Personally, I wouldn't put it under the seat. The wires are probably not
long enough unless you get one designed for trunk use, the access under
the seat sucks, and there will be a large bundle of wires to route under
the cab or under the carpet. Neither is a very safe place for a wire. I
put my block under the dash, high on the right side.
I used a Centech GV10 kit and would highly recommend it. Any kit I would
use would have a factory style molded block, soldered connections,
crosslinked polyethylene insulation, and colored wire. The Centech kit
also had all the desitnations printed every few inches. The GV10 seems
to have about the right number of circuits for the necessary things like
lights and ignition, and you get radio, wiper, heater fan, power
windows, and a heavy breakered feed for things like a electric fan. It
was a bit short on wires for a computer, injectors, and electric fuel
pump, but that is a whole 'nother story. Centech has a kit which plugs
into the front of the fuse block that adds a fuel pump. Hating
inconsistency, I ended up chopping off the connector and crimping and
soldering to the bus bar anyway. It is possible to add circuits to most
kits that use factory style bus bars.
I am a nut when it comes to wiring. On my truck, every wire is secure,
and bundles are tied together every few inches. The wires in bundles are
laid out neatly so that all the wires are twisted up. All connections
are soldered, and many of the connectors outside the cab have
weatherproof connectors. It takes a lot of time for a pretty job, but is
worth it. I would recommend MetriPack connectors, whatever the middle
series is. Waytek has them cheap in just about every configuration.
I have pics of my truck which show a bit of the wiring job at
www.mit.edu/~kdurand
I like to be able to take things apart, so there is a connector under
the hood for the light wires on the front fender. The gauges have a
Molex connector for easy removal. Using a connector on the ammeter
should be avoided. Also, if you do order from waytek, pick up a few
extra Packard 56 terminals for 10-12 gauge wire. They look like a 1/4
inch female spade, but grip quite well and have a lot of surface area
for contact. They come in very handy at the ignition switch and most
kits don't include enough of them.
The factory ammeter presents a bit of a problem. I don't trust it to
handle 140, or even 80 amps. 35 seems to peg it. The ammeter only sees
battery charging current when the engine is on, but it sees the full
discharge when the engine is off. The inverter alone has enough capacity
to smoke the ammeter, and you can't win with placement due to the
posibility of using the inverter with the engine on or off. You might
want to consider (as in I strongly urge) disconnecting the ammeter and
running the heavy charging wire to the battery or starter post. If you
miss a working gauge there, there are nice gauge kits with a voltmeter
instead. They unfortunately cost $$$. One day when I have said $$$ I
want to convert.
Your truck sounds like quite an electricty hog. Watch ampacity. I can't
find a chart for auto wire right now, but they exist on the 'net.
Enough rambling. This is a lot to digest. Good luck,
Keith
> Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2004 10:24:27 -0500
> From: "Wayne" <wroworth@tampabay.rr.com>
> Subject: [oletrucks] Re-Wiring
>
> Happy 2004 guys and gals!
>
> While my truck is in the paint shop I been thinking I really need to consider
> this year replacing my wiring from the ground up. It's not stock but has been
> severely molested and has smoked a few times when a "so called" helper crossed
> some wires. I have had some insight from list members on Painless and EZ-Wire
> and it's all good. My question is if I mount the fuse block under the seat do
> these systems give you enough length for dash components or do you have to
> splice? I am a novice at this so any "beware of" stuff would be very helpful.
> Do I need to consider current draw and stuff like that. I have a new 140 amp
> alternator that charges 80 amps at idle. Not many accessories, just a/c, radio
> and an 750 watt inverter that runs off of the battery direct.
>
> Thanks in advance.
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