#FabSpace

[Clemson13]

I purchased the name brand unit like @slodat. Ideas some reviews that the knock offs aren’t as good at consistently making quality crimps and I didn’t feel like finding out the same thing for myself so I didn’t risk it. I’ve been very content with the purchase. Works every time.

I use the solid pins btw. Find them to be super durable and haven’t had any issues.

That crimper is less than half what I paid for the real deal Deutsch crimper.

Ok, ok, ebay here I come for a use name brand crimper. I am excited about tooling up to be able to do this kind of harness.

Your threads have definitely upgraded my tool collection on multiple occasions

 

[lilscorpion]

Ok, ok, ebay here I come for a use name brand crimper. I am excited about tooling up to be able to do this kind of harness.

Your threads have definitely upgraded my tool collection on multiple occasions

Garage Journal ***** like that. Many of my tool purchases were “inspired” by someone on here. So many tools…

 

[lilscorpion]

Ok, so a common problem with off road vehicles is they tend to have many electrical accessories and my Jeep is no different. Light rack, a-pillar lights, bumper lighted, after market headlights, winch, aftermarket stereo with multiple amps, communications gear, cameras, intercooler pump, SwitchPros, etc. lots of wires, lots of fuses, and lots of relays…and they’re all different. Know what that means? My **** us screwed when I’m in some little po-dunk town at an auto parts store that has limited inventory. I’ve been stranded, it *****.

So what I do is standardize and consolidate so I can carry a few spares that will work universally. And tool make it even easier, I buy in bulk so I have enough for this jeep, fixing up Andrews LJ, and spares to carry on the trail.



I get two types - 40 amp and 80 amp.



They’re identical length, width, and harness.



I want the wiring harness and relay mount to be easily removable so trail fixes are a breeze should they happen. I’ve decided to make it out of this 4x4 aluminum



A brief moment on the bandsaw to get a blank and I mark the cut out for the Deutsch Connector for the wiring harness.



The bracket will sit down in behind the new six fuse box

 

[lilscorpion]

A quick op on the mill to create the connector mount and bolt flange.



And the female flange plug nests nicely in the bracket.



and will be fastened to the bracket with 1/4-inch machine screws and riv-nuts



To locate the bracket correctly I’ll add this refer me plate to the bracket which will **** up against the fuse block mounting bracket and I added another riv-nut so I can add a cable clamp to help relive pressure on the wiring harness that will go into the Deutsch connector.



A little welding brought it all together permanently.



And some whit powder coat of course to match the other brackets under the hood.



And finally, assembly



And the back…

 

[lilscorpion]

I’ll get it installed here tomorrow.

 

[Bob Heine]

Garage Journal ***** like that. Many of my tool purchases were “inspired” by someone on here. So many tools…

Matt, sometimes the tools are a "nice-to-have" but other times they are game changers. I use helping hands wire holders all the time, including the simple one Mike (@zmotorsports) showed on his thread. They work great but the sponge forceps are an order of magnitude better for soldering wires inside the car, under the dash or in the bowels of the engine compartment. It clamps both wires at once instead of having to fight with two alligator clips. I thank you for the "inspiration" and I will look away from your connectors and make believe my weatherpak system is fine.

 

[csp]

I should bring my 4runner over and have you help me visualize where I could mount an ARB compressor under the hood.

For the life of me I can't ever see where to tie into existing structure for mounting points under the hood and what materials to use to do that. I can do it for suspension or roll cages or body mounting, but open the hood and my brain is completely locked up.

 

[Strouty]

Looks great, I am getting anxious, you keep getting things done and I feel like I am going backwards every day!

 

[lilscorpion]

Matt, sometimes the tools are a "nice-to-have" but other times they are game changers. I use helping hands wire holders all the time, including the simple one Mike (@zmotorsports) showed on his thread. They work great but the sponge forceps are an order of magnitude better for soldering wires inside the car, under the dash or in the bowels of the engine compartment. It clamps both wires at once instead of having to fight with two alligator clips. I thank you for the "inspiration" and I will look away from your connectors and make believe my weatherpak system is fine.

I have a couple of sets of helping hands and the multiple arms, base, and the rest of the nonsense seemed to have me messing with it more than soldering.

Weatherpacks are just fine. I’ll end up getting a set up for them as well. Fixing them is easier and cheaper than replacing them when time comes.

