Ok ... I am worse than a sack full of hair ***** when it comes to 12v systems. What I would like to do is this;... I have 2 12v actuators for my skimmer cap, an in line 30 amp fuse holder and a dpdt rocker switch. I need a key on power source for this set up and possibly other assesories. I was told to use the battery side terminal on the solenoid but that doesn't seem right to me. I there somewhere else to get this power source? The truck is a 1977 2wd with a 400 and C6.

 

I would go ahead and use the battery side of the solenoid, but that will only give you power all the time. To have a key-on power source from that you need to use a relay. Go get one of the bosch type 30 amp relays people use for foglights and aux lighting.

Put your 30 amp fuse as close as possible to the bat + connection at the solenoid, and then run that over to the relay, come out of the relay to a small aux fuse box you can buy at the store mounted to the inner fender. Then you will have lots of places to run different devices.

You will need to run a very small wire from a key-on source in the fuse box (like the radio fuse) and run it out to the relay and use that to activate the relay. The reason for doing all this is to keep the extra loads off the original truck wiring, which was barely big enough to run the truck itself.

 

Thanks Dave, I have the gist of it. As I said, I am dumber than a sack full of hammers. lol I will draw it out and check it twice. Some ppl have knack for this stuff. I can do most anything else for these trucks, BUT wiring them is a dead end.

 

Relays are identified by the terminal numbers as follows:
30: Input
87: Output (ON when energized, OFF when De-energized)
87A: Output (OFF when energized, ON when De-energized)
85: Relay Coil
86: Relay Coil

The polarity for 85 and 86 doesn't matter, they just need one 12v+ and one ground to energize the coil to activate the relay

From the battery's positive, wire the fuse as close as reasonably possible. After the fuse, it goes to Relay Pin 30. I typically use Pin 86 for the coil ground, so 85 would be going to any ignition-switched 12v source that is convenient. Pin 87 will then go out to the actuators. This arrangement will supply power to the actuators only the key is ON. After that, I'm assuming the actuators are intended to operate in both directions. The remainder of the circuit will be identical to a Power Window circuit.