if I am driving down the road at night with the headlights on (30 amp fuse), with the wipers on due to rain (15 amp fuse), with the radio turned up (10 amp fuse) and I decide to crank up a Cuban cigar (20 amp fuse) AND my entire wiring harness has an inline 50 amp Maxifuse to protect it, does this mean I could blow the Maxi fuse and get wet?

Also, can I run a couple of goodies off the same circuit like in a house? For example, could I tap in to the power window circiut to run my foglights rather than straight to the battery as long as I don't use the windows and foglights together (50 amp rated draw on a 30 amp fuse)? Can I tap into another source to run the foglight relay?

Gently, please. I am an electrical neophyte.

 

Let me be the first to say that the Cuban cigar is illegal signed - Bad Ground.

 

a 30 amp fuse means that any electrical load above 30 amps will blow the fuse, instead of burning your wiring or frying the component. As long as your headlights are working, they're not drawing more than 30 amps. So if everything adds up to 50 amps(maxi)and everything is working, you're not drawing more than 50 amps, but that means max draw hasn't been reached. Since yours adds up to 75 amps possible draw, the chances are good you'll blow the maxi fuse with everything running. Typically headlights are on a circuit breaker by themselves, that when it gets too hot, it cuts the circuit, til it cools, turns on again, then gets hot, etc.... this is why lights flash on and off. it's a safety feature, cuz if the headlights are on a fuse, and the fuse blows at night, you'll be in the dark from that point on, til you hit a tree, or worse. As for your second part, as long as the total amp draw isn't exceeded, then it's ok, but I'd run the power from the foglights into your fuse block with a switch.

 

You need to know the actual current draw of each device. The fuse is larger than the maximum current draw of the devices otherwise it would blow. For instance two 55 watt headlamps will draw ~ 10 amps on high beam 55 watts / 12 volts = 9.2amps you have a 30 amp fuse.

 

I agree but all of the circuits are effectively already spoken for. Seems like all these goodies go directly to the battery accoding to the instructions. They typically also give you an inline fuse. If I did that my battery would look like a huge mess!

 

I would not be too concerned about blowing the Maxifuse. Like Cristopher said the actual current draw (in amps) of the accessories is actually much less than the number of amps for which the circuit is protected. For example, most radios only draw a half-amp or less even though you have it protected with a 10 amp fuse (unless you have some big honkin' stereo in it). It would take a LOT of accessories to blow a 50 amp fuse...probably more than you have in the truck.

Vern

 

Thanks guys. That's what I was looking for, Vern. I figured that had to be the case but had to ask.

So, where should I hook up the torque converter lock up solenoid? BTW, it goes thru a brake switch that will unlock the tranny when the brakes are applied

Tim

 

Tim,
The TCC lock-up solenoid will draw less than an amp when actuated. It will probably pull about 3X that during initial acuation, so a 5 amp fuse should be sufficient for the solenoid. I would use an 18 awg wire hooked to your battery bus with a 5 amp in-line fuse on a dedicated circuit, routed thru the brake pedal switch (normally closed contacts) and to the tranny. Make sure the inside is wired correctly, as there are applications that only allow a 4th gear lock-up (my preference) and others that will lock in any gear. These usually include a vacuum switch wired in the circuit. Also, there are TCC solenoids with one wire & an internal ground and others with two wires that require an external ground.

BTW, the vacuum switch is a nice addition, even if you have it wired to lock in OD only. That way if the engine lugs down, it will unlock the converter until the vacuum has built back up to a preset level.
Good Luck!

 

I just went on a 1400 mile tip in the Ozarks in the Cavalier I noticed it actually has an 8 speed transmission as noted above with the overdrive. It would run along in 4th gear with the torque converter locked up, when you would start going up a hill it would unlock the torque converter and the rpms would go up about 800. Then it would shift into 3rd locked up then it would unlock the converter in 3rd.

 

Kent
Thanks! Just the info I am looking for. Below is a post I made on the HAMB board describing my predicament:

"I am installing a Painless lock up kit in my @#$-r4. The new solenoid has a red and black wire with a terminal connecter on the red wire for the pressure switch while the black wire has a 4 wire terminal end. The new pressure switch has ONE terminal.

The wiring in the tranny, which has been rebuilt by a very reputable shop, has the black wire grounded by a ring terminal on the valve body and the red wire zig zaging over to the pressure switch where it attaches to one of TWO terminals on the pressure switch. The other terminal on the pressure switch has the red wire coming over from the tranny plug on the drivers side.

Do I simply cut the 4 wire connector from the black wire on the new solenoid and ground via a ring terminal like the old one, then attach the red wire from the solenoid and the red wire from the drivers side plug to the single terminal on the new pressure switch? I think I can fit the two red wires in one terminal for connection then solder it to make a good connection.

The Painless instructions are not very clear and frankly calling tech support was a waste of time."

Is this the solution?:

"So I guess I was correct. Ground the black wire from the new solenoid to the tranny with a ring connecter (these harnesses at @#$%&(^ Overdrive have only one red wire and use the solenoid bolts for ground) and then connect BOTH my red wire from the new solenoid and the red wire from the external wiring harness to the single terminal on the new pressure switch. Then hook up the brake switch. "

The painless system does have a vacum switch although the instructions I received from Painless says use a "ported" vacum source rather than a "constant" vacum source (it was scratched out and handwritten). Wouldn't my vacum source be both ported and constant with the engine running?

Thanks for any help guys!

 

Tim,
Based on your description, the following is how I would wire the TCC using the Painless kit.

I am guessing that your description of the Painless harness has the red and black wires reversed. The switch they provided (single terminal) should read "open" with no pressure and "closed/shorted to case/ground" with pressure (don't know what the min pressure is). This switch is installed in the 4th gear port of the valve body and provides a ground to the solenoid only when there is pressure (tranny has shifted into OD). This switch is hooked to the black wire that goes to the TCC solenoid. The red wire with the connector is then routed to the hole in the case for the connector. Re-use the plastic wire routing thing from the original harness to keep the wires in place.

Outside the tranny, the 12 volt fused line is routed through the "ported" vacuum switch to brake switch and then to the mating tranny connector. The ported vacuum just means to hook to a source above the throttle plate, not below. The brake switch is mounted so that the plunger is pushed in when the brakes are not being used, so use the pair of contacts that are "closed" when the plunger is pushed in. That should about do it.

If you want, you can hook all this together on the bench to see if you can make the solenoid actuate. You will have to by-pass the vacuum switch, but when it is hooked up, you can watch the solenoid actuate when you push in on the brake switch.

Good Luck!