Hard wiring multi. gauges+Electronics ect..?

[SpeedAdiction20]

So I am starting to install my boost/WB gauges in my new car, along with TT, EBC, and I want to hard wire the radar detector also along with 1 or 2 other things that I forgot to mention, but anyways I went out and bought more wire, along with 2 distribution blocks from autozone (they are little black rectangles, can't find them on the website) and I planed to hook 1 of the blocks up to the starting wire which is what I had used for a few of my gauges before, by just splicing them in 2 places, and then having the other act as a ground, running a wire to frame somewhere..

my questions are, 1.) what is the best way to go about this, I am thinking about soldering the main wire to the start-up blue wire in the steering column (never soldered before but I get the idea and don't see there being a problem, I can test it out on a few things first) and then having the EBC/TT/Boost gauge and all that other stuff run off of those blocks and then doing a similar thing for the ground, but just running a separate wire for that connecting the the frame.
2.) do you think it will work out having all those gauges and things running off of that block and starting wire? and will the 1 ground wire with the block be enough or should I run a couple wires for the ground or something like that?
3.) any problems with 1 thing not getting enough power or something similar to that? or heat building up in the wires ect..

I guess that is all, I just wanted to try to keep from splicing a wire a couple different times, its just messy and a pain, and they might slip off sometime. If you guys have any other ways that you have run a bunch of electronics like that, feel free to share your experiences.. all the info would be great, I'm thinking about doing this by this weekend so would like to try to work that out by then.
thanks

Edit: I found the distribution box, I couldn't tell if each of those rows are separated, I wouldn't think so because that just doesn't seem to make sense, but I don't know..
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/accessories/accProductDetails.jsp?categoryDisplayName=Electrical+and+Lighting&subSubPartId=&fromString=&itemIdentifier=297143_0_0_&productId=297143&sortType=&parentId=cat10048&filterByKeyWord=&categoryNValue=&navValue=100394&subPartId=prod12608&fromWhere=&itemId=prod12608&displayName=30+Amps+4+Post+Junction+Box&store=5099&skuDisplayName=30+Amps+4+Post+Junction+Box&brandName=Motormite

 

[SpeedAdiction20]

(bump). come on guys I need some help with this one soon please..! any experiences would be welcome

 

[haveahotcarl]

What ever you do, DO NOT run everything off of the one wire. It is not designed to provide power to that many devices and will likely blow a fuse, melt the wires, and create a huge cluster f*ck mess.

It is safe however to use that wire as a trigger. Head over to your local Radio Shack and purchase an automotive relay. You can use the ignition wire to "trigger" the relay and then bring another direct power source from the battery to provide the actual power. As for your ground, using the body is fine, just make sure that you have a metal on metal connection. Those distribution blocks should work fine for the power and ground, just be sure you don't mount the power to anywhere that it may come in contact with the frame.

Lastly, use fuses!! I cannot stress that enough. The power wire from the battery should have a fuse that matches the amount you are pulling from the gauges and such. A small fuse between the ignition wire and the relay is not a bad idea as well. I also recommend a wire tap off of the ignition wire. They are little plastic pieces, Radio Shack again, that allow you to get power without cutting the wire in half.

Good Luck!

 

[SpeedAdiction20]

lol thanks for the much needed info, I was going to go ahead and just run the wires off the ignition wire.. so I am assuming that to get the right fuse I would need to get a small volt meter? I would guess amp meter but I haven't seen those around, or don't remember them... and so I am guessing that I splice the iggintion wire like I did in my first msp (used it to power the 2 gauges only) and than run that to the auto. relay thing and also run a separate wire from the battery itself to that relay as well, and when I turn the car on, it will start drawing power to my stuff and not all the time (like when car is off)..
-I have a bunch of wire taps that are good, just wasn't sure if they provided a good enough connection, but since it is a signal more than a lot of power than that should be good.. thanks for the help, would have been a mess

oh also as far as the gauge of the wire I have I think... 10-12 gauge or something like thatI was going to use, that should be good, or actually I might just use the 8guage wire that I have left over from pulling the stock sub/amp out, that would be better.

Edit: also I was looking at that automotive relay thing and I'm not 100% sure where to hook it up, it plugs into something, but.. I can't think of where.. also I was thinking about hooking up my TT to a manual switch so that I could turn it on and off when I wanted (if I didn't want the car to run longer after I turned it off lets say) and I am trying to figure out what that would plug into.. is it just plugging into those little connectors, like those flat quick disconnects? thanks for the help, hopefully I can get this going smoothly

 

[haveahotcarl]

oh also as far as the gauge of the wire I have I think... 10-12 gauge or something like thatI was going to use, that should be good, or actually I might just use the 8guage wire that I have left over from pulling the stock sub/amp out, that would be better.

