Wiring question; junction box for power

[Nicoleb3x3]

I'm moving my battery to the trunk and I wanted to get a junction box like this one to help run additional power connections in the front of the car.

Can I substitue this for a second starter relay? If not; where can I find this locally in a store?

And, can I take the power from the original starter relay to power it?

 

[jrichker]

Distribution block ideas - See Power Distribution Blocks.

Also check out Junction blocks,electrical junction block,power feed,magnum,feedthrough

Be careful about mounting any electrical add on hardware under the hood. Some of it is made from plastic that softens and flows when exposed to under hood temperatures.


Some wiring help in your quest for a rear monted battery...

Rear mounted battery ground wiring. Follow this plan and you will have zero
ground problems.

One 1 gauge or 1/0 gauge wire from battery negative post to a clean shiny spot
on the chassis near the battery. Use a 5/16” bolt and bolt it down to make the
rear ground. Use a 1 gauge or 1/0 gauge wire from the rear ground bolt to a clean
shiny spot on the block.

One 4 gauge wire from the block where you connected the battery ground wire to
the chassis ground where the battery was mounted up front. Use a 5/16” bolt
and bolt down the 4 gauge engine to chassis ground, make sure that it the metal
around the bolt is clean & shiny. This is the alternator power ground.

The computer has a dedicated power ground wire with a cylindrical quick connect
(about 2 ½”long by 1” diameter. It comes out of the wiring harness near the
ignition coil & starter solenoid (or relay). Be sure to bolt it to the chassis ground
in the same place as you bolted the alternator power ground. This is an
absolute don’t overlook it item for EFI cars
Note: The quick disconnect may have fallen victim to damage or removal by
a previous owner. However, it is still of utmost importance that the black/green
wires have a high quality ground..

The screwdriver points to the common body ground for the alternator, battery and computer.

Picture courtesy timewarped1972

Crimp or even better, solder the lugs on the all the wire. The local auto stereo
shop will have them if the auto parts store doesn't. Use some heat shrink tubing
to cover the lugs and make things look nice.


For a battery cut off switch, see Moroso : Category Display
is the switch http://www.moroso.com/catalog/images/74102_inst.pdf is the installation instructions.
Use the super duty switch and the following tech note to wire it and you will
be good to go.

Use the Moroso plan for the alternator wiring and you risk a fire. The 10
gauge wire they recommend is even less adequate that the stock Mustang
wiring.

There is a solution, but it will require about 40' of 18 gauge green wire.

Wire the battery to the two 1/2" posts as shown in the diagram.

The alternator requires a different approach. On the small alternator plug
there is a green wire. It is the sense lead that turns the regulator on when
the ignition switch is in the run position. Cut the green wire and solder the
40' of green wire between the two pieces. Use some heat shrink to cover the
splices. See Ford Fuel Injection How To Solder Like a Pro for some excellent
help on soldering & using heat shrink tubing.

Run the green wire back to the Moroso switch and cut off the excess wire.
Try to run the green wire inside the car and protect it from getting cut or
chaffed. Crimp a 18 gauge ring terminal (red is 18 gauge color code for the crimp
on terminals) on each wire. Bolt one ring terminal to each of the 3/16" studs.
Do not add the jumper between the 1/2" stud and the 3/16" stud as shown it the
Moroso diagram.

How it works:
The green wire is the ignition on sense feed to the regulator. It supplies a turn
on signal to the regulator when the ignition switch is in the Run position. Turn the
Moroso switch to off, and the sense voltage goes away, the voltage
regulator shuts off and the alternator quits making power.

The fuse & wiring in the following diagram are for a 3G alternator. The stock alternator uses a dark green fuse link wire that connects to 2 black/orange wires. Always leave them connected to the starter solenoid even if you have a 3G alternator.

See the following website for some help from Tmoss (diagram designer)
& Stang&2Birds (website host) for help on 88-95 wiring
Mustang FAQ - Engine Information Everyone should bookmark this site.

Ignition switch wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/IgnitionSwitchWiring.gif

Fuel, alternator, A/C and ignition wiring
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/fuel-alt-links-ign-ac.gif

Complete computer, actuator & sensor wiring diagram for 88-91 Mass Air Mustangs
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/88-91_5.0_EEC_Wiring_Diagram.gif

Vacuum diagram 89-93 Mustangs
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/mustangFoxFordVacuumDiagram.jpg

 

[HISSIN50]

Can I substitue this for a second starter relay? If not; where can I find this locally in a store?

And, can I take the power from the original starter relay to power it?

No, you really should have both relays. Newer stangs still use a slave relay to the piggyback solenoid.

You can run a cable from the battery lug of the solenoid to the new distribution block. Being anal, I would circuit protect this big feed, and be sure all the little items attached to the block are also fused (for their appropriate relatively small ratings).

On that first like of JRichker's, someone recently used one of those blocks (part number 70008 IIRC). It is a nice looking piece. I'm too poor for stuff like that (I cut a half-melted POS plastic ANL fuseholder in half and reinforced and re-insulated the backing plate on the good half).

If you go to the junkyard ever, you can find some late model cars with remote batteries and/or distribution blocks. Fourth Gen Camaros had an insulated block on the passenger wheel well. Stuff like Dodge Strati (plural of stratus?) have a distrbution block too (the battery is in the fender).

 

[Nicoleb3x3]

I have a some-what related question;

is the two brackets that mount the lower harness to the engine block part of any grounding? My brackets will no longer reach their mounting points due to the new location of the starter relay has taken up 1" of slack in one direction......

I'm planning to NOT use these brackets to secure the lower harness but use zip ties instead. Is this going to cause any issues?