electronics develop a hard short they would probably not effect factory grounds. No dedicated ground might cause problems with communication equipment. Dedicated grounds also helps troubleshooting.


On bigger power hungry items I run dedicated ground. On my cheap led off-road lights I did Not run dedicated ground. Each light has a 1amp draw.

You could still fuse a chassis ground from the equipment if you really wanted to do it… using a localized fuse holder between the equipment and chassis, but it’s on the overkill side. There are scenarios where I can see doing it, specifically on battery systems where you are you are running cabling in high risk areas/paths.

Most smaller buss fuse blocks don’t even have provisions for fusing grounds, and even if you did it on the mains, doesn’t do much of anything for the smaller circuits it is feeding.

 

[Bumbo]

Ground wires should be as short as possible. How exactly is a 15' ground wire safer and better?

Depends on what you are doing… that information always seems to originate from the car audio world. At least that is where I first heard that being a “best practice”…

If you are wiring large battery systems with multiple batteries, you actually want all line resistance the same otherwise you have balance issues; or pipe it in a reverse return format to help achieve that while minimizing the amount of wire consumed.

That said, you do have a point… longer your runs are, the more wire you have exposed for problems.

 

[57buick]

I was an electric fork lift mechanic and all ground wires were individually fused just like the hot wires for safety. And also everything had a full dedicated ground wire

When dealing with high amperage a full run ground is best

 

[Antman]

I was an electric fork lift mechanic and all ground wires were individually fused just like the hot wires for safety. And also everything had a full dedicated ground wire

When dealing with high amperage a full run ground is best

True- but apples/oranges. You could also wrap every wire in heat wrap and secure it every 6" with a tie wrap,,,but why?

I don't want to derail a good thread, so I will leave it at that.

Op- I know the time/effort it takes to make these writeups (much less a video!) so nice job- keep it going.

 

[BP22]

Great video Jason, thank you. I am interested in your solution (future video??) for the stock battery connectors not reaching the terminals.

 

[JasonKoko]

Love your channel Jason!



Just a couple pieces of feedback:



1. Cable Termination - You already mentioned it but the way you terminated your cables is not ideal. I'd be willing to bet you could easily pull off those lugs with your fingers. Now imagine thousands of miles of off-road and on-road vibration on those things. I see loose lugs in your future A hydraulic cable crimper and some solder goes a long way.



2. Cable Runs - I would have used split loom for all those cable runs. The cables are rubbing up against bare metal and sharp surfaces. With vibrations you have the potential for things to eat away the housings and introducing the risk of shorts. Not ideal.



Great job overall on this project though. Looks really clean.

Thanks for the feedback! I’m planning on redoing those lug connections in the near future so they are done properly. They’re pretty solid, but definitely not ideal.

I don’t have any cables rubbing against bare metal and any place there may be abrasion I reinforced that area with either heat string, gaff tape or electrical tape.

Thanks for watching!!


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