I should bring my 4runner over and have you help me visualize where I could mount an ARB compressor under the hood.


For the life of me I can't ever see where to tie into existing structure for mounting points under the hood and what materials to use to do that. I can do it for suspension or roll cages or body mounting, but open the hood and my brain is completely locked up.

My ARB mount isn’t ideal but it looks nice. It being attached to the brake booster creates a wicked vibration on the firewall which I can feel through the dash and steering wheel. Fortunately I don’t use lockers much so it’s not a huge deal.

Arent there any aftermarket mounts for Yota’s?

Looks great, I am getting anxious, you keep getting things done and I feel like I am going backwards every day!

I try to get something done every coupe of days even if it’s a small thing. Even so, this latest round with the Jeep has taken more than a year!

 

[lilscorpion]

Goal for today was to get the relays mounted and wired. As luck would have it, the mounting hole didn’t line up…was off by 1/8”.



So my first thing was to modify my newly powder coated bracket and make the mounting hole a slot.



Powder coat is fairly resilient and I was able to get the modification done without scratches from holding it in the vise or the aluminum chips.



Fits now perfectly.



Figured I should probably my test fit the relays to make sure there are no other looming mistakes to stumble on.



Now to disassemble and get started on the wiring.



Started by extending all the wiring harnesses.



Start by looming up the relay’s signal and ground wires.



Signal wires then are inserted into a Deutsch plug. The backside of this plug will have a pigtail that routes over to the switchPro’s panel by the battery.



Pulled the power and load wires out of the way and gathered the NC wires to be capped off.

 

[slodat]

Two questions or observations.. the white wire splices look bare. is that intentional or work still in progress? Do you mean NC?

 

[lilscorpion]

I purchased this role of silicone to make gaskets out of years back.



Cut a piece out to use as a isolator under the bracket. This will keep the bracket from getting crude between the two powder coat surfaces.



Reinstalled the relay bracket with the isolator.



Terminated the powder wires into connectors and attached them to their spots in the fuse box.



There’s one more thing I can do, get the fuses loaded. Previously I was using these garbage in-line fuses for my amps. They’re supposed to be waterproof however the cases cracked after a few months.



This fuse box uses midi fuses.



Fancy.



Easier to check and install as well.



That’s a wrap for today.

 

[lilscorpion]

Two questions or observations.. the white wire splices look bare. is that intentional or work still in progress? Do you mean NC?

When I make looms, I extend all of the wires to be longer than I need and then route them where I want them to go before I add shrink tube over the splices. I do it that way because sometimes the spice ends up in a bad spot but won’t find out until I’m routing the wires. If I need to move it and it’s still bare, I can release the soldered connection with just a touch of the soldering gun and make the adjustment in seconds. Then, once I’m happy with the loom, I go through and add the shrink tube, then add the loom, terminate the connectors on the final end (if necessary), and then shrink tube the ends of the loom.

The blue is only hot when the signal wire has power (so normally open). The yellow is hot until the signal wore has power (normally closed). Had to go back and look, yep you got me, I had it backwards. Fixed it, thanks.

 

[zmotorsports]

Very clean wiring Matt. Love it.

 

[WoodsTruck]

Couple questions on the pump.

I picked up a used pump/locker for my Bronco a while back and finally getting the pump mounted.

Are there any isolation spacers that can be used to minimize the vibration felt/heard in the cab?
Where would you suggest sourcing an additional valve for a second output?

 

[zmotorsports]

Couple questions on the pump.

I picked up a used pump/locker for my Bronco a while back and finally getting the pump mounted.

Are there any isolation spacers that can be used to minimize the vibration felt/heard in the cab?
Where would you suggest sourcing an additional valve for a second output?

I am not answering for what Matt is using but I have had excellent results using these type of vibration isolators on various projects over the years when I want to either protect the component or keep from feeling the vibration. I purchase them from McMaster Carr but similar products can be purchased from a wide variety of vendors.

Internal thread style.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

Stud type.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[csp]

Arent there any aftermarket mounts for Yota’s?

Indeed there are, but not for the pump that I have. I pulled it out of a CJ I bought in 2002 and it has never been used (the one in the photo is a random image I found on the web).

 

[lilscorpion]

Couple questions on the pump.

I picked up a used pump/locker for my Bronco a while back and finally getting the pump mounted.

Are there any isolation spacers that can be used to minimize the vibration felt/heard in the cab?
Where would you suggest sourcing an additional valve for a second output?

