Wiring diagram review

Dirt700 · Feb 13, 2018

zukimaster said:
Do you work for Nucor?

Yes sir. It's the mill in Arkansas. When my wife gets done a few years, going to try and transfer to the Decatur mill. That way I will be closer to the parks and live closer to the people I usually ride and hang out with. There are few guys by me that have buggies, but I hardly ever go with them.

Dirt700 · Feb 14, 2018

What is ideal wire size for say:
Fans
Lights
Fuel pump
Starter solenoid
Ignition switch

ftoy516 · Feb 14, 2018

Dirt700 said:
What is ideal wire size for say:
Fans
Lights
Fuel pump
Starter solenoid
Ignition switch

This may Help. You will need to know the Amp draw of some of the items to make those decisions.

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity?cm_mmc=PS-_-Google-_-Dynamic%2520Search%2520ADs-_-Null&adpos=1t2&creative=99997524844&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&mrkgadid=2353620585&mrkgcl=481&rkg_id=h-8f4d621c190782574f7f3720af79b028_t-1518650191&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2Y_UBRCGARIsALglqQ1d23u9WCtHj8P0vnKyEad67zIi039yJCMvwo_jj4XG4y2gHC24KOAaAkdYEALw_wcB

Also some descent info.

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Terminal-Tech-Specs

ftoy516 · Feb 14, 2018

Something like this will help keep it nice and clean. You can also get this fuse block with negative connections.

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Dirt700 · Feb 14, 2018

ftoy516 said:
Something like this will help keep it nice and clean. You can also get this fuse block with negative connections.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have the same one on my Amazon wish list.

Thanks for the wiring help, im trying to find amp draw on my fans.
I think lights and radio I will do 14awg, trans fan says only 4.8 amp draw I figured it would be more than that

ftoy516 · Feb 14, 2018

No problem.

I used the 12 slot fuse block with Ground terminals, that way i could easily ground items to the block without running them allover the place. On this Fuse Block it gets a Ground directly to the Chassis.
Blue Sea Systems #5026

Also ,
If i had any other advice it would be to make it as easy to work on as you can that way it is easier to fix on the trail....the last thing you want to have to do is tear the whole rig apart just to get to the fuse panel, just to check a fuse, or a relay.

Taking your time to do a good clean wiring job WILL pay off in the long run when you have to start working on it in the future.

Dirt700 · Feb 14, 2018

ftoy516 said:
No problem.

I used the 12 slot fuse block with Ground terminals, that way i could easily ground items to the block without running them allover the place. On this Fuse Block it gets a Ground directly to the Chassis.
Blue Sea Systems #5026

Also ,
If i had any other advice it would be to make it as easy to work on as you can that way it is easier to fix on the trail....the last thing you want to have to do is tear the whole rig apart just to get to the fuse panel, just to check a fuse, or a relay.

Taking your time to do a good clean wiring job WILL pay off in the long run when you have to start working on it in the future.

I'm trying to wire this one the correct way. The buggy I just sold was a mess when I got it.

Going to try and ground all the electronics at the mounting point, to save on the wires in running. I plan on putting fuse block and relays on a piece of and plastic and mounting it on the firewall

ftoy516 · Feb 14, 2018

I would recommend checking out DelCity for all of your wiring needs. This is a great source for all things 12V and orders over $99 ship free....wiring a buggy that will add up in the blink of an eye.

Delcity will have almost everything you will need, from wire, push buttons, relays, carling rockers, kill switchs, rockers, battery cable, terminals ect.....basically anything you can dream of 12v

delcity.net

Bebop · Feb 15, 2018

Dirt700 said:
trans fan says only 4.8 amp draw I figured it would be more than that

Remember this is continuous amp draw. in order to start an electrical motor, you need way more than the continuous number.

Dirt700 · Feb 15, 2018

Bebop said:
Remember this is continuous amp draw. in order to start an electrical motor, you need way more than the continuous number.

I think I am going to use 8 awg for all 3 fans and fuel pump just to be safe

9T3XJ · Feb 19, 2018

Those that are using 200-300 amp fuses right after the battery, do you have any problems with them blowing when winching?

