Truggy wiring suggestions

Jody Treadway

Jody Treadway

Croc wearing fool
Moderator
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Hendersonville, NC
@MarsFab is killing the fabwork on my Ranger. I need to tidy the wiring a bit.
When I get it back, I'm installing a Holley Terminator EFI kit to clean up the old EEC4 system. Doing so will greatly simplify my underhood wiring.
That leaves me with the rats nest that will still remain. So I'm looking for suggestions on what buggy type wiring harness/power distribution center you jokers would go with.
The only wiring behind the cab is fuel pump and trans cooler fan. Inside the cab is radio, Mohave heater and a couple 12 volt outlets. Up front, I'll need headlights, rad fan and the EFI (2 powers, 1 ground)
I'm fine with scrapping the OEM wiring completely and starting from scratch.
10 circuits should cover it.
What say ye?
 
Painless and ARC both make pretty nice pre wired panels with relays and all. Connect to your accessories and go. I thought about building a panel for the Jeep when it’s time but once you buy decent components to build your own, their pre made panels aren’t much more if not even cheaper in some cases.
 
I can attest for how good the switchpros unit is.
I am planning a rewire of my buggy and will move up to the RCForce12 at some point. At that moment I will make a tech post on it.

This is the simplest, easiest, most foolproof and fastest way to wire a rig.

Basically you send power from the battery to the switchpro module and from there you have wires going direct to your accessories.
There is a CAN Keypad that can be placed anywhere and only requires a tiny harness (4x 18ga wires) and it will handle everything.
It also has high or low side inputs to let your ECU control stuff like the fuel pump or fans, or any commanded trigger you may want to use.

No relays, no fuses, 100% waterproof, light weight, clean, what's not to love ?

PS : If you're familiar with industrial wiring, this is an on-board PDM, with a fair bit of programmable logic left to the end user, with a very easy to use interface. Nothing more, nothing less.

PS2 : The only thing that would make me ditch a switchpro is a higher end motorsport PDM like an ECUMaster deal, but I cannot justify the cost of one, sadly.

PS3 : If you want to press the easy button, BKOR harness is a great product, it's just less advanced than the switchpros and will take quite a bit of room.
 
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NCJeeplover said:
Although it's not cheap, I really like the Busted Knuckle harness. No personal experience, but just as a web wheeler.....

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I do think the product is really cheap for what you get. Try to price a waterproof fuse and relay box + all different color wires in TXL quality and report back. You'll be way way over that. and you still have to put it together.

If your rig is wired with speaker wires and amazon/autozone stuff and it's fine by you, no problem, but that isn't a apple to apple comparison.
 
I just used the blue sea fuse block in a 16v sami swap i just finished and its pretty nice due to being able to have everything you need to start the vehicle on one switch (also fused). In my buggy, I built an Eaton DIY fuse/relay block thats waterproof and really compact. Links provided below.

Blue sea
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WM2MWQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Eaton
EATON's Bussmann 15305-2-2-4 Mini Fuse Panel | Waytek

Eaton fuse/relay block build
DIY - Build and install a Bussmann RTMR Fuse/Relay Block

Prewired Eaton
Pre-Wired Bussmann RTMR 15303-2 Waterproof Fuse Relay Panel 10' Leads 12V | eBay
 
Bebop said:
I do think the product is really cheap for what you get. Try to price a waterproof fuse and relay box + all different color wires in TXL quality and report back. You'll be way way over that. and you still have to put it together.

If your rig is wired with speaker wires and amazon/autozone stuff and it's fine by you, no problem, but that isn't a apple to apple comparison.
Click to expand...

I can definitely say it's a helluva deal. I priced out the components and without any fuses or wire was close to the cost of his kit.


I've seen this on KSR YT channel, he uses them on quite a few drag cars and other street stuff. I prefer the toggle style switches over the push button style stuff so I may go this route but I'm a ways off from re-wiring mine.
Street/Strip Switch Panel and Relay Module Combo
 
Question from a wiring novice, what protects the circuits in the solid state setup if there are no fuses?
 
YotaOnRocks said:
Question from a wiring novice, what protects the circuits in the solid state setup if there are no fuses?
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It's basically an ECU that controls your circuits. The output of the circuit is monitored mulitple times a second and you can set an amp value at which the circuit will be shut off. So you could make a random circuit a 6.5 amp max if you wanted for example.

There is a status light per circuit that will start blinking if your circuit is shorted. You can then repair the issue and it will do a low load test to check if the circuit is fixed. If it is, it will resume normal operation. If it isn't, it'll keep blinking.
 
12 volt guy switch panel with circuit breakers. Simple, no fuses, no control board to short out and leave you stranded.

Only thing is I wish I had gotten the switches backlit.
 
Bebop said:
I love wiring. I don't know what's up with it but it just makes my brain happy.
Click to expand...

It's one of those mindless tasks that you can get lost in and there's no limit to how creative (or not) you can be with it. Plus, if you're OCD, the visual appeal of a well laid out wiring setup is definitely a thing of beauty. I enjoy it too, but I am definitely NOT quick when I do it. Wiring seems to take me FOREVER.
 
