I need an electrical guru please.

boardsurfer · Jul 17, 2017

Ok, here's the deal. I have a SwitchPros installed with a handful of accessories running through it. Love love love it. The only downside is that it leaves a little to be desired when it comes to actually hooking things up. There's just a crapload of wires to connect together. My current solution is a small box velcro'd to the top of the battery that has watertight plugs where the wires go through. Inside there is a terminal block where all the switchpro wires are on one side, and the accessories on the other. The ground leads are going to the bolt on the body panel on the left there.

The original plan was to duplicate the positive side setup for the ground wires, but the box I bought didnt have as much space in it as I hoped.

So I want to clean this mess up a little more. I am going to order a bigger box that will fit two terminal blocks in it and run all the ground wires inside. The catch is I only want one ground wire coming out of the box. I'll use something like this on the terminal block:

THE QUESTION: I assume since all the grounds will come out of the box on one wire, it will need to be a little more substantial, but how much? As far as I can tell, 10-awg is good for 30 amps which is what the compressor draws. But that little metal doo-dad is only good for 10a. Am I completely barking up the wrong tree? Please help me not burn my jeep down.

JKDream · Jul 17, 2017

boardsurfer said:
Ok, here's the deal. I have a SwitchPros installed with a handful of accessories running through it. Love love love it. The only downside is that it leaves a little to be desired when it comes to actually hooking things up. There's just a crapload of wires to connect together. My current solution is a small box velcro'd to the top of the battery that has watertight plugs where the wires go through. Inside there is a terminal block where all the switchpro wires are on one side, and the accessories on the other. The ground leads are going to the bolt on the body panel on the left there.

View attachment 268591

The original plan was to duplicate the positive side setup for the ground wires, but the box I bought didnt have as much space in it as I hoped.

So I want to clean this mess up a little more. I am going to order a bigger box that will fit two terminal blocks in it and run all the ground wires inside. The catch is I only want one ground wire coming out of the box. I'll use something like this on the terminal block:

View attachment 268595

THE QUESTION: I assume since all the grounds will come out of the box on one wire, it will need to be a little more substantial, but how much? As far as I can tell, 10-awg is good for 30 amps which is what the compressor draws. But that little metal doo-dad is only good for 10a. Am I completely barking up the wrong tree? Please help me not burn my jeep down.

Personally, I would keep it simple and just match the gauge wire to what your maximum output is on the Switch Pros.
I think it's 100 amps? So depending on the length of wire you need to run, you could use 4-8 gauge.
Remember, the length of wire also matters when calculating amperage limits.

boardsurfer · Jul 17, 2017

Good info, thanks.

WJCO · Jul 17, 2017

I would do the same. A single 4 gauge cable should suffice. At auto parts stores, near the batteries, there are usually a variety of 4 gauge ground straps.

boardsurfer · Jul 17, 2017

WJCO said:
I would do the same. A single 4 gauge cable should suffice. At auto parts stores, near the batteries, there are usually a variety of 4 gauge ground straps.

Im not sure I can cram a 4-awg on the terminal block. Lowes has wire for like $.50 per foot. I'll have to experiment a little.

WJCO · Jul 17, 2017

boardsurfer said:
Im not sure I can cram a 4-awg on the terminal block. Lowes has wire for like $.50 per foot. I'll have to experiment a little.

If there is room for a bolt and washer at the terminal, you may be able to do something like this. Here's how I mounted the ground cable for my rear power source:

JAGS · Jul 17, 2017

Wholly shit. That is with a switch pros??? How many more than 8 accessories do you have running. Gage wire to ground inside the engine. Pick several grounding points if you must.

But I'm still not sure why you need the contraption AND the switch pros. The whole point is to get rid of that mess. Maybe just me, but that many wires would have me concerned.

boardsurfer · Jul 17, 2017

JAGS said:
Wholly shit. That is with a switch pros??? How many more than 8 accessories do you have running. Gage wire to ground inside the engine. Pick several grounding points if you must.

But I'm still not sure why you need the contraption AND the switch pros. The whole point is to get rid of that mess. Maybe just me, but that many wires would have me concerned.

The switch pro doesn't have anything, just a pile of wires coming from the power block on the firewall. This was my effort to make some sense of it all. I only have 5 of the 8 in use right now. You see the brick on the firewall with the red wires coming out? That's it. That's all you get.

It is nothing like the spod, where you actually have a place to run your wires to.

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JAGS · Jul 17, 2017

boardsurfer said:
The switch pro doesn't have anything, just a pile of wires coming from the power block on the firewall. This was my effort to make some sense of it all. I only have 5 of the 8 in use right now. You see the brick on the firewall with the red wires coming out? That's it. That's all you get.

