When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Install complete and working. Although I have one more wire to connect for engine start isolation. Upon starting, it will delay connecting for 3 to 5 minutes. Right now it connects after about 30 seconds. Really no real reason to add this function other than to get the starting battery a head start on charing. This feature is more designed for boats where engine cranking takes longer and can result in power fluctuations that may harm equipment on the house power.
Another thing I want to go back to is removal of a bit of plastic on the lower section of the battery tray. The relay is mounted up against here and the bottom portion bumps out for the upper secant to sit into. This extra plastic is pushing the bottom of the relay out about 1.5mm and in turn pushes the relay against the battery holder. I think if I remove this bit things will fit just a little better. That white connector holder was of course removed.
Cables:
I am using 1/0 (0 awg) copper welding cable. Its very flexible and not terribly expensive. Its designed for high temp and high voltage. Its often sold as automotive battery cable. I purchased a hydraulic crimper from Amazon for about $40 USD. It works brilliantly! Just be certain to get one with the sized fitting you need, some only have fitting for smaller diameter wires. With each lug end I installed two layers of glue-lined shrink tubing. One small piece at the connection, one longer piece that is the appropriate color (negative/positive). The tubing I bought has a high shrink rate of 3 times, so it will accommodate 0 awg down to probably 6 awg. Certainly works on 4 awg.
First piece of shrink tube.
Second pice of shrink tube.
Complete cable with shielding. Using shrink tube for securing shielding works great and looks factory.
Mounting the relay:
The Blue Seas 7622 relay is rather bulky and water sealed, but I wanted it in a place where it was somewhat protected for water and heat. I also did not want the over-ride switch on top to get full of fine silt, dust making it difficult to operate if needed. The only location I could find was this small back cubby in the second battery bay. The fitment is incredibly tight.
I had to actually cut two small holes to accommodate the remote wire connection. One hole for the cable to go straight down and a second to bring the cable back into the battery box. Only one hole pictured here. CAREFUL when drilling as your AC lines are right behind this area. Putting something behind is recommenced.
For final fitment I had to Dremel away the upper right corner of the relay, where a mounting hole is, to accommodate the vacuum line seen above. Also you will need to install a ground wire from the relay harness to your aux battery ground point. This is part of the voltage sense, so it's required. If you look below you can see a pic of the ground wire with eyelet on the chassis ground point.
Cable install/routing:
The relay cables were the hardest and room was tight. Keep in mind with this install setup there is virtually no room to get to the studs on the relay. So you must attach and secure the cable before mounting the relay. Although I found I can snap the housing loose and lift the relay a little to work the nuts. Both positive leads had to be run towards the firewall. For the left stud I used a standard flat cable lug and one hex jam nut (a thin nut) to act as an extra spacer on the stud. Then another jam nut to secure the lug. For the relay's right lug, I used a 45 degree cable lug to direct the cable upwards. When tightening both cables, I made sure there was room between them to prevent contact.
The negative lead simply connects to the second ground point form the factory. Its a dead match for the one used on the main starting battery.
The primary positive lead runs along the cowl to the main starting battery. I covered it in shielding mainly to keep the engine bay look clean. A little Dremel action on the plastic battery box separator to run the cable through.
And that is pretty much it for the main part of the project. Once all was fitted I used a single metal rivet to secure the relay in place. The remote switch install, which is optional, has LEDs that give status of the system. That install involved a larger project for accessories and I will cover it in another thread. But you only need to really run three wires into the cabin. If you look above you can see I ran a 12-wire cable. In that bundle I ran the red wire and yellow wire from the relay harness. Then a third wire that gets positive power from the aux battery. You can not use positive power form anywhere but the aux battery. If you try, the switch many illuminate but it will not function properly.
Not custom, but no longer made. Sold out pretty much since they made the first batch or so. And I really like these. You can find other brands now, but they switches are straight up and down. What that does it make for an INCREDIBLY tight install behind the switches. These are angled a bit, the bottom of the switch panel kicks out. This helps by giving more room in back for wires. I you google search "rover LR3 switch panel" you can probably locate other sources. I think Proud Rhino is one brand.
