totally pointless fuse box relocation
 

Currently I have the engine out of the car for numerous reasons (it's not blown :)), while the engine was out I figured I'd relocate the battery to the passenger bin. Okay thats no problem. I found a nifty battery box to hold the odysee battery (pics below).

Since I really didn't want to leave the fuse box that attaches to the battery just hanging there, I decided to move that as well. Obvously this is a totally pointless mod, and is totally unnecessary. With the assitance of Charlie (stokedxiv), we pulled the bins out in about twenty minutes and got to work.

The battery box I ordered only covered 3 of the 4 sides of the battery. The bin needed to be cut out in order to hold the battery flush. But this left one side of the battery un-supported, so I had to fabricate a backing plate to keep the battery from falling through.

Once the battery was mounted securely I was able to test fit the fuse boxes on either side. Suprisingly the fit pretty much perfectly. The battery fuse box will be held to the battery via a bolt. For the other fuse box i used the factory mounting tab, and fabricated a custom bracket to bolt it to the bin.

The last thing that was mounted in the bin was the headlight relay. Charlie just cut a little aluminum bracket to hold it to the bin. It came out nice if you ask me.

I'm going to put the bin back in the car in the next few days and run the cables to the engine bay through the firewall. I'll be sure to post more pictures once it's all completed. Here is what i have so far....

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan/before.JPG

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan/battery%20box.JPG

since I'm not a welder, and JB weld does a good job...thats what I used :) Call it ghetto, call it what you want...it worked

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan...%20backing.JPG

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan/battery%20hole.JPG

I'll have to snap a better picture of the mounting tab for the fuse box later
http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan/mounting%20tab.JPG

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan...k%20up%202.JPG

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan...0mock%20up.JPG

now that is a clean install. probs to you dude.

Adam

oh and here is a shot from the side, the battery is recessed slightly

http://copland.udel.edu/~cbaynes/Dan/test%20fit.JPG

I just utilized that compartment for my water injection install

That's badass man!! Personally, I don't really like cutting/hacking away any parts on my car, but with how that turned out, I just might consider doing that myself!! :) Good job man!

-Alex

haha yes we are the clean install kings, haha... you ready to fire up the soldering iron and do it all over again? ;) I know a CYM that needs this done... haha

don't have the patience to do that but that's the coolest battery relocation I've seen.

Looks good, so are you all done now with the soldering and what not?

Yup, Charlies car will be next for this totally useless mod...well the battery relocation has a small advantage.

Coolduke, I actually am all done with soldering! instead of soldering the joints in the engine bay I will be using raychem splices. The splices I am using are heat shrinkable and they also have a plastic liner that melts and seals the splice from water, oil, and everything else. Personally I feel this route is much better then soldering and heat shrinking when you have a joint that would be open to the elements.

looks clean, you should put the front relay box and fan relays in the bins too.

Got a pic of the space under the hood?

wait is this Dan? and the charlie that I Know? I've been meaning to get up with you guys, I didn't know Charlie got another rx yet.

Nice looking work! How easy does the battery come out if you need to replace it? A circuit breaker would be a nice add on...so when you put the motor back in, you can kill electrical power with one button.

^ wouldn't say this mod is useless...a clean engine bay is $$$$

So you ran wireing all the back to the stock locations? Overall, how long did the whole thing take? I might do this when I go ls1 (:flamesuitactivated: ) to make the engine bay have more room for things like a big twin turbo kit....

Man that is a LOT of extra wiring to run back to the bins. I'd like to see the wiring, how'd you get it through the firewall and run it through the passenger compartment.

I hope you did a good job with the wiring, that is generally where these type of projects end up causing problems over the long run.

Dan's car has been out of service all winter, so we started this project a few weeks ago, but it's been going very slow. If you really wanted to get it done quick, you would just have to make sure to have all the materials ready ahead of time, and you could probably knock this out in two or three days. You can't rush something like this though, or else like TurboJeff said, you'll end up with problems. I don't have a materials list, but I'm sure dan (scrub) could help you out with that if you needed some advice.

Charlie

We're not quite finished yet, but when we are Dan will be posting up all the pics of the way the wires were run and the finished product.