I'd like to add a fuse right after the battery but Warn specs show ~450 amp draw at max load - I didn't think a 300 amp fuse would be enough.

ftoy516 · Feb 19, 2018

I am running a 175A fuse right after the battery, HOWEVER, my winch is wired directly to the battery. Which is what Warn said should be done.

At first I wanted to run my battery Positive from a jumper terminal and just ground the winch to the chassis right beside the winch, in efforts to not have so much large wire all over the whole place.
When i called and talked to Warn they informed me that would NOT be a good idea to ground the winch to the Chassis near the battery because if something goes wrong it could burn up all the ground connections to the wiring harness.

Also the winch needed to have Positive power DIRECTLY from the battery. When the winch is grounded to the chassis all of the current is trying to find its way back to the battery, and under a heavy current load during hard usage it could be high enough to be an issue with the other electrical grounds in the vehicle. I was not willing to risk that.

I have not had any issues with my fuse being beside the battery.

9T3XJ · Feb 20, 2018

ftoy516 said:
I am running a 175A fuse right after the battery, HOWEVER, my winch is wired directly to the battery. Which is what Warn said should be done.

At first I wanted to run my battery Positive from a jumper terminal and just ground the winch to the chassis right beside the winch, in efforts to not have so much large wire all over the whole place.
When i called and talked to Warn they informed me that would NOT be a good idea to ground the winch to the Chassis near the battery because if something goes wrong it could burn up all the ground connections to the wiring harness.

Also the winch needed to have Positive power DIRECTLY from the battery. When the winch is grounded to the chassis all of the current is trying to find its way back to the battery, and under a heavy current load during hard usage it could be high enough to be an issue with the other electrical grounds in the vehicle. I was not willing to risk that.

I have not had any issues with my fuse being beside the battery.

That's similar to how I have mine wired now but it makes me a little nervous having a long power wire to the winch without a fuse.

In most of the wiring diagrams in this post, the winch is shown after the fuse, I'm just wondering if people are blowing fuses with a winch wired to a 200-300 amp fuse?

TBItoy · Feb 20, 2018

9T3XJ said:
That's similar to how I have mine wired now but it makes me a little nervous having a long power wire to the winch without a fuse.

In most of the wiring diagrams in this post, the winch is shown after the fuse, I'm just wondering if people are blowing fuses with a winch wired to a 200-300 amp fuse?

I never did. you can get up to 500A Mega fuses.

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hokie_yj · Feb 20, 2018

That max current will be with the winch at max load and damn near stalled out. I'm running a M8000 and it's 435A at 8000# and 4.8 ft/min line speed.

I'll be putting this fuse holder directly after my battery switch, right now the plan is to run a 500A ANL fuse, but I may downsize to about a 400 or so.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/5503/ANL_Fuse_Block_with_Insulating_Cover_-_35_to_750A

Then from there it will go to this bus bar that rated at 1000A continuous. And everything, including the winch will feed from there.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/1990/PowerBar_1000_-_8_3_8in_Terminal_Studs

I would think 200-300 amps would be cutting it close. Likely it will never blow, but if you're pulling hard with your winch you'll be pushing that. If it were me I would up it to 350-450, assuming your wiring is capable of handling that kind of current.

ftoy516 · Feb 20, 2018

9T3XJ said:
That's similar to how I have mine wired now but it makes me a little nervous having a long power wire to the winch without a fuse.

In most of the wiring diagrams in this post, the winch is shown after the fuse, I'm just wondering if people are blowing fuses with a winch wired to a 200-300 amp fuse?

I feed BOTH the Positive and Ground winch cables through vinyl tubing to help prevent chafing...that way it had some extra protection.

My Battery is located behind the passenger seat, so the cables are LONG...from the front of the chassis to where its located its about 8 ft or so. I wish it was shorter, but I located behind the passenger seat for weight reasons.

You can get that stuff at Lowes or Homedepot. It is a little bit hard to get threaded through the vinyl tubing, but i just used a soapy water mixture and pushed it through...and Heat shrink the terminal ends after i had it totally feed into the vinyl tube.

If you try this it will take some patience.