Electrical question.

[Trail Runner Bowser]

Hello overlanding friends,

I'm a pretty good mechanic but am absolutely clueless when it comes to electrical work. Any good electricians out there that can help with a DIY fuse/circuit breaker setup similar to Source Pod? I've looked into it and I like doing DIY projects. I run in a 2017 Toyota 4Runner SR5 (XP). Any information would help, been looking with little to no actual help.

Thank you,
Bowser.

 

[12AMJKU]

These work great. ST Blade Fuse Block - 6 Circuits with Negative Bus and Cover - Blue Sea Systems

 

[Trail Runner Bowser]

These work great. ST Blade Fuse Block - 6 Circuits with Negative Bus and Cover - Blue Sea Systems

Awesome, I'll check it out. Thanks. :)

 

[Jedi]

Depending on how much you want it to resemble the functionality and engineering of an SPod, there are several ways to go about this. Let me start by saying that I am a firm believer in two critical things:

1. Fuse early and often.
2. Limit the current running through your rig.

For the first one, "Fuse early and often" you need to understand that nearly 1 in 4 vehicle fires is caused by faults in the electrical system (per NFPA). Fuses reduce the risk of fires caused by shorts and power surges. The rule of thumb I use is to fuse as close to the battery as reasonable and fuse again if you are distributing to multiple sub-circuits. The SPod has an inline fuse from the battery and individual fuses for each switched circuit. When installing fuses, make sure to use the correct fuse size for the anticipate draw.

For the second one, "Limit the current running through your rig" you should start by re-reading the reasoning for the first item. If you can avoid pulling a 30 amp circuit all around your rig, you are doing it right. The most common reason for people reason that this ends up happening is that a person will run the switch in-line between the battery and the device. While this is technically acceptable, it is important to recognize that most of the little rocker switches don't need to be in-line and don't need much power to operate. This is where the relays come in. In fact, that is part of the special magic of the SPod that makes it worth the money to some. Here is a simple example of what this looks like:

 

[Trail Runner Bowser]

Depending on how much you want it to resemble the functionality and engineering of an SPod, there are several ways to go about this. Let me start by saying that I am a firm believer in two critical things:

1. Fuse early and often.
2. Limit the current running through your rig.

For the first one, "Fuse early and often" you need to understand that nearly 1 in 4 vehicle fires is caused by faults in the electrical system (per NFPA). Fuses reduce the risk of fires caused by shorts and power surges. The rule of thumb I use is to fuse as close to the battery as reasonable and fuse again if you are distributing to multiple sub-circuits. The SPod has an inline fuse from the battery and individual fuses for each switched circuit. When installing fuses, make sure to use the correct fuse size for the anticipate draw.

For the second one, "Limit the current running through your rig" you should start by re-reading the reasoning for the first item. If you can avoid pulling a 30 amp circuit all around your rig, you are doing it right. The most common reason for people reason that this ends up happening is that a person will run the switch in-line between the battery and the device. While this is technically acceptable, it is important to recognize that most of the little rocker switches don't need to be in-line and don't need much power to operate. This is where the relays come in. In fact, that is part of the special magic of the SPod that makes it worth the money to some. Here is a simple example of what this looks like:

View attachment 88880

Great advice, I'll keep this response when I start putting the panel in. I plan on making it for lights, later with a duel battery. Little steps at a time. I greatly appreciate the knowledge.