Accessory Wiring

[SteveE]

Hi Everyone

Looking for help and suggestions for wiring the accessories I have added to my "72" 240Z

Added - Power door locks

         Power windows

          2 Power outlets

Hatch popper

I have 2 fused power strips - my plan was to have one with constant power and one with switched power.  thoughts?

questions       Where is the best places to pick up power?  I am mounting these power strips under/behind the blower and don't want to go into the engine compartment if possible.

I have more questions but will wait untill I get past this first obstacle.

Thank You!

[grannyknot]

In the top left hand corner of your stock fuse box is the fuse for the A/C circuit, as long as you don't have A/C on the car then you can use that circuit for your add ons, also, the accessories circuit usually doesn't have a big load on it so you might be able to use some its capacity.

Personally I like to stay away from the stock fuse box and add a new one with its own power source straight from the battery. You also might want to upgrade your alternator to make sure you are covered for times of heavy use.

https://www.amazon.ca/DaierTek-Indicator-Marine-Waterproof-Automotive/dp/B0BD4FYFKQ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3PWCNNVK8NYLQ&keywords=fuse%2Bbox%2B12v&qid=1704636873&sprefix=fuse%2Bbox%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-5&th=1

Edited January 7, 2024 by grannyknot

[SteveJ]

Here are my suggestions for power sources:

Power door locks - Full time power

Power windows - Accessory power

2 Power outlets - Accessory power

Hatch popper - Full time power

 

So now you need to know how to go about getting this power. I like to construct "jumper harnesses" myself. That is a short wiring harness that goes between two factory connectors that branches off to the new circuit. In the past I have used the "bullet" connectors in the jumper harnesses to branch off, but now I would add splices soldered into the wire of interest.

In your case, there is a great connector to add a jumper harness, the accessory relay.

The WR (white/red stripe) wire is constant power, and the LR (blue/red) wire is hot when the accessory relay closes the contacts.

How would you make a jumper harness?  Vintage Connections has most of what you would need, including wires with the proper coloring if you want to stay consistent with the factory colors. In this case I would suggest the following:

1. A 4-pin non-latching connector
2. 2 1-pin non-latching connectors (Note: you can also use 1 2-pin non-latching, but that is a discussion for later.)
3. 2 inline fuses, probably sourced from Amazon, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Inline-VANTRONIK-Waterproof-Standard-standard/dp/B081YDV8PS for at the jumper harness and use the others for a couple of the branch circuits
4. 14 AWG wire
5. 16 AWG wire (for the power outlets)
6. 2-pin non-latching connectors for each of the devices.

4-pin non-latching from Vintage Connections

I would drop down the wire gauge on the power outlets and use 16 AWG on those. (Use 5 A fuses in the inline fuse holder.)

I would use 10 A fuses in the fuse holder for the branches coming off the jumper harness.

That should give your wiring adequate protection.

[Patcon]

What window kit did you use?

[SteveE]

@Patcon

I purchased this kit many years ago.  I do not think that SPAL sells these anymore. However I found other sources whice I think are the same thing.

A1 Electric & Brock Universal Power window kit.  I have run these with direct power from the battery and they work well.  I did clean and lube all of the rollers and guides prior to installing. ( the windows worked very well witrh the hand crank)

Installing is pretty easy with the hard part for me is figuring out the wiring and how I want that to look.  Also there is no permant damage and can be put back to original.

@grannyknot & @SteveJ

Thanks for the reponses

 

This is the rough layout for my accessory panel   2 fused power strips (one for constant power and one for switched power) relay for the power windows and control box for the door lock system (upper right)

Steve I am assuming this is the Accessory relay? and that I would make the jumper to go between this and the dash harness?

Do the black & the red wire just go staight through? and splice into the other two?

I have a Vintage 2 wire connector that I could use. (further disscussion?) instead of 2 single connectors (for the output to the fuse panels.

Also do you have a splice technique you prefer?

Thank You   Steve E

[SteveJ]

There are two ways to do the splice. You can crimp the wires together (typical for production wiring), or you can solder. If I was doing it, I would use the crimp connectors. I bought this kit last year for future projects: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XTV93GD. To understand the size of the crimp connectors you need, here is a handy chart showing wire cross sectional areas for a given AWG size: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/awg-wire-gauge-d_731.html. If you are doing a couple of 10 AWG wires, that would require soldering over crimping due readily available crimps being too small for two wires of that size.

To answer your questions, you are correct. The red and black wires would pass through. That does look like the accessory relay in your photo.