Charlie

actually that relay box is mounted upside down and hidden due to the V-mount, so you can't see it anyway. Eventually I plan on moving the fan relays, but right now I just want to get my car back on the road so I can enjoy this beautiful weather.

I have a 200amp circuit breaker, but I am not too sure how to incorporate it into the install. I'm trying to decide where I can mount it. Personally I like the idea of that fuse box bolting right to the battery. The battery comes out very easily; unbolt six bolts and its out :)

Jeff, it's only about 5 or 6lbs worth of wire. It is a whole lot of wires though; I taped them all together and wired the ends accordingly. I'll take some more pictures tonight probably. I like to think I did a good job on the wiring, I usually don't half ass things...just not my style.


I'll put together a list of all the supplies I used as well, if anyone is interested. As of right now I do not have any engine bay shots since the engine is out, and the wiring is not completed. I'll post some before and after pics once everything is back in.

Dan,
Looks good dude! I can't wait to see the finished product, your engine bay will look very clean (and no, you don't need to have your engine bay repainted you idiot!).

However, I promise you that I will win the competition for the emptiest engine bay ;)
Infact, I'm gonna need you to either show me how or help me do it with my 240 eventually!

Can't wait to see that beast back on the roads....I haven't ridden shotty in a long time....way too long :(

-Adam

Could you take a picture of that?! I'm just about finished with my own v-mount, and can't figure out what the hell to do with the relay box! :)

-Alex

sure...here ya go...
The ducting is Charlies handy work :)

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=106473

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=106474

Dan, very VERY nice. Really. Awesome job.

Yes, I can def. vouch for that. I can't even BEGIN to mention the great pains Dan went to to get my wiring right. All I know is, I don't think I've ever worked on a car for that long at one time. Wow. :bigthumb:

I am very impressed! That is beautiful work. I need to stop reading all of these damn threads. They make me add another "to-do" on my list.

Nice thread. Nice pics. Nice work.

update!
 

Well all I have to do now is put the bins in and route the wires. I'll probably tackle that tomorrow. Here are some updated pictures for everyone to see, isn't it wonderful? :)

update!
 

Alright, it's update time....because everyone is dying to see it finished, right?
Anyway, it's about time to put the bins back in and route the wires. I'll probably do all of that tomorrow. I still have to run the alternator line and make the end for the fuse box, but thats it. Here are a few professionally taken update photos. :)

ground wire
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=107082

starter wire
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=107083

running the starter wire through the shift boot
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=107084

waiting to be attached too......the starter
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=107085

alternator wire, just need to measure and make the other end
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=107086

update!
 

heres an interior shot....lookin a little empty.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=107090

where did you get that batt. box?

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/pc680hd.htm

:)

Your car looks like hell. Instead of doing all that worthless work you should of had your shitty enginebay repainted and sold your ugly wheels. Go away.

See you this weekend :)

-Adam

Sexy carpet!! You have red seats also, or no?

-Alex

Thanks, How much I didnt see it on the site ?

what front end is that?

The seats are red leather.

I think the battery box costs like $40 or so.

And the front end is from Vertex :)

Hey, do you know off hand what size and lengths of wires you used to relocate the battery and relay/fuse boxes?! I'd like to have everything I need when I start a similar project in a few days! Thanks!!

-Alex

Alright, I wasn't planning on posting this for a while...but the rough numbers are as follows....

to relocate the 2 fuse boxes on the drivers side, the headlight relay, and move the driving side wiring harness from the front of the engine bay to near the brake booster you need I ordered:

200 feet of 18 gauge wire
200 feet of 16 gauge wire
100 feet of 14 gauge wire
200 feet of 12 gauge wire
75 feet of 10 gauge wire (I believe you only need 10 gauge wire for one cable)
30 feet of 8 gauge wire (for the alternator)
10 feet of 4 gauge wire (to run the starter wire through the shifter boot)

6x24 sheet of aluminum .025 inches (got it from true value)

I bought a piece of board because I was going to build a cover so it all sat flush, but that didn't work out. I'm working on making something out of my broken diffuser.


