DIY Exile build in my new LSV... (first time)

[IXFE]

Several questions about the wiring. I'm using Exile's Pro-X Main Power Kit.

I also figured I'd answer the questions by sharing the diagram I've been referencing throughout (pretty jacked up, but makes sense to me).

Then I figured I'd make a cleaned up version. Anxious to hear your thoughts (as long as they don't cause me to go back and start over!)

Edited May 17, 2014 by IXFE

[IXFE]

Ha! Totally get it. Totally.

This looks really really good. You are going to end up with a cleaner install than 90% of what I've seen people post pics of what they paid good money for. And the satisfaction of getting to be the first one to flip the go-switch. Beware being bitten by the bug tho!

(^^^ your 2017 247 install is going to be off the hook).

EDIT: I can't see.... is your power distro block fused? What are you using for fusing the main power connection to your power distro block?

I have to admit, I laughed hard at the 247 crack. For my wife's sake, I hope you're not right.

I had not installed the fuses in the power distro block when I took that pic. They look like this (pic 1). And there's another fuse box further upstream near the batter that looks like this (pic 2).

[tjklein]

Your power on switch for the stereo needs to move between the zld and the zld power source. As it is right now your zld will be on all the time.

Looks good so far!

Shoot me a pm with your email and I can send you my diagrams if that helps.

Edited May 17, 2014 by tjklein

[shawndoggy]

Dave, you are so many light years ahead of my first install. Great job. Any comments I have are very small quibbles.

1. For the 250A fuse off of the battery, a breaker is cleaner and more convenient (IMHO, and there are those who prefer fuses... but I'm not sure why);

2. you are really brave running black and gray wire because I would mess those up (black is ground, power is colorful in my simple world);

3. I would change the ZLD power run to run a blue sea 5025 power/ground block to the helm, and then run your power and ground for other goodies from that. In that way you can easily add something like a usb port or powered ipod cable or whatever by just adding a couple of ring terminals. It's a little bit more work on the front end (now), but it makes modding later so much easier. PM me and I'll make you a very very good deal on one.

Edited May 17, 2014 by shawndoggy

[MLA]

You need to fuse that B+ to the EQ, right off the B+ distribution block

Is this single battery boat or a stand-alone house battery bank since there is no dual-bank battery switch and amps are wired directly to a battery?

Edited May 17, 2014 by MLA

[shawndoggy]

Your power on switch for the stereo needs to move between the zld and the zld power source. As it is right now your zld will be on all the time.

Looks good so far!

Shoot me a pm with your email and I can send you my diagrams if that helps.

LOL, I was gonna mention that too, but he'll figure it out. Let's let him have at least one "aha" moment that he solves himself

[IXFE]

Are the small power cables for the ZLD? Why connect them on the unfused side of the power distribution block? Why not couple to the fused side of the tower amp or give the ZLD is own fuse since you have an extra fuse slot?

Yes, those small cables are power (red) and ground (black) to the ZLD.

Ummm... I gotta plead ignorance on this one. I'm just following instructions I got from Brian. I'm not at the stage where I understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. At this point I just follow directions. But I don't see how where they are is "unfused" because there will be another fuse further up stream near the battery (see my diagram above).

I can't imagine giving the ZLD it's only fuse if for no other reason than the 18 ga wires are so tiny and the holes in that fuse box are enormous. I'm not sure they'd hold.

What's the tool on the right in picture 3?

That is my wire stripper! I love that tool. I'm not a "tool guy" but I've had that one since I installed recessed lighting in our home 12 years ago. I can't tell you how many times it's come in handy since then. I just wish it worked on 0 gauge wires!

What's the material for you amp board?

It's 1/2" plywood (not mdf or chipboard). Go easy on me. I know I'll probably take some heat for this. It was a decision I made late one night when I impulsively decided to start the rack. I had it in my garage and didn't want to wait until the next day and go hunting around for plastic. At the end of the day, I'm confident it'll be fine.

