Relay Fuse block and Wire Run Locations

[Doc3g]

I'm in the process of building a custom relay/fuse block that I plan to locate under the hood. It looks to me like the best place would be on the passenger
side of the compartment (see picture). There is some component that is slightly in the way that I was wondering if I could relocate (see ? in picture).

Also, have a look at my layout, does it make sense? The point is to have 6 relays going to 6 different components (lights, etc) that are triggered from a 6 panel switch bank under the stereo (paranoid fabrications din plate). I would then tap a fuse to run the ACC relay so that they would only be on when the key was on.

The plan was to mount the bus bars under the board and cut a hole under the relay box to feed the wires. The component power wires and the switch wires would then snake back up and over to the distribution terminals.

Currently, it is on a 12x12 sheet of abs, but I think I could make it smaller than 12 by 12 if needed. I also have a sheet of acrylic coming in that I might substitute instead.

The other big question is, does someone have a photo of where in the truck to run the high current power wires to the back? I plan on coming through the firewall where the clutch area would normally be but from there I would want to run at least 2-3 of the component wires to the back (for backup lights, scene lights, maybe a compressor someday, etc). I vaguely remember some threads where people talked about channels but I'd rather not have to tear out my entire interior to run 2 wires

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[cblock406]

I recently did something similar along with the "big 3" wiring. Driver side is convenient because you are already close to the battery. There is also a grommet on the firewall that is very convenient for running wiring into the cab, (sorry no picture).

I haven't started adding accessories but there is plenty of room for relays over there. I've seen some people riv-nut them onto the inner fender and looks very clean.

There is also plenty of room height wise.

Also, I'll throw a plug out for SDHD's battery terminals, they are very nice.

 

[Doc3g]

I recently did something similar along with the "big 3" wiring. Driver side is convenient because you are already close to the battery. There is also a grommet on the firewall that is very convenient for running wiring into the cab, (sorry no picture).

I haven't started adding accessories but there is plenty of room for relays over there. I've seen some people riv-nut them onto the inner fender and looks very clean.

There is also plenty of room height wise.

Also, I'll throw a plug out for SDHD's battery terminals, they are very nice.

what are the measurements on your mounting piece? I wonder if I could get everything on there. I do like that it's closer to the battery though

 

[cblock406]

what are the measurements on your mounting piece? I wonder if I could get everything on there. I do like that it's closer to the battery though

I’ll measure tomorrow and let you know. I think I started off with a 12x12 piece of aluminum.

 

[Bad Luck]

I'm in the process of building a custom relay/fuse block that I plan to locate under the hood. It looks to me like the best place would be on the passenger
side of the compartment (see picture). There is some component that is slightly in the way that I was wondering if I could relocate (see ? in picture).

Also, have a look at my layout, does it make sense? The point is to have 6 relays going to 6 different components (lights, etc) that are triggered from a 6 panel switch bank under the stereo (paranoid fabrications din plate). I would then tap a fuse to run the ACC relay so that they would only be on when the key was on.

The plan was to mount the bus bars under the board and cut a hole under the relay box to feed the wires. The component power wires and the switch wires would then snake back up and over to the distribution terminals.

Currently, it is on a 12x12 sheet of abs, but I think I could make it smaller than 12 by 12 if needed. I also have a sheet of acrylic coming in that I might substitute instead.

The other big question is, does someone have a photo of where in the truck to run the high current power wires to the back? I plan on coming through the firewall where the clutch area would normally be but from there I would want to run at least 2-3 of the component wires to the back (for backup lights, scene lights, maybe a compressor someday, etc). I vaguely remember some threads where people talked about channels but I'd rather not have to tear out my entire interior to run 2 wires

Any advice would be much appreciated.

The component with a question mark on it is your cruise control module/motor.