It is nothing like the spod, where you actually have a place to run your wires to.

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I have a switch pros. Everything is done in line for the purpose of avoiding the birds nest. All you do is hook up the positive to positive and then ground the ground/negative.

I'd be interested to hear if others say differently, but I think you might be over complicating things if you haven't used all 8 switches.

boardsurfer · Jul 17, 2017

If you've managed to make yours cleaner I'd love to see how. I felt like just connecting positive to positive would have just left everything in the open and make a mess. I'll admit, my solution didn't really make it better though.

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Slimebones · Jul 17, 2017

Jake, like Jags pointed out, you do not need all this. I can help you straighten this all out. I have sent you a PM.

Resqnu · Jul 17, 2017

Slimebones said:
Jake, like Jags pointed out, you do not need all this. I can help you straighten this all out. I have sent you a PM.

With the Switch pros not having a distribution block, I am going through the same issue. Any input would be appreciated.

TrainWreck618 · Jul 17, 2017

All you need to do is cut the wires to length (switchpros gives you a bunch extra), and splice the wire in. You could use a crimp connector and then a tube of heat shrink to help protect the connection. The only way I could see needing a distribution block of some sort is if you wanted to remove the accessories often.

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Resqnu · Jul 18, 2017

TrainWreck618 said:
All you need to do is cut the wires to length (switchpros gives you a bunch extra), and splice the wire in. You could use a crimp connector and then a tube of heat shrink to help protect the connection. The only way I could see needing a distribution block of some sort is if you wanted to remove the accessories often.

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Thanks. I can't really find pics of neat wiring with the SP. I'm very OCD and want very clean wiring of accessories. Let me know if I'm on the right path. Here are my thoughts to make it as neat as possible. From the SP panel under the hood, mark the wires ends (1-8) and cover in wire loom and run them all to a location, say middle of the engine compartment at firewall under the plastic engine cover. Run all individual accessory wires in loom and run them to that location and have all connections there. That way all connections are in 1 place and only wire loom is seen. Anyone done this or have pics? Any advice is appreciated.

TrainWreck618 · Jul 18, 2017

Resqnu said:
Thanks. I can't really find pics of neat wiring with the SP. I'm very OCD and want very clean wiring of accessories. Let me know if I'm on the right path. Here are my thoughts to make it as neat as possible. From the SP panel under the hood, mark the wires ends (1-8) and cover in wire loom and run them all to a location, say middle of the engine compartment at firewall under the plastic engine cover. Run all individual accessory wires in loom and run them to that location and have all connections there. That way all connections are in 1 place and only wire loom is seen. Anyone done this or have pics? Any advice is appreciated.

Having everything in one spot instead of all over would be best. I brought everything to the battery and made the connections there. Over the engine might be harder to get to. Definitely use wiring looms and zip ties for a clean look

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Resqnu · Jul 18, 2017

TrainWreck618 said:
Having everything in one spot instead of all over would be best. I brought everything to the battery and made the connections there. Over the engine might be harder to get to. Definitely use wiring looms and zip ties for a clean look

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Thanks, I thought about that after writing. I can see having all the connections near the battery side or driver side would be better for access. Thanks! The neat wiring is the one thing keeping me from the SP, but doing it that way would make it clean. I like the clean wiring of the S-pod, but like the features of the SP better. Guess I just need to get over the thought of needing a distribution panel and buy the SP.

H8ROADS · Jul 18, 2017

Jake, i'm not home but you're welcome to stop by and look at mine if you need any references, although you were there for some of the wiring so you may recall how I set it up. Just ask Sara.

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GraniteCrystal · Jul 18, 2017

Jake, please post up final pics. I also thought the entire point of a system like this was to avoid any wiring by myself. Just plug and play. Curious how yours ends up.

JAGS · Jul 18, 2017

I won't be with my Jeep for another little bit. But don't over think the switch pros. Red wire to red wire. Black wire to ground. That is it. Each wire/switch has everything built in so no need for additional relays and fuses that make a nasty birds nest.

boardsurfer · Jul 18, 2017

GraniteCrystal said:
Jake, please post up final pics. I also thought the entire point of a system like this was to avoid any wiring by myself. Just plug and play. Curious how yours ends up.

Yeah, it is plug and play. I thought I could make it better by having it all arranged just right. I just made a bigger mess than necessary. Heading over to see Slimebones after work today to see if we can get it cleaned up.

JAGS said:
I won't be with my Jeep for another little bit. But don't over think the switch pros. Red wire to red wire. Black wire to ground. That is it. Each wire/switch has everything built in so no need for additional relays and fuses that make a nasty birds nest.

I tend to overthink these things.

I need an electrical guru please.

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