Electrical wiring from battery to trunk

[JimLee]

Okay that's great, my concern zipping to the factory harness is still valid as the cable I am running is 1lbs per 2.5ft in weight. I like the idea of welding those studs to the frame, but based on the prep that it requires that also seems to be very very difficult to achieve given the limited space above the frame, but if I find a way to do it that's a very good suggestion.

For the engine bay entrance near the exhaust I decided to go with a silicon heat sleeve https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XZ3B33S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 instead of the heat tape to keep things nice and clean and to allow for easier inspection down the road (e.g. no glue on the inner of the sleeve so it could be easily unsecured and inspection could be made underneath to the braided plastic sleeves for melting or degradation over time.

Being anal about cable runs I also decided to use my favorite tape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KHKX9Y5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 on top of the two braided sleeves along the run, to add a factory look and to further protect from elements - I can't recommend enough the quality of this tape. Just grab 6 of them as they are awesome deal and you will end up using it on everything!

You could also attach the studs at the top-inboard edge of the frame facing inboard versus trying to get them on top. You are a little more exposed this way but it would have to be a perfect branch launch to get that far up and into the cable run. I like that silicon heat sleeve! I have four rolls of that Tesa tape in my garage right now, lol.

 

[slowfox]

You could also attach the studs at the top-inboard edge of the frame facing inboard versus trying to get them on top. You are a little more exposed this way but it would have to be a perfect branch launch to get that far up and into the cable run. I like that silicon heat sleeve! I have four rolls of that Tesa tape in my garage right now, lol.

That's cool so you know the power of Tesa :+) I might end up zip tying to the factory hooks, they really seem to be quite sturdy and if I find a way to zip tie on the opposite side of the factory harness it should keep it clean. It is so difficult inspecting underneath the Jeep without a creeper or a lift - it would've been so nice to lift this thing to eye level and work on it that way. Other than this after wasting hours of thinking and looking for distribution blocks this is the one I ended up getting for the storage caddy.

 

[JimLee]

That's cool so you know the power of Tesa :+) I might end up zip tying to the factory hooks, they really seem to be quite sturdy and if I find a way to zip tie on the opposite side of the factory harness it should keep it clean. It is so difficult inspecting underneath the Jeep without a creeper or a lift - it would've been so nice to lift this thing to eye level and work on it that way. Other than this after wasting hours of thinking and looking for distribution blocks this is the one I ended up getting for the storage caddy.

Yup, the Tesa is definitely in my arsenal . I've got a really nice creeper. Problem is I haven't cut my hair since I retired from the military in 2011 and I now have a ponytail like Eddie. Two times of pushing hard to get out from under a vehicle not realizing your hair has gotten wrapped up in a wheel will break you of the creeper habit real quick, lol. One time I had to go inside with a very heavy creeper attached to the back of my head and get the wife to help. Now I just use a foam shooting mat and crawl under there the old fashioned way. I think that distribution box will work for you. You have probably already thought of this but I would check it a few times after you install and use it a bit, I've read a few reviews about some distribution blocks sold on Amazon melting far below their ratings, of course that could also be people who don't know how to calculate their load correctly using them. I know the cheapo one I got with the AAL remote panel is holding up good, but I eyeball it pretty much every time I open the back of the Jeep and I am underutilizing its capacity. Once you get the Goose gear deck on you aren't going to take it off often, so you might think about mounting the distribution panel where you can see it through the little access door in the rear deck.

 

[slowfox]

Yup, the Tesa is definitely in my arsenal . I've got a really nice creeper. Problem is I haven't cut my hair since I retired from the military in 2011 and I now have a ponytail like Eddie. Two times of pushing hard to get out from under a vehicle not realizing your hair has gotten wrapped up in a wheel will break you of the creeper habit real quick, lol. One time I had to go inside with a very heavy creeper attached to the back of my head and get the wife to help. Now I just use a foam shooting mat and crawl under there the old fashioned way. I think that distribution box will work for you. You have probably already thought of this but I would check it a few times after you install and use it a bit, I've read a few reviews about some distribution blocks sold on Amazon melting far below their ratings, of course that could also be people who don't know how to calculate their load correctly using them. I know the cheapo one I got with the AAL remote panel is holding up good, but I eyeball it pretty much every time I open the back of the Jeep and I am underutilizing its capacity. Once you get the Goose gear deck on you aren't going to take it off often, so you might think about mounting the distribution panel where you can see it through the little access door in the rear deck.

Oh man, that must have been a bad day, your hair being caught in those wheels. You must have a long hair for 11 years of not cutting it?

Yeah I researched a lot on distribution blocks and fuse blocks and compared many different options. The ones that I really like are Blue Sea SafetyHub 150 and SMD FB-4 Quad Fuse Block. The latter has aluminum bus bar and landings. High quality stuff. Unfortunately both of these wouldn't fit well as they require a lot of space being 5x5 and 5x6.5 respectively. I got expensive high quality copper fuses from Bussman to replace the ones that came with the cheaper fuse block I got. I have a little concern about it as it is zinc-allow nickel plated, but we will see. I plan on having the little door on the Goose Gear on the passenger side so I can have access to that compartment.

By the way looking more and more into the Weld Mount and after watching some videos on Youtube these look quite nice, but I would prefer to have them mounted on the frame rather than on the chassis, which would make it once again difficult to prepare the surface for them if I want them on top of the frame.

 

[JimLee]

Oh man, that must have been a bad day, your hair being caught in those wheels. You must have a long hair for 11 years of not cutting it?

Yeah I researched a lot on distribution blocks and fuse blocks and compared many different options. The ones that I really like are Blue Sea SafetyHub 150 and SMD FB-4 Quad Fuse Block. The latter has aluminum bus bar and landings. High quality stuff. Unfortunately both of these wouldn't fit well as they require a lot of space being 5x5 and 5x6.5 respectively. I got expensive high quality copper fuses from Bussman to replace the ones that came with the cheaper fuse block I got. I have a little concern about it as it is zinc-allow nickel plated, but we will see. I plan on having the little door on the Goose Gear on the passenger side so I can have access to that compartment.

By the way looking more and more into the Weld Mount and after watching some videos on Youtube these look quite nice, but I would prefer to have them mounted on the frame rather than on the chassis, which would make it once again difficult to prepare the surface for them if I want them on top of the frame.

Lol, it was rough. It's only down past my shoulders a little bit, according to my wife I don't care for it properly and it breaks off, oh well. Every thing I have ever used from Blue Sea is top notch, but man have the prices gone up, and I completely get that you have limited space to work with. Haven't tried anything from SMD, but I have seen some nice quality out of the automotive audio industry.
Keep those Weld mounts in your memory bank, I have used them on countless motorcycle, quad, 4x4, projects. They may not work for you right now, but someday you might have a use for them. For composite/fiberglass use they are called "click studs" or "click bond studs". If the surface is prepped properly and the right adhesive/weld is used they hold, and hold well.