We had pretty much given up hope of ever finding a company which manufactures a power distribution solution such as we had designed on paper to eliminate the need for large gauge wires running up and down the chassis power all of our various electrical accessories. We had actually ordered a bunch of regular automotive style relays and the necessary hardware for installation from Wrangler NW. We had resigned ourselves to creating our own power distribution system when we came across Transportation Safety Technologies’ web site. We were so thrilled when we found these and even more so when TST agreed to sponsor our project. The work of distributing power and connecting our electrical equipment was instantly reduced by over 75%. Indianapolis-based Transportation Safety Technologies designs, manufactures, and sells safety products for the transportation industry. The products are designed to save lives, avoid injuries, reduce operating costs, and improve driver/operator control.
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The concept is simple. Eliminate the need to run a large power feed to the center console to supply the current for the myriad of electrical components throughout the truck as well as eliminate the bulk of cabling necessary to route the load. Using the TST power distribution centers, we only need to run 22 gauge leads from the console switches to the PDC’s. The thin strands are more than capable of handling the small amount of current necessary to trigger the relays located on the PDC’s. Instead of bundles of individual wires strewn about and trying to keep track of where each lead goes, we used a small 3/8″ cable with eight 22 gauge strands to activate the relays.
The wiring is incredibly simple with one cable running to the front of the truck, one to the rear and one to the center. The front PDC-4 unit will control the off road lights, rotalasers, front mounted strobes and the air horn relay. The PDC-4 at the rear of the truck will control the oscilasers and rear flood lights. The center cable connected to the PDC-10 to control the lightbar rotators (outboard, inboard & center), the rear mounted strobe heads, the side mounted strobe heads, the strobe’s low power function and the rear facing work lamps. In addition to the three small cables we also have the small control cable for the Tomar arrow bar, the Wrangler battery control manager, the Xantrex remote control display and finally, the radio antenna cable. It may sound like a lot, but because the wires are run as cables and are color coded, the process of routing and installation is extremely simple.
We are extremely thankful to TST for their participation and we strongly encourage all vehicle owners and those that are charged with fleet maintenance to investigate the power distribution solution for your electrical power requirements.