switch array

[theindian]

In my ever quest to make things more difficult than they should be, been working on a switch panel that i want to mount to the Dr side door. the problem being running the wires for 4 switches to the door, my solution is to use the Daystar firewall boot and run it about an inch from the bottom of the door through the jam on the outer side of the door seal ( theres about 2" of room there) and run the wires up through the inner fender chanel and out into the engine bay. I remeber seeing someone running wires like this before. The factory jam boot is not big enough for the wires. The daystar requires a 1.25" hole and theres not enough room for another jam boot to go to the inside cabin with the offset of the boots. My question has anyone ran some other kind of boot or came up with a different solution to run wires to the door before i proceed to cutting. Any and all thoughts or ideas would be appriecated
http://www.daystarweb.com/productlisting.php?make=all&prodcat=Firewall+Boot

 

[alrock]

Don't recall having seen this done.

 

[Steve #1]

It's been a while since I did it. I don't remember if i drilled out the unused area of the plug or if I wired the MOLEX conector, but I have 4 additional 12AWG wires run in to my driver door through the stock boot.

 

[theindian]

Thanks Steve1 for the input, I see where some have ran a couple of wires through the molex for speakers. didnt think there would be enough room in the molex or boot for 6 wires if i daisy chain the power and ground leads. I dont like the daisy chain power leads. The switches are rated 15amps so my plan is to run 14ga wire for the power and out to the relays and a 12ga wire for the ground that will be daisy chained to the switches. A total of 9 wires which is about a 1/2 to 5/8" clump of wires. I ordered the daystar boot and will make sure there is enough clearance before i drill, if not then i go to plan B for the panel location

 

[Steve #1]

What kind of switch are you using? Is is a lighted switch? If so is it LED? 14AWG is probably still overkill for whatever you are doing. A typical 30A BOSH type automotive relay requires less that 200 milliamps to activate. If you want the switches powered with the retained accesory power, you can pick that up off the window wiring. If you want them avalable all the time, wire your relays as ground switched. You should only need to run one small wire for each relay.

 

[theindian]

Thanks again steve for hanging with me on this, Im always thinking old school where bigger is always better. the switches are led lighted and say 15 amps on them I think they are cheapies but they fit my needs. Dont really want to mess around with any of the factor switches or wires. So i could use maybe 16 or 18 ga wire on this? The 14 ga wire from the bat. should be at least the same rating as the switch shouldnt it? I think 14ga is rated 17 amp. Heres a little teaser of my idea. thought it would be different!

 

[cgalpha08]

Awesome panel!! Where did you get it? Ive been thinking about doing this as a mod as well

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[theindian]

My org. thought was to put it in the coin tray with alittle cutting but it was about an inch to wide. It would be nice on the head liner but didnt want to cut the liner up. Its would be about 21/2" deep for the wires to swing freely. So i thought the door would give me that James Bond feel or Austin Powers fell at the very least! still need to do alittle cutting on the light mounting area but am waiting for my final locate committment. Its from a Acura tl headliner sun glass holder that has been hacked. Found it at the local You pull it yard. It is a push to open door that is cam activated and opens slowly by it self.

 

[alrock]

Here's a handy chart to help determine wiring needs

 

[Steve #1]

15 AMPS would be the power handling of the switch. A small LED and a relay will still be well under 1amp. Being conservative, you would be fine with 28 AWG. I would go with 22 because it will hold up better to bending in the door jam.