As far as where to run high current wires to the rear, if it were me I would replace the rear cabin air equalizer with the 2001-2002 one. It has a hole that you can put a rubber grommet in and you could run the wires along the frame and then into the rear driver side of the vehicle behind the back trim panel. There's a nice cavity back there you might be able to locate your rear relay panel as well. Part number is 62940-35020. This should give you a better idea of what I'm talking about and where it's located: https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&rlz=1C1QJDB_enUS784US793&sxsrf=ALeKk03dY8EIfUFlaxajunLUbkKBUijrTw%3A1605103273317&ei=qe6rX9KCE8retQWp4p_YAg&q=site%3Atoyota-4Runner.org%2F3rd-gen-t4rs%2F+62940-35020&oq=site%3Atoyota-4Runner.org%2F3rd-gen-t4rs%2F+62940-35020&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1CgEFigEGC4E2gAcAB4AIABM4gBYpIBATKYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6wAEB&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwiS-7vT0_rsAhVKb60KHSnxBysQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

 

[raKnizek]

Can you explain your setup more? What are the components labeled for high and low current devices in your image? Seems redundant with the pos/neg bus bars? I am in process of this exact project but at the moment I just have a BlueSea fuse box with negative bus and a circuit breaker.

Location wise, I played around with a bunch of locations and ended up right back to the driver side near the battery. Most likely on top of the existing fuse box with an AL sheet. The main reason for not putting it on the other side is wiring. One point of the project is to clean up the accessory wires. It felt a little counter productive to put it on that side.

 

[cblock406]

So mine measures about 10" wide and 10.5 inches long with a notch for the master cylinder. I also folded another inch or so width wise to bolt to the inner fender.

 

[sleepydad]

I'm in the process of building a custom relay/fuse block that I plan to locate under the hood. ....

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm not saying this is your solution... it's just what I did and maybe it will give you some idea's?

<iframe width="800" height="600" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qiA2XzTUCDs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I have also added in a fuse into a blank space in the factory fuse box. it's not hard at all but it does require some special parts and a trip to pick-n-pull for said parts. or... order from overseas? I can try to find that vid location if your interested.

 

[Kanoe]

Not at all what you guys are doing here, but there is a nice space for an interior blue seas box under the glove box. I put a small 4 pos one there for ‘full time on’ loads like an extra cig lighter. Just one heavy connection from there up to the battery. It’s nice to have a good +12v supply inside.

 

[Doc2012]

Not at all what you guys are doing here, but there is a nice space for an interior blue seas box under the glove box. I put a small 4 pos one there for ‘full time on’ loads like an extra cig lighter. Just one heavy connection from there up to the battery. It’s nice to have a good +12v supply inside.

Take the air bag out and it’s a nice big hole. [emoji51]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Doc3g]

I think one of the differences about my setup that makes it challenging to copy some of the designs y'all have used is that I'm running a relay box as opposed to simply a fuse block like the blue sea unit. I want to run relays b/c my understanding is that the switches typically won't handle the high current for big accessories like multiple light bars.

This is basically the style of setup I'm going for, though, ideally, I would like to add a blue sea box in addition to the relays to power some lower current stuff.

How To Make A Power Relay / Fuse Block | Automotive Wiring - YouTube

As for neatness, I found a thread on here where someone put an ARB compressor in essentially the spot I want to put my relay/fuse panel and it looked very well organized even with all the wiring.

I also got a sheet of acrylic today and I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe if I relocate a couple of small things on the driver's side that I can gain enough real estate to put the mount over there.

 

[Doc3g]

The component with a question mark on it is your cruise control module/motor.