Depends how crazy you want to go.

The switch-pros 9100 and rctforce 12 are really nice and at great price for entry level Power Distribution modules(PDM) One cool feature is you could make the ranger auto start with bluetooth:D

Another option would be leash electronics solid state systems.
Relay Modules | Leash Electronics


Now if you wanted to be baller and have a PDM that works directly with the terminator. Check out smartwire PDM cheaper and easier to use then a Motec system. With this PDM you can do anything solid state no fuses 100% customizable.
Racepak 500-KT-SW30 SMARTWIRE POWER CONTROL MODULE


For Gauge's holley's pro dash is a pretty sweet option as well. Also give you additional inputs and outputs that the terminator doesn't have. Speaking of outputs and inputs I would put as much items as you can through ecu.
Holley EFI 553-111 Holley EFI 12.3" Pro Dash
 
I'm considering rewiring the whole thing. In the cab the only things present are radio, CB, Mohave heater and wipers (gotta love an enclosed cab on a rainy day).
Would probably be pretty easy to gut the interior wiring and start fresh.
I talk about building a buggy sometime, but really after this round of upgrades, this will be all I do for a long, long time.
 
snipes243 said:
Depends how crazy you want to go.

The switch-pros 9100 and rctforce 12 are really nice and at great price for entry level Power Distribution modules(PDM) One cool feature is you could make the ranger auto start with bluetooth:D

Another option would be leash electronics solid state systems.
Relay Modules | Leash Electronics


Now if you wanted to be baller and have a PDM that works directly with the terminator. Check out smartwire PDM cheaper and easier to use then a Motec system. With this PDM you can do anything solid state no fuses 100% customizable.
Racepak 500-KT-SW30 SMARTWIRE POWER CONTROL MODULE


For Gauge's holley's pro dash is a pretty sweet option as well. Also give you additional inputs and outputs that the terminator doesn't have. Speaking of outputs and inputs I would put as much items as you can through ecu.
Holley EFI 553-111 Holley EFI 12.3" Pro Dash
Click to expand...

I am not sure if you can control the smartwire with the TerminatorX. I know you can trigger 4 outputs of a smartwire with a Dominator plugged in the V-Net bus, but I'm unclear about the TerminatorX. AFAIK, their CAN processes are different.

If you want the full integrated deal, consider moving to the line of products from ECUMaster, truly integrated.

I just bought a 7" Dash during black friday. Gotta make a mount for it and I'm probably going to rewire some of my buggy then report.
I know you can add input/outputs and they even have a virtual switch function. Not sure how useful it is though. I'm starting to have second thoughts on the full integrated systems. My Current holley dash took a shit this weekend and I'd have been fucked if I had vital systems going through it.

PS : remote start with the switchpros, just because :

 
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Bebop said:
I am not sure if you can control the smartwire with the TerminatorX. I know you can trigger 4 outputs of a smartwire with a Dominator plugged in the V-Net bus, but I'm unclear about the TerminatorX. AFAIK, their CAN processes are different.

If you want the full integrated deal, consider moving to the line of products from ECUMaster, truly integrated.

I just bought a 7" Dash during black friday. Gotta make a mount for it and I'm probably going to rewire some of my buggy then report.
I know you can add input/outputs and they even have a virtual switch function. Not sure how useful it is though. I'm starting to have second thoughts on the full integrated systems. My Current holley dash took a shit this weekend and I'd have been fucked if I had vital systems going through it.

PS : remote start with the switchpros, just because :

Click to expand...


I get the Terminator x and terminator versions of HP or Dominator mixed up from time to time so your probably right.

What happened to your dash?
 
No idea but the back light doesn't work anymore so unless you're at pitch back it's impossible to see. Seldom simply won't turn on at all.

I had the 3.5" sold with the TermiX and just bought the 7". the difference in quality is impressive, the 7" is a very nice unit and I don't foresee any issues. But you never know.
 
Bumping this up one more time before ordering.
Here's what I'll be powering up, broken down by circuits
Holley Terminator EFI w/ fuel pump
rad and trans fans controlled by temp switches (just like current so i don't forget to turn on fans)
radio/12 outlets/cb/cab fan
headlights/rocklights/lightbar
wipers/mohave heater
future KOH style rear facing light bar
1 unused circuit for future whatever

I will be gutting the dash and HVAC box, so there is nothing between the firewall and dash. Battery will be moved to pass firewall under hood to clean things up. I plan to mount the PDC/EDM/etc behind the dash or behind the airbag cover on pass side. I want EVERYTHING electrical diag-wise in one place and short runs of power lines.

With all that said, what are yall's thoughts? I like the BKOR kit and I also like that one @Bebop mentioned. I know I want clean and easy to diag/maintain.
 
The 8 circuit busted knuckle set up would definitely have you covered and really isn't a bad deal. Let the holley control your fans and fuel pump, all the lights can be on a single relay then separate switches, same with other similar shit.
That being said it's not like your interior is open to the weather, a regular bosch fuse and relay panel would also cover everything you want. Honestly a bigger issue is using quality non ching chong crimp connectors on everything else
 
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