When our Toyota FJ Cruiser is parked during adventure trips the auxiliary battery system is used to keep our ARB fridge running. To help keep the battery charged I have installed a solar charge system. The system includes a 40 watt solar panel. The panel is interfaced with the system using a small charge controller. …
Electrical
Electrical
Auxiliary Power Master Switch
by tomas •
The design of my auxiliary power system includes both a switched circuit and an always on circuit. In this post I discuss the switched portion of the system. The master switch is used to control all accessories that can be switched. This includes the ARC switch system as well as other miscellaneous items such as…
Electrical
Heated Mirrors
by tomas •
Snowy Colorado winters tend to lead to iced over mirrors on the Toyota FJ Cruiser. One of my early modification to our new FJ Cruiser was the installation of heated mirrors.The installation is an involved process and is not for the faint of heart. To complete the installation the following step must be taken (There…
Electrical
Auto Rod Controls – Switch Console
by tomas •
I know, I’m the total geek with all the electronics that I have in our Toyota FJ Cruiser. To control all these devices in our last FJ I built a switch console using rocker switches that I mounted in the celling. Though this system worked fine it required lots of wires being run to the switches…
Electrical, Electronics
Better Chassis Grounding
by tomas •
With the increased power demands and better battery in the FJ I figured it was time to upgrade the chassis grounding. Toyota uses a wire gauge that I consider to small for the demands that we are going to place on it. With the new grounds in place the starter does turn noticeably faster. First…