Fuse question... I've searched to no avail.

[fyrefight]

OK folks, I've looked all over and haven't found the answer. If no one here knows, I'll have to just start checking wires/circuits I guess. I haven't resorted to that yet, because I'm old/cranky and it's cold out...lol.

What I'm trying to do is this.
I want to find a switched circuit under the hood that I can use to pull in a relay for lights and/or power for a ham radio. The current on the relay coil would be minimal (approx 160mA). I'm thinking of using one of the "add-a-circuit" fuse holders to tap into the fuse panel and therefore power the relay only when the truck is in accessory mode/running.
I looked under the hood by the battery, and didn't find the harness for the aux switches (maybe that only comes if you got it with the switch panel factory installed, dunno), and I really don't want to have to tap into wires unnecessarily. That only leads to corrosion and eventual failure.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

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[Renegade]

OK folks, I've looked all over and haven't found the answer. If no one here knows, I'll have to just start checking wires/circuits I guess. I haven't resorted to that yet, because I'm old/cranky and it's cold out...lol.

What I'm trying to do is this.
I want to find a switched circuit under the hood that I can use to pull in a relay for lights and/or power for a ham radio. The current on the relay coil would be minimal (approx 160mA). I'm thinking of using one of the "add-a-circuit" fuse holders to tap into the fuse panel and therefore power the relay only when the truck is in accessory mode/running.
I looked under the hood by the battery, and didn't find the harness for the aux switches (maybe that only comes if you got it with the switch panel factory installed, dunno), and I really don't want to have to tap into wires unnecessarily. That only leads to corrosion and eventual failure.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Quadratec sells a harness to tap into the cigarette lighter power source in the dash. Would that work, or does it have to be in the engine compartment?

 

[fyrefight]

Quadratec sells a harness to tap into the cigarette lighter power source in the dash. Would that work, or does it have to be in the engine compartment?

I would prefer it be in the engine compartment, but it's possible that may not be an option. I like as few and as short wires as possible when wiring.

 

[Kevin_D]

Just used these today:

Worked pretty well. These are 14ga. wire, many others are only 16ga. These taps basically let you piggyback onto an existing circuit, without interrupting that circuit, and add another independent fused circuit.
Got 'em here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083R55DBT

I was looking for a hot circuit, but I'm sure you can easily find a switched circuit in the PDC.

And if you don't have the factory Aux. Switches, you won't have the associated wiring harness(es).

Kevin

 

[fyrefight]

Just used these today:

Worked pretty well. These are 14ga. wire, many others are only 16ga. These taps basically let you piggyback onto an existing circuit, without interrupting that circuit, and add another independent fused circuit.
Got 'em here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083R55DBT

I was looking for a hot circuit, but I'm sure you can easily find a switched circuit in the PDC.

And if you don't have the factory Aux. Switches, you won't have the associated wiring harness(es).

Kevin

Those are exactly what I'm talking about. I was able to go out yesterday (cold n windy but...) and did a quick recon on the PDC. Fuse #52 is switched and is hot on Aux and Run modes. Guess I should have done that first. Thanks for the assist folks!

 

[Kevin_D]

Those are exactly what I'm talking about. I was able to go out yesterday (cold n windy but...) and did a quick recon on the PDC. Fuse #52 is switched and is hot on Aux and Run modes. Guess I should have done that first. Thanks for the assist folks!

IIRC, fuse 52 is for the Aux. 12V plug on the dash: a perfect choice.

Kevin

 

[aegiscpo]

What is a good fuse to tap for an always hot 12V source? I was thinking about using F91 Horn Fuse for a constant HOT source, any negatives to using that fuse?

 

[MPMB]

What is a good fuse to tap for an always hot 12V source? I was thinking about using F91 Horn Fuse for a constant HOT source, any negatives to using that fuse?

The answer will depend on the power your device is going to draw.

If you're going to want a hot source, why not connect straight to the battery? Or one of the terminals in the PDC? Run an inline fuse; many electrical things have them these days.

On the topic of Add-a-Circuit... my local stores don't carry micro versions, so I had to order from AMZN.

 

[jludave]

What is a good fuse to tap for an always hot 12V source?

Best bet is to connect to battery and use an in-line fuse.

 

[Swilliams]

I don't know why noone else has just answered the question on all the forums on this topic instead of suggesting why not to run to constant power. I'd like everything ran to constant power that is a light .all accessory lights, rock lights , halo lights, etc. I just ran my halos to F15 to answer your question and it works fine and is constant power .

 

[Swilliams]

What is a good fuse to tap for an always hot 12V source? I was thinking about using F91 Horn Fuse for a constant HOT source, any negatives to using that fuse?

F15. Horn didn't work for me for some reason ,I tried that first .I realize this is an old post but someone like me who wants a simple answer to which fuse is constant instead of randomly trying them all will likely find this thread

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Be careful what you connect to certain places. The IPC is connected to the LIN bus - and if what you connect has any kickback when shut down, it could feed into that circuit. Best to not tap into any old random fuse that happens to be hot.
Sometimes you are better off adding a terminal strip and rigging your own place to connect things, staying off of other fuses.

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