I’m not presently using isolation spacers on mine but plant to try if I can find some that are low profile enough to still fit under the hood. @zmotorsports shares exactly what I’ll try to use. The version of compressor I have would need the sandwich (female) style to work with the mount. Only other thing to consider is they’d need to be fairly light weigh - I’d probably try to find a set that’s weight limit was a couple pounds or so

As for the second output - you could run a T fitting and it would work just fine for lockers (low volume output). If you have higher demand is probably use this which mine has on it standard - the ARB air compressor manifold



It’s more or less a mini tank that has two ports on it.

Indeed there are, but not for the pump that I have. I pulled it out of a CJ I bought in 2002 and it has never been used (the one in the photo is a random image I found on the web).

That’s the same pump I think I had on my XJ back when. Can the bracket be modified to work on that compressor? That’s where I’d start.

 

[WoodsTruck]

My pump is just like the exhibit above. 3 ports, currently 1 for the rear locker, 1 for the pressure switch and the third is plugged. Would like to add an air chuck. I think I can use the male/male isolators as I have enough room for mine on the inner fender well. Need to source a valve/switch.

 

[lilscorpion]

My pump is just like the exhibit above. 3 ports, currently 1 for the rear locker, 1 for the pressure switch and the third is plugged. Would like to add an air chuck. I think I can use the male/male isolators as I have enough room for mine on the inner fender well. Need to source a valve/switch.

Got it. Ok then your setup isn’t any different than mine. I purchased a ARB accessory kit that came with a fancy T-fitting which enabled me to mount my switch and air Chuck in the same threads output where the switch would be mounted otherwise. It’s actually the same as @csp too



This fitting isn’t anything special, it’s like this one - Anderson Metals-06227-04 Brass Pipe Fitting, Forged Street Tee, 1/4" Female Pipe x 1/4" Male Pipe x 1/4" Female Pipe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PKKZ4U/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_X0MJSZR7QD3SAPZ77GQA_0?psc=1



Matt

 

[lilscorpion]

Today was the last 5% before starting the JK and, it wasn’t the most fun 5%. Fab part is done (for now) so I started with clearing the bench and cart. Found two of my clamps needed a quick repair before going away. Little tigbwekds in the screw/thumb wheel restored them to new.



Had to remove the powder steering cooler to install the intercooler radiator so I need to make a patch hose to run until I can figure out where to put a cooler. This is 400psi 1/2” oil cooler hose. It’ll work fine but looks like ****.



Figured I’d dress it up a bit since it’ll be visible using some 3/4” PET braided sleeving. PET sleeving is a trick way to upgrade the looks of your hoses and wires and is super easy to use if you have the right size, the right tools, and a little practice. The stuff can be cut with scissors but it’ll fray if you don’t heat fuse where it’s cut.



You can use a lighter, a heat gun, a hot knife, or one of these thermal rope cutters which is essentially also a hot knife. Glowing red hot.



If you move at the right speed, it leaves a very clean cut with very little melting.



You slide it on to the wire/hose like a Chinese finger trick. Bunch it up and then it’ll crawl forward.



I leave about half an inch at either end.



to finish the end I use some heat shrink. Typically 1/4” larger than the work piece and cut a length 1/2” longer than the diameter (I buy it in bulk but they do have kits you can buy if you only need a little)



For hoses I but it right up against the end of the hose (flush).



I’ve been using a corded dewalt to shrink the heat shrink tube for maybe 10 years. Last week I decided to cut the cord and got the Dewalt 20v cordless. I really wanted the Milwaukee version but it lacks a trigger lock.

 

[lilscorpion]

I work the heat from the end of the hose In and try not to focus too much heat on the braided sleeving because it will melt.



The finished end looks much nicer than black rubber hose.



Now to do the real work, get it installed. Is purchased some AN8 - 1/2” barb fittings to adapt to the fittings that had previously attached to the cooler.



Not the coolest but it’ll do for now. Good enough to make it around the block a few times.