You only need like 15 feet of 10-gauge wire, but I couldn't really find it anywhere for cheap. I got most of my wire from summit racing, but for the 8 and 4 gauge I had to go to the local car audio store. I wouldn't recommend going to a car audio store. Fortunately I knew someone at the one I went to and got the 10 feet of 4 gauge and 2 ring terminals for $10. The $30 feet of 8-gauge cost I think $20. Also I went and got the rest of the ring terminals I needed from the local store and it costs about $10-15 for those. I can't remember.

For the starter on the fuse box side the wire ends connects to 2 ring terminals. It was a pain in the ass to do it this way. I had to strip the wire down and stuff half the wires into one terminal and another half in the other. If I had to do it again, I would go with two 8 gauge wires or two 4 gauge wires. I'm not sure if the 8 gauges will enough current. So whatever you decide to do for the starter it's a 10-foot run, if you take it through the tranny tunnel. If you use two cables you need 20 feet :). I ran it through the shifter boot because it's a more direct route, plus I'm not sure if it would have fit through the firewall.

A circuit breaker is a good thing to have when doing this as well. I couldn't manage to fit it, but if you decide to use one go with 200 amps.

The tools you will need are:

-Wire strippers
-Wire crimpers (if you use wire splices)
-about 2-3 rolls of electrical tape.
-Tin snips
-dremel tool, or something to cut the bins
- I also bought 50 crimps in each side from raychem. The crimps are heat shrinkable and they also seal to make the connection waterproof.

For now that’s all I can think of, but that’s pretty much everything. Hope that’s helpful

Make sure to lable every cable. I used duct tape, but I found some of the letters rubbed off when I was running the cables through the car. Actually a few had nothing on them at all. But luckily they were the only cable in that size left.

thats the list I've been waiting for!! thanks Dan! :)

Holy shit thats alot of wires!! This is going to be a PITA!!

-Alex

how about for those of us who already did the batterly relo?

I'm guessing you used 2 or 0 gauge wire when you did it. That wire will no longer be needed since you will be moving the fuse box it's connected to. You should be able to keep the ground you used for the battery though. I forgot to mention that. I used like a foot or two of 2 gauge wire for the grounding strap. It's a buck per foot at the local welding supply store, you'll need 2 ring terminals to go with it. Also you'll need a 7/8ths inch fine thread bolt to attach it to the tranny tunnel.

I had a lot of extra wire after everything was done. Thats just how much I bought to be safe. I'd say it's a good estimate though. It's about 30 wires in total. My buddy stokedxiv (Charlie) seems to think it can be done in two days, we'll see in a few months when he goes to do it :)

actually taht bolt size might be 7/16s fine thread...I can't remember exactly, it's the one closest to a 10M bolt :)

looks good, its just too bad that you will be jumpstarting your car now every time it gets below 30ish degrees like me...

You know he already had that battery before the relocation, right?

I don't see how relocating the battery to the rear will effect it in certain temperatures....

-Adam

its not about the battery relocation. its the hawker mini... 220 cca is not enough to start the car in the cold of winter, trust me i know :(

I bet it looks like a snake swallowed a damn watermellon were you moved the fuse boxes!!! Got a picture of that???? I'm assuming you just extended all those wires into the car?


You must have a good 2" hole in your firewall now, not to mention the pain of getting that threw all the stock wires that are already on the drivers side corner there. Wow....

What the hell are you talking about?! Yes he did extend all the wires. Just cut off the connecter, solder in new wire, use some heat shrink, and your good to go.

Look at his pictures! He ran the wiring up through the shifter boot. You can also run all the smaller wires through the driver fender and under the door sill. There's no need to drill any holes in the firewall.

-Alex

you're an idiot - stop posting ignorant remarks about things you have zero knowledge.

you can't even see where he extended the wires for the fuse boxes, it's all nicely tucked under the driver side front fender. Also there is a large grommet hole behind the fuse box by the hood release that you can route all the wire through. Dan will post pictures later, but he did not drill a single hole in the firewall.

Dan has had that battery for almost two years and he's never run into a problem. trust me i know :)

anyone for swords?

maybe im just unlucky then? ive had the hawker mini for a bit over a year now and every time it gets colder than 30ish outside the damn thing needs a jumpstart. im sure my e6k dosent help that though.



i had just assumed that he bought the battery for the relocation job. I personally will be swapping back to a full size battery this summer.