Next up is the installation of the new rear fuse box. With the addition of several new bits of kit, I needed a good way of powering everything and daisy chaining lighter socket adaptors isn't really ideal.
I had several meters of decent gauge cable that I used for the electrical installation into the Previa for the scum-run. All of that was extracted when we got rid of the wagon so it was just sitting around spare. The cable is rated for about 20 amps, so it would be ideal for this job, although I may look at uprating this at a later date to something like 30 or 40 amps to allow for an amp or something.
First problem of the day is how to get this cable from the battery to the fuse box. The GTO has two ready made cable grommets. One near the peddles, and one over the other side. I opted for the drivers side one as it is literally right behind the battery, and I have used this one on previous GTOs.
Getting the cable through was relatively painless as the cable is quite stiff and the hole already had some other cables poked through it. Once out the other side I routed the cable around the battery with enough spare length to get to the positive terminal, and left space for a fuse.
One annoyance I came across was the factory battery terminal was an ultra-cheap bent metal ring rather than the usual bolt-on variety. The side effect of this was that fitting additional feeds was a pain, so I sourced a nice brass fitting from my favorite car store.
At this point, I had a bit of an oopsie. I was fitting the fuse pod for this cable, and in the process of installing it I dropped the loose copper end of the fuse holder down behind the battery.
Bugger.
To get it back i had to pull out the battery (a relatively simple task) but once that was out of the way i then needed to remove the battery tray, and the window washer bottle. I managed to get all of this out, but despite digging around as much as i could the copper terminal was gone. It didn't land on the ground under the car, so I can only assume its in the engine bay "somewhere". It doesn't seem to have affected anything though. Hopefully it will fall out in due course.
Slightly miffed I reassembled the washer bottle and battery only to then drop the battery clamp into the engine too.... <insert many swear words here> luckily this is a fairly large component and was easily retrieved.
Reassembling everything for the second time I hooked the new cable into the positive battery terminal via another in-line 20a fuse.
This is the scene midway through the install. Cables and tools everywhere. I ran the 20a feed down the cable routing trunk on the drivers side to the fuse box in the middle of the car (on the newly constructed storage unit). I also ran cables down the center console for the radio, usb and charger port. As well as breaking out the "switched live" wire from the radio to enable me to have the rear fuse box switched with a relay. This stops battery drain.
During this process I also installed a dual USB port on the roof of the glove box for several reasons. Mostly to charge the tablet we will be using for Sat-Nav and media, but also for backup reasons. I also used the bolts that hold the glove box in to attach a tablet mount.
Here is the final fuse box installation. I still need to label things so i remember what everything does, but this will power:
- CB Radio
- Dash USB
- Glove-box USB
- Dash Cam
- Storage cubby light
- Cool-box
The 20a feed from the battery comes into the 12v relay at the bottom of the fuse-box. This is then triggered by the switcher 12v feed from the radio. All the earth wires terminate on a bolt, which has several different ground wires going to different locations on the chassis to ensure a good ground.
Lastly the speaker mounted above the fuse box is the output from the CB radio. With the unit mounted in the dash, the speaker gets muffled, so this puts the sound right behind your ear.
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