ignition relay box

[azruss]

Here is what i came up with for a relay box to send all the load on the ignition switch thru a relay. the box is a radio shack 3x6. the original fuse box was a 6 banger that i cut down to 4 to get it to fit. that was a trick in itself. Very, very tight fit. Hope i dont have heat issues. You only need 3 relays, but i added a 4th for running lights, sound, seat heater, doggie trailer, etc.

[RRoller123]

Nice! Where did you mount it?

[azruss]

with such a big box and so little space under the dash, i opted to put it under the cowling , drivers side. made an elevated mount so it would stay dry. will run the wiring into the interior next to the heater vent. I chose this location because it was a shorter wire run than any other place with enough room for the box. Not mounted yet and need to do a systems check before it goes in. probably next weekend.

[RRoller123]

Good idea. Certainly cooler in there than in the engine compartment. A sealed relay box in the engine compartment could get pretty hot and the relays likely fail eventually.

[azruss]

heat is my biggest concern, even at this location.....afterall i have the cool arizona summers to contend with. the advantage is being so close to the cowl vents, it allows heat to escape when the car it still and circulation when the car is moving. I am considering venting the top of the box.

[Weelan]

Wow man, your car is decked out with electronics. I had to chuckle at the heated seats when you then said you live in Arizona, but I know it gets quite cold at nights there.

Couple things you could try, plasti-dip on the seams of the plastic enclosure and the cord in/out holes for waterproofing. and then if you really want to help the heat solution I'd say try finding an aluminum fin heat sink and see if putting that on there would help. You'd probably benefit the most by cutting the top of the box out and replacing it with the heat sink and just super glue the crap out of it to keep it in place and then a layer of silicone to aid water proofing and heat exchange and such.

Just some ideas I've learned from waterproofing rc's.