Now to install the serpentine belt…or not. It was WAY too short. After a little noodling, I realized that I wasn’t currently running a stick belt anymore. I’d installed a longer one when I installed my hydraulic steering. No problem…looked up the belts and found the PSC belt is 2” liner than the stock belt. Looked it up on Gates belt chart. K060876. okey donkey…to Napa and back home. Installed…too short by a lot still. What the hell. So the next few hours I spent on the internet reading threads. Apparently the year I got my kit was a cut over year - they shipped the pumps with two different pulleys. Nice. Mine was 5” longer than the factory belt. Okey dokey, back to Napa. Another belt, home and installed. Didn’t even need to compress the idler and it just barely slipped on. It’s too long.



I probably don’t need to post this pic but it’s my victory lap. 4 trips to Napa. Never taken that many tries before.



Next I finalize the alternator install. Yes I thought about powder coating it but found out that you can’t take it apart without breaking 3 soldered connections. Ain’t worth it.



Then, I changed the oil. Uneventful. Added antifreeze…didn’t have enough. Raced to the dealership and got 2 gallons of concentrate,
That’ll be plenty. Check out my routine - I pour half into another jug and fill both up with distilled water and write on it so Andrew doesn’t inadvertently put it in the 2006 and turn his coolant into goop.



Filled the radiator and the intercooler reservoir. Hooked up the negative battery cable and went to crank it over…nothing. Checked all the wire and tried again…nothing. Whipped out the voltage meter - 4.5v on the primary battery. 12.8v on the secondary. WTF. Turns out that the dome light was left on…whoops. No biggie, I can jump it with the dual battery setup….and nope. The battery was so low that the dual battery switch couldn’t trigger to connect the secondary to jump the primary. Never seen that before.

As much as I want to start it, I figured I’d be better off letting the battery charge…or seeing if it will.

Anyone have a recommendation for a real battery charger? Mine died a ways back and now I have to trick the smart chargers to get them to charge a battery lower than 11v. You can only see two, there’s 3 connected at once.

 

[WoodsTruck]

Love all the attention to detail.

I'm no wiring expert, but it would appear your trigger solenoid to use the backup battery should be powered with the backup battery since it would have the juice. If you were not at home, you would have to be doing some fiddling with your setup to get it to start which appears to be why you have all the extra hardware in the first place.

 

[lilscorpion]

Love all the attention to detail.

I'm no wiring expert, but it would appear your trigger solenoid to use the backup battery should be powered with the backup battery since it would have the juice. If you were not at home, you would have to be doing some fiddling with your setup to get it to start which appears to be why you have all the extra hardware in the first place.

Agreed. I didn’t change anything in how it’s wired, or I don’t think I did, so I‘ll need to go back to the documentation and make sure it’s hooked up right. To your point, this is exactly the situation it’s supposed to get me out of and if I was off road, I’d be using jumper cables.

 

[csp]

Saw your son driving the LJ (assuming it was your son since the tint is pretty dark) in the parking lot near 24hr fitness Saturday. That thing sounds great!

 

[lilscorpion]

Saw your son driving the LJ (assuming it was your son since the tint is pretty dark) in the parking lot near 24hr fitness Saturday. That thing sounds great!

Yep, that was him. That’s where he works out. We had just fixed an exhaust leak so you got to hear it at its best.

I think it needs a resonator to drop the tone a bit.

 

[lilscorpion]

Battery didn’t charge on my double battery tender trick. Big shock. Pulled the batter and got it to the auto parts store so they could try. Find out if they’ll replace it tomorrow some time.

Swapped the other battery into primary and Andrew and I loaded the tune and fired the jeep. Ran like **** and the intercooler coolant pump didn’t turn on. Sweet. Found that the lame fuse tap they gave with the kit wasn’t somehow making contact.



Thought it was kinda janky. Decided to swap it out with a real wire tap.



Used the hemostat trick and soldered it in place.



And shrink wrapped the splice.



Happy with myself, I realized that my dumb a$$ failed to run the wire through the grommet hole.



So I got to enjoy redoing all of it. I managed to clip my finger with the razor while stripping the shrink tubing.



Was able to relive the solder easily.



Managed to get back I track though. Pump tested and now works perfectly.

 

[lilscorpion]

We did a little peaking into the tune and the spark and fuel maps are identical. Think maybe Magnuson didn’t send me the right tune. Could it be stock? Super weird. Sent them an email with the data. We’ll see what they say tomorrow.

Until then, I had another thing I could spend some time on. Need to figure out how to mount the boost and air/fuel gauge. I have two 2 1/8 autometer gauges and ordered a set of mounting cups hoping they’d help. Finalized on making a mounting plate that will attach to the side if my a-pillar.



