Advice/Guidance on wiring multiple things from battery

[kdiff]

I’m a novice when it comes to electrical, so my apologies up front if these questions are basic. There are about four items I want to install that, if I understand correctly, their main power or all power should come from the battery and not one of the auxiliary switches. Some of these items are going to be high power draws when running. My question, is there a clean way or what is the best way to wire connections for all of these items? I was thinking one large gauge wire connected to the battery and have that go to a fuse distribution box. (I realize I would likely need to calculate what size.) Is there something better I should be doing?

Four items I’m referring to

• Winch: not sure if this makes sense to wire to an Aux switch since it has a remote and I also want to install a battery cutoff switch
• Fridge wiring (e.g. ARB 50qt)
• RSE steps
• ARB twin air compressor: need to read up on this, not sure yet if main power will be from battery and on/off will be from Aux switch or if the main power can run through Aux switch

If you have any sources or references that I should look at, that would be appreciated. I’m definitely not opposed to learning, its just hard sometimes to differentiate between good/bad sources when you know nothing.

Thanks!

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[lifeguard17cp]

Not sure if this is "right" but I'll tell you what I did. The winch and compressor are both what I call "special devices" they don't need power 99.9% of the time so why are they taking up aux switches. I have a Badlands Winch from Harbor freight and it came with a shut off switch. I wired that up and added my ARB Compressor onto that circuit. For me to use either I have to stop the Jeep and open the hood turn the switch and go. There is no risk of battery drain from a device I rarely use.....

My Fridge is wired up a little different. I have a battery pack in the back of the Jeep and an automatic switch. If the Jeep is running the battery pack is being charged if the jeep is not running the fridge draws from the battery.

Can't help you on the steps. That was something I ended up passing on after looong conversations with my 4'9 wife.... We still haven't found what we want but we know the automatic steps are not it

 

[kdiff]

My Fridge is wired up a little different. I have a battery pack in the back of the Jeep and an automatic switch. If the Jeep is running the battery pack is being charged if the jeep is not running the fridge draws from the battery

Thanks for the feedback! What switch are you using for controlling the power flow?

 

[lifeguard17cp]

It’s a blue sea switch. I’ll have to check the model number. It wasn’t cheap but it works well once I played with it enough to get it set up right. If you have a west marine around they carry them

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

I’m a novice when it comes to electrical, so my apologies up front if these questions are basic. There are about four items I want to install that, if I understand correctly, their main power or all power should come from the battery and not one of the auxiliary switches. Some of these items are going to be high power draws when running. My question, is there a clean way or what is the best way to wire connections for all of these items? I was thinking one large gauge wire connected to the battery and have that go to a fuse distribution box. (I realize I would likely need to calculate what size.) Is there something better I should be doing?

Four items I’m referring to

• Winch: not sure if this makes sense to wire to an Aux switch since it has a remote and I also want to install a battery cutoff switch
• Fridge wiring (e.g. ARB 50qt)
• RSE steps
• ARB twin air compressor: need to read up on this, not sure yet if main power will be from battery and on/off will be from Aux switch or if the main power can run through Aux switch

If you have any sources or references that I should look at, that would be appreciated. I’m definitely not opposed to learning, its just hard sometimes to differentiate between good/bad sources when you know nothing.

Thanks!

I believe the RSE power steps work best if wired ground to the chassis ground (at the fender by the battery) and positive lead to the positive on the main battery.
That's how it's wired on both of our Jeeps - a Wrangler and a Gladiator. Somewhere I read that they sense the voltage change when they open and close so are best wired more direct.
I was going to try to move the positive on ours to one of the high current fuse studs. 2 are unused on the Wrangler because it's a 4xe, but there's also a "spare" on the Gladiator, or could wire it to either 7 or 8. I was going to test it..........
The RSE power steps have a switch and bracket they supply - don't run them via an aux switch.

