Wiring in electronics for a beginner??

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A

Alastaird

Member
Posts
49
Location
Nottingham
Hi there,

I'm very technically minded (work part time in medical product design) however my new 2001 defender TD5 is my first car project.

Could anybody please help with the following two questions?

1. 12V low power - I'd like to wire in a few interior lights 12V and a speaker amp, also 12V but wheres the best place to take power from. I've opend up the fuse box but have no idea where all the wires are going

2. 12V high power - I'd like to buy a coupple of extra lights for the car so where do I wire in som spotlights?

Thanks you so much for any help in advance :)

Many thanks,

Alastair
 
For the amp is this for a subwoofer may i ask? If so take it straight of the battery and can do the same thing with your spots etc.
 
yes it is. Ok so I literally attach the cables straight to the terminals of the battery?

Where do I take power from, for, say a new internal light I'd like to place.

Thank you so much for your help
 
Yes streight on, i would should you mine and how my sub is wired but my battery box is a pain to get at as have got recaro seats bodged in, and make sure they are fused cables so you dont blow the amp if a surge. Tighten them onto where the main poss and neg connect onto the battery very simples. Not sure about the light but i have an extra internal one and thats just plumbed into one of the lives inside the fuse box. I can take some pics if it helps but Mine is 1986 not 2001 hahaha. Sorry.
 
When you do wire in your sub there will be a small blue wire normally on the back of your cd player most modern ones anyway and this will be for the sub. (im not sure how much you know) Bassicly this tells the sub when to turn off and on so its not always kept on draining your battery! EDIT The blue wire will go into your Amp on second thaughts! My amp is built into the sub so I just go from battery and radio to sub.
 
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My advice would be to wire everything in as seperate circuits from the factory wiring, this way if things go wrong it's alot simpler to diagnose and fix then when you have chopped into the original wiring. Each circuit that is factory fitted is designed for the components that are already there, if you start adding more then you increase the current draw and loadings, this can cause fuse popping and overloading of the cable system, if you connect to the wrong thing you can cause major damage to other components.

Create a new circuit from the battery, get a few fuse holders and fuse everything as it leaves the battery. Make sure you use the correct gauge wire for the amperage of whatever your putting on and keep everything neat and tidy!
 
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Buy a fuse box, take a cable rated for all the circuits you are likely to use plus 10% from the battery to the fuse box - keep this cable as short as possible (i.e. attach it to the inside of the battery box) now yuo can have fused circuits which also look neat.

Now run your wires from there as you need.

For your new interior light, assuming it's only 5 or 10 watts or something I would happily take a feed from the purple permenant live behind the 3 switches on the right hand side of the steering wheel, run the feed up behind the window trim and across the headlining - is there not already a light in the headlining? Take a tap from it and derate the lamp a bit (I have a 21w - lots of light!)
 
discomania said:
Buy a fuse box, take a cable rated for all the circuits you are likely to use plus 10% from the battery to the fuse box - keep this cable as short as possible (i.e. attach it to the inside of the battery box) now yuo can have fused circuits which also look neat.

Now run your wires from there as you need.

For your new interior light, assuming it's only 5 or 10 watts or something I would happily take a feed from the purple permenant live behind the 3 switches on the right hand side of the steering wheel, run the feed up behind the window trim and across the headlining - is there not already a light in the headlining? Take a tap from it and derate the lamp a bit (I have a 21w - lots of light!)
Click to expand...

Superb Advise!!! Would totally agree with this and a great bit of information!

Said Fuseboard/box for inside the battery box - do you recommend any certain box?
 
Something like this would suite, google blade fuse box, they come in various shapes and sizes, I prefer the ones with a screw on lids
8%20Blade.JPG
 
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