Edited May 17, 2014 by IXFE

[Bawshogg]

It will be. It will outlast however long you own the boat, that's for dang sure.

Mine is plywood too. It's too cheap, to easy to work worth and really a non-issue for us around this area that keep boats trailered and in storage.

I have used all sorts of expensive composites material to build them and honestly........it's a waste. I would most likely put in all new equipment and rebuild the whole rack before it fell apart anyways. Don't feel bad for a second.

[shawndoggy]

it's a waste. I would most likely put in all new equipment and rebuild the whole rack before it fell apart anyways. Don't feel bad for a second.

^^^^ that's the 12v junkie talking.

(mine is resin coated 1/2" ply)

[Bawshogg]

That's the truths.

And everywhere you put a screw through that board is an entry point for moisture, resin coated or not.

It just gets to the point where things get way over thought and taken to the 13th floor for no reason . I

Have been victim to it and somehow snapped out of it. I'm just realistic now.

[IXFE]

Dave, you are so many light years ahead of my first install. Great job. Any comments I have are very small quibbles.

1. For the 250A fuse off of the battery, a breaker is cleaner and more convenient (IMHO, and there are those who prefer fuses... but I'm not sure why);

2. you are really brave running black and gray wire because I would mess those up (black is ground, power is colorful in my simple world);

3. I would change the ZLD power run to run a blue sea 5025 power/ground block to the helm, and then run your power and ground for other goodies from that. In that way you can easily add something like a usb port or powered ipod cable or whatever by just adding a couple of ring terminals. It's a little bit more work on the front end (now), but it makes modding later so much easier. PM me and I'll make you a very very good deal on one.

I'm simply using the pieces Exile provided in their Pro kit.

On the wires, I've already trained my brain that gray (i.e. non-black) is power in this case. Exile offers a Standard kit with blue wires for power. But I opted for the Pro kit because a) the cables are 100% copper, b) they weigh twice as much, which is generally a good thing, and c) they were much more flexible than the standard wires.

On the fuse, I'm sure this is one of those things that could be done a million different ways. The problem is, I'm not smart enough about this stuff yet to start calling audibles. For a guy like me, a kit and diagram is a good thing. Maybe on that 247 build I'll switch things up.

On the ZLD wiring, this is one thing Brian was adamant about. He said that most people who have noise or interference in the system it usually stems from drawing power from somewhere other than the battery. Maybe the device you are suggesting is the same as going straight to the battery. I'm not smart enough to know if inserting that thing in the middle could introduce issues.

As a general rule, I'm a "keep it simple" kind of guy... less variables for me at this stage is a good thing.

Edited May 17, 2014 by IXFE

[Bawshogg]

The circuit breaker is a great idea vs the fuse, but with a fuse that big, in a boat that does not have a common ground path, shorts to ground are very tough to achieve and rare. The fuse gets it done just fine. If you blow that 250 amp fuse you are gonna have some real cause for alarm at that point.

Definitely take your ZLD power directly to the distro block . The wiring kit has its own fuse for the power lead to the ZLD also. It's the small white tube looking thing. It has a glass fuse inside of it.

Throwing that blue seas block in under the helm is a good idea as long as it is fed off the same battery distro block as your system. it allows you to add accessories to the system at a later point, under the helm without noise concerns. Its nice to have for future stuff, but you probably want have the boat long enough to really get the benefits of it. I would just forgo it for your first go round.

Edited May 17, 2014 by Bobby Bright

[shawndoggy]

On the ZLD wiring, this is one thing Brian was adamant about. He said that most people who have noise or interference in the system it usually stems from drawing power from somewhere other than the battery. Maybe the device you are suggesting is the same as going straight to the battery. I'm not smart enough to know if inserting that thing in the middle could introduce issues.

As a general rule, I'm a "keep it simple" kind of guy... less variables for me at this stage is a good thing.