I have my winch run through a Warn solenoid to cut power when not in use and have the solenoid controlled by one of my aux switches. That way I can turn it on from in the cab, use my phone to set the idle up and then get out and do whatever is needed with the winch using the remote control.
I originally had the winch wired through the supplied big cut-off switch but one time I was on ice, in the wind in the middle of winter pulling a guy out of a snowy ditch after and ice/snow storm and it wasn't fun opening the hood and turning the switch to power the winch.
I traded Jeeps and got one with aux switches and don't use much for aux lighting so used the switches for the winch, my bumper-mounted Oracle backup lights and for the 12v power outlet and charging ports I added to the bed of my Gladiator.
I'll eventually get a compressor and use the other aux switch for that.

Two of the switches are 40 amp, 2 are 15 amp (fused in the PDC)

I put the RSE steps on our Wrangler earlier this month before our trip and just finished the install on my Gladiator today. LOVE 'EM! Follow their directions for best results. The right side of the wiring harness is a "barely reaches" thing if you don't run things how they describe.

The positive cable goes to the winch solenoid and to the snow plow fuse. So there's only one cable to the battery, I use the battery side of the solenoid as a junction point for the snow plow power as well.
Two negative cables - one to the snow plow, the other to the winch.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

My Fridge is wired up a little different. I have a battery pack in the back of the Jeep and an automatic switch. If the Jeep is running the battery pack is being charged if the jeep is not running the fridge draws from the battery.

Sounds like something similar to what Redarc offers, or is theirs over-kill?

 

[kdiff]

I believe the RSE power steps work best if wired ground to the chassis ground (at the fender by the battery) and positive lead to the positive on the main battery.
That's how it's wired on both of our Jeeps - a Wrangler and a Gladiator. Somewhere I read that they sense the voltage change when they open and close so are best wired more direct.
I was going to try to move the positive on ours to one of the high current fuse studs. 2 are unused on the Wrangler because it's a 4xe, but there's also a "spare" on the Gladiator, or could wire it to either 7 or 8. I was going to test it..........
The RSE power steps have a switch and bracket they supply - don't run them via an aux switch.

I have my winch run through a Warn solenoid to cut power when not in use and have the solenoid controlled by one of my aux switches. That way I can turn it on from in the cab, use my phone to set the idle up and then get out and do whatever is needed with the winch using the remote control.
I originally had the winch wired through the supplied big cut-off switch but one time I was on ice, in the wind in the middle of winter pulling a guy out of a snowy ditch after and ice/snow storm and it wasn't fun opening the hood and turning the switch to power the winch.
I traded Jeeps and got one with aux switches and don't use much for aux lighting so used the switches for the winch, my bumper-mounted Oracle backup lights and for the 12v power outlet and charging ports I added to the bed of my Gladiator.
I'll eventually get a compressor and use the other aux switch for that.

Two of the switches are 40 amp, 2 are 15 amp (fused in the PDC)

I put the RSE steps on our Wrangler earlier this month before our trip and just finished the install on my Gladiator today. LOVE 'EM! Follow their directions for best results. The right side of the wiring harness is a "barely reaches" thing if you don't run things how they describe.

The positive cable goes to the winch solenoid and to the snow plow fuse. So there's only one cable to the battery, I use the battery side of the solenoid as a junction point for the snow plow power as well.
Two negative cables - one to the snow plow, the other to the winch.

This is great info(!), exactly what I was hoping for. Would you please help a few things I don’t understand?

• Does the solenoid acts the same as a cutoff switch? I.e. the Aux switch is not on it won’t allow power to the winch?
• Would you please explain the acrylic piece with all of the wires? Are those fuses? If so, are those items going to the PDC for Aux switches and doesn’t everything have a fuse in the PDC? (On the topic of the acrylic, I love how clean and organized all the wiring looks.)
• Are you soldering or crimping your connections?

Thank you to you and lifeguard17cp! Your guys’ responses are really helpful.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

This is great info(!), exactly what I was hoping for. Would you please help a few things I don’t understand?

• Does the solenoid acts the same as a cutoff switch? I.e. the Aux switch is not on it won’t allow power to the winch?
• Would you please explain the acrylic piece with all of the wires? Are those fuses? If so, are those items going to the PDC for Aux switches and doesn’t everything have a fuse in the PDC? (On the topic of the acrylic, I love how clean and organized all the wiring looks.)
• Are you soldering or crimping your connections?

Thank you to you and lifeguard17cp! Your guys’ responses are really helpful.

