76NY440_nTX

Evening folks. I'm taking a break from the NY and going to add some goodies to the Dodge Ram. I'm going light on this, with the main focus of adding a 7 and 4 pin combo harness to the rear of the truck and a break controller for help in towing the trailer. I also want to redo the hatchet job of an alarm installation too. I've been contemplating adding a gauge pillar, but eh, I'm going to pass on that for now. So here's what I want to do:

• Add an auxiliary fuse panel
• Clean up the wiring of the aftermarket alarm
• Add a break controller

Basically I've been looking at adding one of the Painless Wiring 7 circuit fuse boxes to the inside, these have 3 hot leads and 4 accy/key on. 1 of the hot leads would be for the alarm and that would leave me two free for later expansion. I would wire the break controller to 1 of the accy/key on circuits, leaving me the ability to add 3 other accessories later on.

I anticipate it being kind of a straight forward job and probably a weekend project. I wanted to see if anyone had any tips or extra on info on a small project like this. Really what brought this up was the disgust I saw in the alarm installation.

scotts74birds

No advice yet. But I am an electrician, and very good at auto electric. We're here if you need us!

TVLynn

Always ON wire them direct to the battery thru a 20-30a fuse, depending on useage and wire gauge. The key on circuits would wire them thru a relay

PK1

Brake controller: I think they came with them as a dealer option. Look at a prodigy. It has a 4 prong connector that goes to the inside fuse box that goes to the lights brake pedal etc.. plug and play. Then check the driver side rear light connection under the bed rear frame rail. It should have a disconnect for the 7 pin if the tail isn't there... again, plug and play.

You shouldnt have to cut anything under the dash.

We were going to do a painless on an old hotrod but it was too pricey... We went to bone yard, cut out a fuse panel to a small import or 4 cylinder .. I forget what it was, I want to say Subaru? Then searched the internet for color code and added our own wires. Ran excellent and took easy to find fuses.

We used a heavy duty relay from fog lights or an efan to energize the accessories for a "key on" and "run" condiiton and the rest were constant power.

We paid 5 bucks a pull apart and but ended up buying the manual to get all the color coding..It looks like a factory install.

If you can run a voltmeter and test light you will have NO problems.

Good Luck!

76NY440_nTX

Thanks for the tips. I spent a pretty good amount of time looking under the dash today and saw all sorts of mess from the alarm install. The truck spent about a year as a fleet vehicle and had the tint and alarm done at one of the tint places in San Antonio, and man, they're quality has gone down hill: T-taps on the wires with only a few plugged in and used, wires wrapped around the steering column, wires not insulated correctly or put away when not in use, and shoddy crimping. I'm surprised I haven't loosened anything on it since I've owned it. While under there, I didn't see or couldn't find the existing connections, so it either didn't come with them or they were cut out when the alarm was installed. I looked at the rear and only see the 4-pin flat (I'm going to test this to make sure it works and drop the spare to make sure it's not tucked under there.)

I've also been going back and forth with the painless kit; and have looked at an 8 circuit bussman unit for about half the price. I may have to do some modification to get 4 hot and 4 accessory or ign/run, so I'm going to weigh the work vs. buying one set up that way.
I'm in the process of drawing up a diagram and a parts sheet to make this go as smooth as possible. Parts list as follows (as of today):

• Tekonsha Power Trak Brake Controller
• Hopkins 7/4 Way Deluxe Inst Kit
• Painless 70107 7 circuit fuse panel OR Bussman 8 fuse block #15600-08-20
• 8 AWG wire
• 10 AWG wire
• 18 AWG wire
• Crimp on connector's
• Fuses (20amp, 30,amp, 40amp)
• Relays (20 amp, 30 amp, 40 amp)
• Butt connectors
• Zip tires
• Wire loom
• Electrical tape

I'll be shopping this Friday after I take another look under the dash. I figure if I don't see anything again, this will pretty much be the parts list.

76NY440_nTX

Okay, shopping is done! After some diagram drawing and redefining the expectations, I decided to add a set of auxiliary fuse panels to the truck. One of the goals is to limit the number of wires running from the battery directly. The other is, to offer a safe and scalable way to add aftermarket accessories that require hot or switched power. Right now my main goals are to rewire the alarm, add the brake controller, and the 7/4 combo harness in the back. Here's a pic of the goodies and a list of parts. I've got studying to do this weekend, and Mardi Gras Galveston next weekend, so I won't get to this for about two weeks. Who knows though, I might have to take an extra long study break and may need to clear the mind.

Parts list and sources
Purchased at etrailer.com

• 1 7/4 way combo trailer harness hook up
• 1 trailer hook up kit (wire, circuit breakers, mounting hardware, etc)
• 1 drawtite brake controller w/ quick disconnect

Purchased at CE auto electric supply

• 1 140 amp manual circuit breaker
• 1 6 channel fuse holder (this will be for the constant hots and to provide power for the switched panel)
• various relays, fuses, and circuit breakers

Purchased from Amazon.com

• 1 Bussman 6 channel fuse panel (for the switched power accessories)

76NY440_nTX

Well the semester kept me pretty busy, and I had to do the project in phases. Due to a measuring error, I had to rearrange the mounting brackets for the panel; which I still don't like Anyway, I alot of the connections made and tested and am in the process of finishing out hooking up the brake controller harness.

I've got two more connections to make: Tapping into the brake light switch, and tapping into the ignition run. Since I'm eliminating the use of the scotch locks and t-taps, this is taking just a wee bit longer. Overall I'm satisfied with how it's come out so far. I'm really looking forward to rewiring the alarm yet making it completely removable should I sell the truck (highly doubtful though). Here are a few progress pics. Looking forward to finishing this up and moving on to another project