I think I said R&D is costly....Yeah, its also time consuming. As with any plan, things change. Add in my sudo-OCD of "wanting to do it right" the first time, a ton of coffee, I have come to realize that I do not always think of everything when I start. So "change-Switch!" Pun intended.
It is hard to explain a visual concept but in the previous post, you see the mounted auxbeam controller. It is 10" wide so placement is very difficult in a small width battery box. I stood there for a long time thinking it thru, got another coffee and went to work. After I made the cables for the power/ground, and the 3 water box wires, got them all cinched down and then caught my mistake. The proverbial Homer Simpson DUH hit me. Imagine the following: The battery box fits in the bed and covers the drivers wheel well. It is tucked up against the side and held in place by the center drawer system. There is zero access to the road side of the battery box once it is installed. So "riddle me this batman" if fuse blows, how to I change it if it is hidden from view.
I scratched my head and went inside for another cup O' Joe.
A new day, a new plan! Not sure why I didn't think of this location first but the controller fits nicely mounted on the inside of the access door. I guess the bending of the wires when I lift the lid is one reason I didn't choose it. After staring at it for what seemed like at least 2 cups O' Joe, I was pondering the flex of wires when the lid was raised/closed, the effects of road bouncing and vibration, yada, yada, yada.....Finally I did a test fit and was happily surprised that not only does it fit well, the amount of wire movement when opening/closing the lid is a lot less than I thought. So we are moving forward.
I will say this, stranded wire sucks without using some sort of ferrule terminals. They just didn't stay secure during the lid closing test. Instead of buying/waiting for amazon to deliver ferrule cups, I made some myself! Genius my wife calls me! Industrious, I say if you add me to a box of rocks.
As the wiring was taking shape, thoughts went back to install/removal of the battery box, the connections for the cap and running the front bumper lights to the rear. All are challenging when they are in your mind but version 1 are these small anderson connectors I bought and never used. It will allow me to disconnect and pull them thru the small bed rail hole that transitions to the cap. More re-wiring when the cap goes back on but that is another day and cup O' Joe later. Without further a-do....eye candy!