First point - yes, the solenoid is an electric switch. It does the same thing the manual switch does. It kills all power to the winch up front. The winch can't be used or operated - there's no power to it at all.
The aux switch, when turned on, supplies power to the coil in the solenoid, activating it and closing heavy contacts inside the solenoid to give power to the winch. Pretty much the same thing as a big manual switch but it does it electrically.
I have my aux switch for the winch solenoid set up so it can only be turned on in RUN mode - I can't power the solenoid and thus give power to the winch unless it's in run mode or the engine is running. It's sort of a safety thing so no one can easily power up the winch without the FOB to turn things on.

The acrylic was my method of more easily connecting to the 4 wires for the aux switches. You can connect directly to the wires using the kit Jeep supplies with crimp connectors and heat shrink, or do what I did - mount a terminal strip. One side of the terminal strip is the 4 wires for the aux switches, and the other side is where I can connect wires going to accessories.

This is before I added my snow plow wiring and other stuff - it's version 1.0 so to speak.
The wires numbered 1 through 4 match the aux switches. The far left in the pic is ground. I ran a wire to the chassis ground on the fender so I have 2 handy ground points.
The orange lead goes to the winch solenoid primary coil.
The top acrylic prevents me from doing something dumb and dropping or laying a tool across terminals. I can still use a screwdriver through the holes to loosen screws to remove or insert wire terminals, but they can't be accidentally shorted.

I do restoration of classic car electrical parts - windshield wiper motors, HVAC blower motors, alternators and make small harnesses. So I have several various crimp tools and crimp on factory type connectors (open barrel connectors) and use marine type heat shrink that has the glue that melts and seals the heat shrink as it shrinks.
If you don't have the type of terminals or tools I used, and you use a parts store terminal and crimp tool, you can crimp and then a bit of solder to be sure.

This is how I had it setup on my first JT with no aux switches.

I have a 12v led Christmas wreath I put on in December. I got tired of running the wire into the cab and plugging into the 12v outlet there, so I put a 12v outlet under the hood..........
The big fuse is for my snow plow (this is my Jeep Gladiator (JT) by the way, but they are the same under the hood)

The black plug in the acrylic is because I used a scrap I had, there was an extra hole and one corner was chipped so I shaped it like this and plugged the extra hole.
I had to counter-sink the screw holes to clear the RedlineTuning hood struts when the hood was closed.

This is how I mounted the solenoid to the bracket I made...........

 

[Terrymo]

I used this bracket from 813 Fabrication https://www.813fabrication.com/product-page/underhood-electrical-accessory-plate
and modified the footprint slightly with some 1/4” ABS sheet to accept a Blue Sea Safety Hub 150
https://www.bluesea.com/products/7748/SafetyHub_150_Fuse_Block
I mounted a Warn solenoid under the 813 bracket for my Warn winch. It’s connected to Aux switch 4
https://www.amazon.com/WARN-62132-P...d&qid=1679948663&sprefix=Warn+,aps,335&sr=8-4
My ARB Twin compressor, Rock Slide Engineering steps, and KC under hood lights all use their own switches. This leaves Aux 1-3 open for future devices

 

[derpderp01]

I used this bracket from 813 Fabrication https://www.813fabrication.com/product-page/underhood-electrical-accessory-plate
and modified the footprint slightly with some 1/4” ABS sheet to accept a Blue Sea Safety Hub 150
https://www.bluesea.com/products/7748/SafetyHub_150_Fuse_Block
I mounted a Warn solenoid under the 813 bracket for my Warn winch. It’s connected to Aux switch 4
https://www.amazon.com/WARN-62132-Power-Interrupt-Kit/dp/B000CQFVN8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=WYOLB5Q0YZ57&keywords=warn+winch+solenoid&qid=1679948663&sprefix=Warn+,aps,335&sr=8-4
My ARB Twin compressor, Rock Slide Engineering steps, and KC under hood lights all use their own switches. This leaves Aux 1-3 open for future devices

Awesome wiring job!

 

[Terrymo]

Awesome wiring job!