The upper part of the a-pillar fades a way a bit so I’ll need to put a little break/bend into it.


Mounted my vise knife and die.


Just barely kissed it.



Didn’t take much, now it forms nicely.



The bend is shallower toward the back. Needed to flatten the rear a little to get it to lay down correctly.



Fits nicely.



Drilled the mounting holes and mocked it up on the a-pillar.



And the view from the drivers seat.



That’ll work. Broke it all down, counter sink the bolt holes, and powder coated the bracket.

 

[lilscorpion]

Got the gauges reinstalled and finalized on the a-pillar.



Maybe I’m the future I’ll make some lower profile cups so the gauges can sit in tighter to the a-pillar but they’ll work for now.

 

[zmotorsports]

Excellent work Matt. I also mounted some gauges on my A-pillar, about 11 years ago when I first purchased the Jeep. I was disappointed that Jeep went away from gauges and just had idiot lights after the TJ/LJ models. I trimmed the mounting tabs down and kept the gauges tucked up nice and tight to the A-pillar trim panel like you are considering and don't think they are all that intrusive into the field of view. I'm actually quite used to them by now and don't really even see them unless I'm looking at voltage, oil pressure or trans temperature.

Looking forward to hearing how it runs.

 

[jeepster1407]

@lilscorpion I recently stumbled upon your fab thread here. You've done some top notch work on these Jeeps. I to have an 06 LJ I've been building over the last few years so the transformation you did with your son on his was awesome! Any recent photos of it?

 

[slodat]

I've been really happy with this Noco battery charger. Looks like the one I have is no longer made. Current model.

 

[lilscorpion]

I've been really happy with this Noco battery charger. Looks like the one I have is no longer made. Current model.

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

 

[lilscorpion]

Got up early this morning so I could sort through the data we compiled.



All of the current codes are on the passengers side interestingly enough. I think I’ll start with testing the #2 because I can get to it the easiest and then it’s harness back to the main plug up stream. If it’s the injector the odds are it’s all three…but I don’t buy it. 3 in a row??

 

[lilscorpion]

@lilscorpion I recently stumbled upon your fab thread here. You've done some top notch work on these Jeeps. I to have an 06 LJ I've been building over the last few years so the transformation you did with your son on his was awesome! Any recent photos of it?

Thanks, the 06 was a fun build. No current picks but we do plan to get it into the shop once mine can pull out to redo the electrical so more build pics coming soon.

 

[Strouty]

I can see that one of my future projects needs to be powder coating. I bought a decent sized oven a long time ago specifically for that, I also have the harbor freight gun and some old powder (probably just use it for testing things. The biggest issue I have is time, I don't have any, especially right now with my new "pet".

 

[lilscorpion]

I can see that one of my future projects needs to be powder coating. I bought a decent sized oven a long time ago specifically for that, I also have the harbor freight gun and some old powder (probably just use it for testing things. The biggest issue I have is time, I don't have any, especially right now with my new "pet".

It’ll change your game. Powder coating has changed mine dramatically.

 

[Strouty]

I have to take some time to figure all this type of stuff out. I feel like I am running around like a headless chicken most of the time. I hope to have my shop laid out so that I really can get stuff like the powder coating setup figured out. Right now I have projects in the way of projects and it doesn't seem to stop. Trying to learn from the forum gurus how to quit a few things to make the projects that count turn a corner, maybe then I will feel like things are progressing.

 

[lilscorpion]

I have to take some time to figure all this type of stuff out. I feel like I am running around like a headless chicken most of the time. I hope to have my shop laid out so that I really can get stuff like the powder coating setup figured out. Right now I have projects in the way of projects and it doesn't seem to stop. Trying to learn from the forum gurus how to quit a few things to make the projects that count turn a corner, maybe then I will feel like things are progressing.

You have a lot of stuff. Hardest part is just pulling the trigger and getting your capabilities in place and usable. If the placement isn’t perfect, you can rearrange later. Being able to use your stuff has to be the highest priority or it’ll just sit in a pile, don’t let perfect be the enemy if good.

 

[Strouty]

Yup, my pile is definitely the enemy right now. I have far too many great tools that are just sitting idle because I haven't made them a priority over my other junk. I am working on it, I still think my biggest issue is perfection, it is really fear of failure. Watching things happen on the forum is a good way to get motivated, so keep at it for all us slackers.......