Factory 4 switches + quake vs SPOD

TheSolarWizard · Jun 7, 2020

Is there something I can’t do with the factory aux switches and adding the quake system to get me the 8 circuits I need or is it preferable to skip the factory aux switches and get the Spod for around $400 more

mjgpol99 · Jun 7, 2020

I went with the spod I was looking at adding factory switches but dealers around here wanted 200 to flash computer after i installed them to make them work. it took me less than an hr to install the spod and wire up my aux lights..

Mark Doiron · Jun 8, 2020

I'm not familiar with the Quake system you ask about, but do have an older sPOD in my Wrangler and the OEM switches in my Gladiator. Some of this material may have changed as sPOD upgraded their devices, but I hope this gives you some ideas of what you should be considering.

The OEM switches are very convenient and well done. They are programmable such that you can set a switch for momentary action (such as a horn button), for use during ignition off or on, and for it to remember its last state (so that it turns back on when you next run the Jeep, for example). With the four circuits (no idea what Quake does to this), the OEM switches offer 40 amps + 40 amps + 15 amps + 15 amps. Currently I use the four switches for the comm rack (Aux 1), the ARB air compressor (Aux 3) and the driving lights (Aux 4). Aux 2 will eventually be used for the engine fan off function.

The sPOD switches I have are just on switches*. They are not programmable to remember state or ignition status. If you leave a switch on, that device stays on (newer versions of the sPOD may have addressed this). With my older sPOD, I have six lines with a total of 80 amps (I bought the optional higher current hookup cable--it was originally 50 amps), but 30 amps max on a single circuit. I bought the model of sPOD that backlights the switches and added custom toggles. I wired the backlighting into the Wrangler circuitry so the lights dim with the dash lighting. The switch on the sPOD controller that used to turn the lights off and on now removes all power from the sPOD. It's a safety feature to prevent a curious passenger from reaching up and asking, as they are pressing the switch while I'm tooling down the Interstate, "What's a 'front locker'?" I have the six switches wired as follows: Overhead lights (left side), overhead lights (right side), driving lights, front locker, rear locker and engine fan off.

But, the sPOD has one huge advantage for me over the OEM aux switches: I've wired it to my aux battery in the Wrangler. I also have dual batteries in the Gladiator, but there is no way I know for me to route power for the aux switches to that battery.

*Like the aux switches, the sPOD switches use four pin horn relays that do not permit a voltage output when selecting the off function. There are five pin relays that do permit such a voltage output. I won't belabor the details because usage that way is uncommon, but good engineering practice was to use such a feature so that when I turned the sPOD switch off, the engine fan was on. I wired in an extra relay to implement it.

A few pics (because pics are fun and sometimes even informative) ...

Gladiator dual battery install (this mod removes the hidden motorcycle battery) ...