As far as where to run high current wires to the rear, if it were me I would replace the rear cabin air equalizer with the 2001-2002 one. It has a hole that you can put a rubber grommet in and you could run the wires along the frame and then into the rear driver side of the vehicle behind the back trim panel. There's a nice cavity back there you might be able to locate your rear relay panel as well. Part number is 62940-35020. This should give you a better idea of what I'm talking about and where it's located: https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&rlz=1C1QJDB_enUS784US793&sxsrf=ALeKk03dY8EIfUFlaxajunLUbkKBUijrTw%3A1605103273317&ei=qe6rX9KCE8retQWp4p_YAg&q=site%3Atoyota-4Runner.org%2F3rd-gen-t4rs%2F+62940-35020&oq=site%3Atoyota-4Runner.org%2F3rd-gen-t4rs%2F+62940-35020&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1CgEFigEGC4E2gAcAB4AIABM4gBYpIBATKYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6wAEB&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwiS-7vT0_rsAhVKb60KHSnxBysQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

Do you know if the bumper has to come off in order to do the swap? Also, has anyone ever relocated the cruise control unit?

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Do you know if the bumper has to come off in order to do the swap?

The driver side bumper corner piece needs to be removed.

 

[Doc2012]

Do you know if the bumper has to come off in order to do the swap? Also, has anyone ever relocated the cruise control unit?

People have made brackets to move the cruse unit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cblock406]

It seems silly to me to move stuff around put it on the passenger side since there is ample room, the battery, and a very convenient firewall plug on the driver's side. But I suppose that's why we all build our 4Runners different.

I will essentially have the same setup as you are trying to do. One of my breakers is for the alternator, the other is to power the fuse block and is switched with the ignition. When I start adding accessories they will all be on relays as well.

 

[Doc3g]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to do extra work, lol. Like I said, I think the big difference is the box I'm using for my relays. The relay box orients the relays in a vertical manner (just like the stock relay block) and the design makes it so that there needs to be ~ 4" of clearance (3" above the mount for the box, and 1" below for the wires).

I ran a few mockups and here's what I found:

- 4" above the proposed spot on the driver's side doesn't work
- 2" above the proposed spot on the driver's side doesn't work
- 1.5" above the proposed spot on the driver's side will clear the hood
- 2" relocated closer to the engine would clear the hood, but I'm not sure this would look any better and it seems you would be exposing everything to higher temps b/c you would be right over the exhaust manifold
- Without moving the cruise or the ABS unit, I can get the box I want to use to clear the hood, though it does make light contact with the hood insulation.

So, I see that leaves me with a couple of obvious options:

1. Use the box I already have an put it on the passenger side of the engine compartment
2. Use a different box or build my own custom setup that is 1.5" or less in clearance and put that on the driver's side.

I'm not completely attached to the box I have, but I do like it because it's waterproof, well organized, and it was only like $17 including the relays and all the connectors. I've considered the bussmann 15303-2-2-4 like the build on tacoma world but it is 5"x4"x3" so I don't think it would clear that spot on the driver's side either, and the box and relays plus connectors would be close to $60 (not that the price is outrageous, but it is 3x as much and has one less relay). Bosch style relays with brackets are ~ 1.3", which, when combined with the thickness of the acrylic or abs board would still be under 1.5", so it should definitely clear the driver's side. The pro's are that I could make I could completely customize it and that it is definitely preferable to locate it on the driver's side for wire runs and firewall access. The cons would really be losing the waterproof box, which I guess isn't too big of a deal since I see lots of other folks with relays outside of waterproof enclosures.

Thoughts?

 

[Kanoe]

That is a nice looking fuse/relay box. I can see you wanting to stick with it.

Since it is a sealed box, what about finding a spot where you can use your acrylic and relay box with the top facing sideways instead of up? Does that open up any more options? Vertical mount instead of horizontal. I see it done that way on the firewall of some transport trucks.

 

[Doc3g]

That is a nice looking fuse/relay box. I can see you wanting to stick with it.

Since it is a sealed box, what about finding a spot where you can use your acrylic and relay box with the top facing sideways instead of up? Does that open up any more options? Vertical mount instead of horizontal. I see it done that way on the firewall of some transport trucks.

It's a good idea that I hadn't considered, but after looking things over, I still don't see how it could fit on the driver's side. I've went ahead and ordered a 12 circuit blue sea box like most others have, along with some stand-alone waterproof relays. I'll probably dry fit everything when it comes tomorrow to see if it's doable for the drivers side.