[SteveE]

The Jumper harness has been made and installed - and works great - Thank You @SteveJ for the idea and the how to.

Next Issues

                   1 - The power window switches have back lighting so looking for a power source that will come on with the dash lights.

                   2 - The power door locks have provisions for flashing lights and a horn (see diagram) when locking.

                        Where to tap in for those or can a "jumper" be made?

 

                    3 - I have a thrid brake light installed and thinking of making a "jumper" at the right rear tail light for power. @SteveJ thoughts?

Thank you for any input.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SteveJ]

8 minutes ago, SteveE said:

The Jumper harness has been made and installed - and works great - Thank You @SteveJ for the idea and the how to.

Next Issues

                   1 - The power window switches have back lighting so looking for a power source that will come on with the dash lights.

                   2 - The power door locks have provisions for flashing lights and a horn (see diagram) when locking.

                        Where to tap in for those or can a "jumper" be made?

 

                    3 - I have a thrid brake light installed and thinking of making a "jumper" at the right rear tail light for power. @SteveJ thoughts?

Thank you for any input.

Nice work on the crimping/heat shrink.

1. For the switch lighting:
   1. If you want the lights to dim, use the red/blue wire for the dash lights. You can put in jumper harnesses at the gauges.
   2. If you don't want them to dim, put in a jumper harness between the dash and body harness where you see a green/white wire.
   3. Have inline fuses before you get to the door. (I hope you have inline fuses for the power lock circuits, too.) That way if the wires get chafed, you pop the fuse and don't take out your running lights & gauge lights.
2. For the horn/lights:
   1. As the directions say, use relays.
   2. The coil for horn relay in the Z is grounded by the horn button. You could put ground the 87 pin of the relay and have the 30 pin going to the horn relay on the same pin as the green/black wire. To flash the lights, if you use method 2 above, you could add a branch of the wire from the jumper harness to the 30 pin of the second relay. You would need 12VDC on the 87 pin. (Don't understand the numbers? Look here: https://fiddlingwithzcars.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/relays-simplified/)
3. If you want the third brake light to flash when you are making a right turn, that works. If you don't understand what I'm saying, stand behind your car while someone is operating the turn signals and pressing the brakes. (The car needs to be in ON to see this.) 😬 There are two possible ways I can think of off the top of my head:
   1. Use wires coming off both turn signals with diodes to go to the third light. Side benefit, the light will flash with your hazards.
   2. Intercept the brake light before it gets to the turn signal switch and run a wire back for the third light. 

[SteveE]

@SteveJ

Again thanks for the input

As to the thrid brake light I think it would not be ideal to have it blinking with the turn signals.  When adding wires to the back of the car I did run an extra wire that could be hooked up under the dash to the brake system, just not sure where.

For your other suggestions  I will study the wiring diagrams and see what I can figure out.

Steve

[SteveE]

@SteveJ      Thanks for all of your help!

Thrid brake light

I have a wire from the light to the brake pedal switch (temporary) which seems to work as it should.  So is this an alright place to patch into the circut?

Seems like an easy place to make a "jumper" and I assume there should be an inline fuse between the switch and light?

Power window switch lighting

Having trouble finding "jumper harness at the gauges"  is there a connector somewhere near the gauges with the red/blue wire?

Thanks!

 

 

[SteveJ]

I'm not sure how you have things wires at your brake pedal switch and whether or not you still have stock wiring in place in the brake/turn signal circuit.

You won't find a jumper harness at the gauges unless you make one and install it. It would be easier to provide guidance if you would quote  what you are asking about.

[SteveE]

@SteveJ

Changes to the stock wiring       Dave Irwin's headlight and parking light harness's & the jumper I made in post 7 above.  Brake pedal switch has not been altered.

In your post above (#8)  point 3 about the thrid brake light I chose option 2 and decided for the brake pedal switch. Temporarily ran a wire from light to switch.

 "Intercept the brake light before it gets to the turn signal switch and run a wire back for the third light."

That seems to work - light comes on and does not flash with the turn signals.  My question -  is this a safe/good spot to tie into the system?  Seems like an easy place to make a jumper.

 

In post #8 point 1 you say - about the lighting for the window switchs.

"use the red/blue wire for the dash lights."

"You can put in jumper harnesses at the gauges."

Looking at the BE section of the service manual I am not finding a harness for the gauges.   I see the red/blue wire going to the bulbs at the gages, but do not see where it hooks into the harness.  My question is which connector (is there a connector) and where is it? Would like to make another "jumper" - love the jumpers😄

Thanks Steve