I want to add two more gauges to my truck.Even if mechanical probably needs wiring for the background lighting.Whats the easiest way to have them all running of a 12v power - rather than runnning 4-6 different wires to the battery or to fuse taps ? It gets MESSY.I need a real "junior" explanation with paint by numbers examples

This is my way...Use a terminal block for attaching all your accessories in one spot. Like in this old picture...Top down..1. +12V Battery2. +12V Switchwed3. Panel lighting (not shown)4. Ground

This is my way... Use a terminal block for attaching all your accessories in one spot. Like in this old picture... Top down.. 1. +12V Battery 2. +12V Switchwed 3. Panel lighting (not shown) 4. Ground

So they all run off the same 12v circuit going to the shared block ? Need thicker guage wire to 12v and to ground due to more than 1 accessory ? What size AMP fuse do you use and how to tell ? How to control switched and non switch (simply by having a switch somehere on the panel - i.e - totally seprate to the block itself) ?? sorry - not very electrical

+12 Volt battery lead is just a direct single wire to the battery with a fuse.+12 Volt switched lead is using a relay to trigger power from a second wire from the battery with a fuse.Panel lighting is a tapped lead into the radio adapter I'm using for my Kenwood MP3 player.Ground lead is of course a lead back to the ground terminal on the battery.As for gauge size and fuses...10 AWG = 55 Amps12 AWG = 40 Amps14 AWG = 30 Amps16 AWG = 20 Amps18 AWG = 15 Amps20 AWG = 10 Amps22 AWG = 5 AmpsSo typically people wire with 16 AWG wire so you use a 20 amp fuse for your main bus lines to the battery.

The OCD in me hates all the connections to the battery!!!! I have trouble keeping the terminals clean and tight without 46 little POS wires added to it......I like to go straight to the fuse block and either add terminals on the factory side to unused fuse locations, or do a solder of both the factory wire and my new circuit to a new terminal in the fuse block. (yes it takes a LOT longer... but lasts forever...) On the Dodge, I was unable to get the fuse block out easily. (On the GM vehicles I can usually, in a few minutes get the fuse block out far enough to do most of my work.) This seemed impossible on the RAM. So I used these: FHA200BP by littlefuse. (little fuse does not have a picture on their website, so I didn't link it. They are on amazon with pictures) They add right into the fuse block. They keep the original circuit protected and uninterrupted. They add a circuit branched off. For my gauges I provided a keyed hot, and one of the fuses is "dimmed" by the headlight switch, so my gauge illumination follows the dash dimming. For my heavier stuff I have used the Underhood Power distribution Center. I added the components to the Alternator terminal AFTER the fuse there. (One wire, usually toward the front of the vehicle, is connected directly to the battery. The other terminal is where the alternator attaches. I add the high load components (amp etc) to the Alternator side. So at worst they are protected by the ALT fuse. I will try and grab some pictures if someone would like them.HTH Hag

thanks guys - going to have to do this - figured that was how it was done ....... but was unsure on all the appliances loaded onto 1 12v circuit. Guess comming off the battery and having inline fuses helps with that.

VERY NICE!!

VERY NICE!!

Indeed... That is a slick fuse block for exactly what you want to do. Just make sure you master bus line is capable of the total amount of AMPs in that fuse block. So if you got 5, 5, 10, 20 you need a cable capble of 40 amp load which I listed above.

^^^ That is a pass-through block. Meaning, that it's a one-in, one-out fused circuit design.It allows you to bus-bar a few together (say, 3 of them for 12VDC constant), and the rest for 12VDC IGN (switched, if you will).But as Long-hair stated, ensure your feed circuit is capable to support the desired fuse and amperage sizing chosen.

^^^ That is a pass-through block. Meaning, that it's a one-in, one-out fused circuit design.

It allows you to bus-bar a few together (say, 3 of them for 12VDC constant), and the rest for 12VDC IGN (switched, if you will).

But as Long-hair stated, ensure your feed circuit is capable to support the desired fuse and amperage sizing chosen.

I resemble that comment...

I resemble that comment...

Why, yes.. Yes, you do ;)

wheres this from - I searched ebay and amazon for terminal block - but only finding the non fused screw type

- - - Updated - - -

Found it

called a SIDE TERMINAL BLOCK in ebay