Diagram For Electrical Gear On Aux Battery

[aws24689]

I have a drawing of it using the standard electrical symbols but i find this to be more aesthetically pleasing, I am thinking that for the lights and for some of the radio stuff it might be best to just run it straight from the battery with an in-line fuse as opposed to the fuse box...any input?
I am also trying to decide where to place the battery and the fuseboxes and I am debating puting the battery/fuseboxes inside the cabin so i dont have to go through the firewall too much....I would definitely like some opinions about placement of the components
http://www.austinsmithphoto.com/misc/diagram.png

[Vegas Runner]

1.) What is the rating of your 6x fuse block? Most fuse blocks have a lower rating than 100A. If this is true then your 100A fuse and 100A relay are overkill. Your fuses should be matched to your fuse block rating. Also you can probably service both fuse blocks with one fuse and relay (the purpose here is just to protect against a dead short and not to protect equipment).
2.) I assume that you want the power to come on in the "on" and "run" positions of the ignition switch only, hence the 100A relays?
3.) What is the "6x Relay" component? Is this a panel of toggle switches?

[aws24689]

1.) The fuse blocks are indeed rated at 100 Amps and i guess it may be a better idea to connect both boxes to a single 200 Amp Fuse and 200 Amp relay, I was kinda thinking it would be good to have them separate because i may decide to add on to the one with fuse box "b" and add another fuse block.

2.) I want the relays so I can make sure that all the components are off instead of having to shut off 12 switches i could hit 2 and it would turn it all off

3.) The 6x relay component is just a box I plan on putting relays in for each of the components, just to keep them all in one place. then the wires will go from there to the switch board I will be making.... the switch board will have 12 switches to correspond to each of the fuses and 2 more above those to correspond to turning off entire groups for example the "Communications" group

[Vegas Runner]

OK well then your schematic seems fine.

What are the chances of pulling 100A continuously? I suspect not to likely. You can probably get by with one 100A (or 200A) fuse and a 80-125A continuous rated relay (contactor) for both fuse blocks. Look at the performance curves of the contactors at the link listed below. You can see they can take substantially more current than 100A intermittantly.

Curtis makes beautiful contactors:
http://www.tecknowledgey.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=57_59&products_id=501


I would reccomend getting an enviornmentally protected contactor with a "P" suffix. Also be sure to order a mounting brackett.

You also want a "continuos" rated coil.

[aws24689]

alright i'll check that out, thanks...I really like the system you have set up in ur rig

[aws24689]

do you have any suggestions on where i should locate the battery and the fuse boxes...inside the truck vs. in the engine bay, keep in mind i have a v8

[Vegas Runner]

Most people mount the aux battery next to the firewall on the passenger side. I relocated my power steering pump and built a couple of custom trays. The 1st option is much easier and less expensive than the latter.

If you can find room for your fuse/distribution boxes inside the passenger compartment I like that option. That way you go through the firewall with one wire only (two if you take the ground off the aux battery). It is also a lot cooler in the passenger compartment. But putting it in the engine compartment may give you more room to work with and possibly better access. THere are trade offs both ways.