As MLA points out, you NEED a fuse between ZLD and battery. That's non-negotiable. I'm just suggesting instead of a fuse, put a fuse block (the 5025), so you can add other accessories. LOL... if you don't do it on this install, you'll do it on the next, trust me.

[IXFE]

That's the truths.

And everywhere you put a screw through that board is an entry point for moisture, resin coated or not.

It just gets to the point where things get way over thought and taken to the 13th floor for no reason . I

Have been victim to it and somehow snapped out of it. I'm just realistic now.

You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that. I was seriously afraid to post about my plywood... thought for sure I'd get blasted. But Cory asked and I cannot tell a lie.

I'm really trying to do this right, without being ridiculous or needing to make dozens of trips all over town to specialty stores. I have a day job too! As it is, I need to go to Home Depot tonight just to get ONE 2" stainless steel screw (I used 1.5" because I was so scared of punching through the side of hull, but one of them wasn't long enough to reach the amp board mounting strips under the factory carpet). I'm actually sitting in the boat right now with my laptop, not working on a dang thing, dreading a trip to the store for one stupid screw. If I wait long enough they'll close I won't have to go. LOL.

All I really want to do is button this boat up and put it on the water. Sigh...

[shawndoggy]

Dave!

I used these on my current amp board:

So much nicer than screws. It's a stud for your amp rack, so just like you can lift the amps on and off the rack, you can lift the rack on and off the side of the hull without needing to repunch a screw every time.

Just a thought (and they have them at home depot too... it's called a hanger bolt)

[shawndoggy]

I'm really trying to do this right, without being ridiculous or needing to make dozens of trips all over town to specialty stores.

All I really want to do is button this boat up and put it on the water. Sigh...

P.S. I told you it was going to take way longer than you thought. If you ever keep a boat through the winter, you'll find that you have plenty of time to geek out on the most minute details of this stuff. And then order stuff on amazon. And wait two days for it to arrive. And then realize you should have ordered 3 instead of 2. etc. etc.

[MLA]

The fuse AT the EQ only protects the EQ. A fuse at the point where the EQ draws its power, in the scheme above, its the B+ distribution block, a fuse is a good idea as its protects the 15 foot B+ wire running from the port locker to under the helm.

[IXFE]

Another topic I generally try to avoid, but since it keeps coming up...

Everybody's so convinced this boat is already sold. I'm not so sure... there's really nowhere to go from here for me. This thing is so legit.

Sometimes I look at my track record and think "you're crazy, dude." But it got me into this boat, and honestly, I'd rather be sitting here than in a G or any other boat for that matter. I'm sure there will be new exciting toys in the future, but how much is too much??

Somebody please remind me that I said all this.

[shawndoggy]

As your future buyer, I'm totally down with you keeping it for the 2015 season (and eating the associated depreciation) too. You can correct your 2014 stereo mistakes next winter.

[IXFE]

Dave!

I used these on my current amp board:

So much nicer than screws. It's a stud for your amp rack, so just like you can lift the amps on and off the rack, you can lift the rack on and off the side of the hull without needing to repunch a screw every time.

Just a thought (and they have them at home depot too... it's called a hanger bolt)

I absolutely love this idea. I wish I knew about it 48 hours ago. I really don't want to take down the amp board now... do you have any idea how hard it was get it in the boat and mounted there by myself (last night at 2am)?

Oh yeah... you do know. LOL

[IXFE]

As your future buyer, I'm totally down with you keeping it for the 2015 season (and eating the associated depreciation) too. You can correct your 2014 stereo mistakes next winter.

Funny, throughout this process I keep thinking about you wondering, "Will this decision be a deal breaker for Shawn?"

Just kidding (but not entirely). ;->

[IXFE]

okay, no more procrastinating... off to Home Depot.

[shawndoggy]

Seriously, it took me about 5-6 weeks this spring to make as much progress as you've already made. My boat is 5 minutes away in storage and all, but really, you've made stellar progress.

[skurfer]

Good work IXFE! How late are they open?

[shawndoggy]

he's got at least 28 minutes by my count.