CAP Gear Readiness

[manfredvonrichthofen]

If the fuse blows from over usage on high, will it do any damage to the EFJ? If I were just to carry a bunch of 15A fuzzes would that be ok and take care of the problem?

[Major Lord]

The EFJ is pretty tough to blow out, the finals are temperature protected. If you are popping fuses, the radio should be checked out. BTW, you don't see many CIB's on CAP Uniforms. On behalf of a grateful nation, thank you.

Major Lord

[SarDragon]

If the fuse blows from over usage on high, will it do any damage to the EFJ? If I were just to carry a bunch of 15A fuzzes would that be ok and take care of the problem?

The ideal fix would be to tap power from a place that will provide at least 20A, and put a quick disconnect on it to keep the wife happy. You might need to dig into the car schematics to find the roight source. I found a place in my Suburban that works great.

Continually swapping fuses in the middle of a mission is a real PITA, depending on where the fuse is located, and what's happening on the mission.

[a2capt]

I tend to run a fused line directly from the battery through the firewall to a terminal block under something and then hook my inverter, 5 and 12V regulator block, and radio directly to that.

With the 5 and 12V regulators, I can hook up USB stuff to charge, directly to a USB connector, and 12V stuff directly to chosen connector.

[SarDragon]

I have mine hooked to an unused connector position in one of my under-dash terminal blocks. Got the mating connector off eBay, and wired it right in. It's fused at 40A up in the master power panel, and 20A inside the truck.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

Well, so far as the fuse swapping PITA I got lucky and my cigarette lighter has its fuse right next to it. So far as adapting to run straight through the battery, I am rather nervous about drilling into the firewall.

[SarDragon]

Well, so far as the fuse swapping PITA I got lucky and my cigarette lighter has its fuse right next to it. So far as adapting to run straight through the battery, I am rather nervous about drilling into the firewall.

That was my problem, too. There's just nowhere to drill w/o hitting something on the other side.

See if you can talk to your mechanic and get a hold of schematics for your car (My bro works for a Chevy dealer, so it was easy for me.) There are always unused connector positions in the terminal blocks, and they frequently have a power line available.

Another option is finding an existing through point, and snaking another wire through, but that has its own issues regarding difficulty. I opted to spend a little money instead of a lot of time.

[Slim]

So far as adapting to run straight through the battery, I am rather nervous about drilling into the firewall.

Pretty much every vehicle made has at least one grommet in the firewall to run wiring through.  Look up underneath the dashboard, and you should find one.  They're sealed fairly well, but you should be able to run a fishtape or wire hanger through it.  Just tape the wire end to the hanger or fishtape, then pull it back through.

Another option is to find the fuse panel inside your vehicle, and tap into a 20 amp or higher fuse, use a 12v test light, and you can find one that is switched off with the ignition.  You can find fuse taps at most auto parts stores; they have a short length of wire that you connect to with a butt connector or a soldered splice.  Then just remove the fuse from the panel, plug the tap into it's place, then the removed fuse will fit into the top of the tap.  All you'd need to do then is find a good ground source, and put some quick disconnects on the wiring harness for the radio.

[a2capt]

I've pretty much always been able to shove two or three 10 gauge wires through the usual "main" grommet with the wires already there, or find a smaller one. If you're concerned about passage, put follow the last inch or so of the wire with silicone and let it pull some of that through.

[IceNine]

^ Exactly what I did.

2002 Silverado.  Mine was just above the emergency brake of course you need to pull back the carpet.  I ran mine under the plastic kick plate that transitions the metal to carpet in the door frame.  Under the seat and up near the console.

I ran the antenna cable down the passenger side to separate the coax from the power line, up the plastic runner around the windshield, through the header to the dome light.  You could easily run a cable to one window and mount a pass through antenna.  It wont cause any damage, and the antenna itself is easily removable.  Won't go completely away but certainly a fair compromise.

The ideal situation is to build a jump pack setup that you can connect the radio in and then pull it out for base ops.

I posted pictures here a a while ago of a modified version I borrowed from someone else.