Sorry about not getting back to you right away, the stock power wire from the sub is 10 gauge and that should be big enough to run from the battery for power. You shouldn't need more that a 15 amp fuse but i would start with 10 just in case and see if it blows. As for hooking up to the relay, you can just use those blade connections to the bottom or solder right to the terminals they do make "sockets" for the relays but depending on the kind you bought, you may not need one.

I hope everything went well if you already got to it. I am better at responding to a PM if you need something right away, btw.

 

[SpeedAdiction20]

thanks, ya I was working on it yesterday, did ok, I got those female connectors to plug them into, mounted the relay... that distribution block thing, those metal plates were separated from each other, so I just ran a small wire connector from 1 side to the next, and than just ran my power wires to the gauges on the other sides, was pretty proud of myself lol, I don't like wiring things too much, mostly because it takes forever to put all the connnectors on then run them under the dash.. bending my arms/back in strange ways to get to good mounting places so wires don't tangle haha, but ya I had to go back to school, but I think I got all the wires setup right, I had actually ran 8gauge wire (the amp wire was actually from a distribution block in the back to the stock amp that was run after, a little bigger than stock.. and a little too big to run to gauges with smaller disconnects lol) but anyways I ran a 30amp fuse in between the battery and the relay. .no fuse between the trigger, ignition and the relay, didn't really have time and I didn't think it would be too necessary, there's a fuse there anyways from the fuse box I think right?, hopefully everything will start up right away when I get it all set up next week.

also another question, I have a 1, or 0gauge wiring I forget what it is, it's like 1/0, but anyway it is slipping out of the battery terminal because there is a lot of wire, I tried cutting it a little around the edges so that it could slip in easier but didn't work, do you know of anything that could keep it in it's place?

 

[haveahotcarl]

also another question, I have a 1, or 0gauge wiring I forget what it is, it's like 1/0, but anyway it is slipping out of the battery terminal because there is a lot of wire, I tried cutting it a little around the edges so that it could slip in easier but didn't work, do you know of anything that could keep it in it's place?

Probably 0 gauge or 0/1 or 1/0 or "ought one" all are the same, zero gauge being most common over 1 gague. I am not sure what you are describing as to how the wire is connected to the terminal. For that large gauge of wire I would recommend getting a new positive terminal with a hole for the 0 gauge wire. That will get you the best and safest connection. Head to a good car stereo shop for that or maybe Best Buy.

 

[SpeedAdiction20]

ya I figured they were all the same, just didn't know which it was normally called, or if there was a difference at all, but I have the terminal, Slug420 put a 1stgrounding kit or whatever it is called in, here ill get a pic oh what I mean.. and it's suppose to fit 0gauge, but when I put it in, the wire strands tend to bunch up a little, but even then it slides its way out after a while, (granted it's when I am moving it around to get around the engine bay, but even so, would be nice to have it secure in there)

the pic is attached, you, the wire just laid right where it would normally go, I just put it there for the sake of taking the picture this weekend, but anyways that is where it goes, just wasn't sure if there was some type of "plug" or something that would make it easier to connect with.

-also you think that 30amp fuse should be fine right? I figured I could use a large one like that, so that I didn't have one that was too small and have it blowing all the time, so just stuck that in there, just to get it done. thanks

 

[haveahotcarl]

I would cut that end off and strip a new section of wire, it will probably go in nice then. Sometimes the wire bunches up and you just have to start over. I would also change to a smaller fuse than 30amp. Something in the 10 or 15 range and if they blow, go higher by 5amps until you don't blow anything. If it sounds tedious, it is, but it is probably the best way to go just to be sure that none of the gauges get damaged.

 

[SpeedAdiction20]

ah ha, got them all in and working this weekend, at first I had wired the distribution, or fuse block wrong so I only got power to my EBC, but then I figured it out, and now they all work great, gonna start with the 15amp, see what happens and if that doesn't work than ill go with the 20 like you said and so on.. running the WB,boost gauge,EBC and I will be hard wiring the radar detector in there.. great to get it working..

thank you very much for the help, saved me tons of time
(also my dad was helping me work on the car, and I had him do the amp wires, I had cut them at an angle first time at the tip, which is why they didn't hold in as well, he re-cut everything and made sure it was an even cut across, so all good now)