Thanks, I have selective OCD

 

[kdiff]

First point - yes, the solenoid is an electric switch. It does the same thing the manual switch does. It kills all power to the winch up front. The winch can't be used or operated - there's no power to it at all.
The aux switch, when turned on, supplies power to the coil in the solenoid, activating it and closing heavy contacts inside the solenoid to give power to the winch. Pretty much the same thing as a big manual switch but it does it electrically.
I have my aux switch for the winch solenoid set up so it can only be turned on in RUN mode - I can't power the solenoid and thus give power to the winch unless it's in run mode or the engine is running. It's sort of a safety thing so no one can easily power up the winch without the FOB to turn things on.

The acrylic was my method of more easily connecting to the 4 wires for the aux switches. You can connect directly to the wires using the kit Jeep supplies with crimp connectors and heat shrink, or do what I did - mount a terminal strip. One side of the terminal strip is the 4 wires for the aux switches, and the other side is where I can connect wires going to accessories.

This is before I added my snow plow wiring and other stuff - it's version 1.0 so to speak.
The wires numbered 1 through 4 match the aux switches. The far left in the pic is ground. I ran a wire to the chassis ground on the fender so I have 2 handy ground points.
The orange lead goes to the winch solenoid primary coil.
The top acrylic prevents me from doing something dumb and dropping or laying a tool across terminals. I can still use a screwdriver through the holes to loosen screws to remove or insert wire terminals, but they can't be accidentally shorted.

I do restoration of classic car electrical parts - windshield wiper motors, HVAC blower motors, alternators and make small harnesses. So I have several various crimp tools and crimp on factory type connectors (open barrel connectors) and use marine type heat shrink that has the glue that melts and seals the heat shrink as it shrinks.
If you don't have the type of terminals or tools I used, and you use a parts store terminal and crimp tool, you can crimp and then a bit of solder to be sure.

This is how I had it setup on my first JT with no aux switches.

I have a 12v led Christmas wreath I put on in December. I got tired of running the wire into the cab and plugging into the 12v outlet there, so I put a 12v outlet under the hood..........
The big fuse is for my snow plow (this is my Jeep Gladiator (JT) by the way, but they are the same under the hood)

The black plug in the acrylic is because I used a scrap I had, there was an extra hole and one corner was chipped so I shaped it like this and plugged the extra hole.
I had to counter-sink the screw holes to clear the RedlineTuning hood struts when the hood was closed.

This is how I mounted the solenoid to the bracket I made...........

This is awesome! Seriously, thank you so much for the sharing, the info and the time, I sincerely appreciate it!

 

[kdiff]

I used this bracket from 813 Fabrication https://www.813fabrication.com/product-page/underhood-electrical-accessory-plate
and modified the footprint slightly with some 1/4” ABS sheet to accept a Blue Sea Safety Hub 150
https://www.bluesea.com/products/7748/SafetyHub_150_Fuse_Block
I mounted a Warn solenoid under the 813 bracket for my Warn winch. It’s connected to Aux switch 4
https://www.amazon.com/WARN-62132-Power-Interrupt-Kit/dp/B000CQFVN8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=WYOLB5Q0YZ57&keywords=warn+winch+solenoid&qid=1679948663&sprefix=Warn+,aps,335&sr=8-4
My ARB Twin compressor, Rock Slide Engineering steps, and KC under hood lights all use their own switches. This leaves Aux 1-3 open for future devices

This great! Super clean setup. Your’s and Bill’s posts with pictures and details are exactly what I was hoping for. This is a huge help! Thank you(!) and thank you for the links too!

 

[Terrymo]

This great! Super clean setup. Your’s and Bill’s posts with pictures and details are exactly what I was hoping for. This is a huge help! Thank you(!) and thank you for the links too!

You’re welcome. I’m no expert, but if you have questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Yawnie'sPapa]

I used this bracket from 813 Fabrication

I'm considering their dead pedal for my Gladiator and then putting my current dead pedal in my wife's Wrangler. Driving her Jeep all day straight with no dead pedal was, well............ made me determined that my wife's Wrangler WILL have a dead pedal.
I've considered talking to them about a custom bracket for my electric stuff, too. I've gotten too busy for very much fabrication for my own stuff lately. Their stuff looks to be really nicely done.

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