Expeditionr

This article is actually part three in a series involving electrical upgrades to your FJ Cruiser. For those interested in adding a second battery to your FJ Cruiser, I suggest checking out part one, which details the installation of a Dirty Parts dual battery system. The second part provides detailed instructions and photos on how to add an auxiliary fuse panel to your FJ. The current article makes up part three in the series, and will cover the addition of 12-volt outlets to your FJ. In its stock configuration, the FJ Cruiser only provides its passengers with a single 12v outlet. The addition of more outlets gives passengers the ability to plug in extra accessories such as phones and portable media devices.

I spent more than a reasonable amount of time researching and experimenting in order to determine the best location for aftermarket outlets. It sounds a little strange I suppose, but any mod that requires drilling or otherwise modifying the FJ’s stock configuration, normally leaves me to pause a bit. For those keeping up with my previous articles, you’ll note that I prefer to keep modifications as close to stock, in appearance, as possible. It’s about blending in and avoiding the “sore thumb” syndrome. Luckily, there were quite a few folks who paved the road before me, so I was able to view photos of outlets installed in a variety of different locations within the FJ before I began my own 12v installation. When all was said and done, I came up with a perfect outlet location for my needs – the rear vertical face of the center console.

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This is technically part two of a series of articles on upgrading your FJ Cruiser’s electrical system. Part one discusses the addition of a second deep-cycle battery to support additional fuse panels and other accessories. The main idea behind the second battery system is to isolate all the aftermarket accessories as much as possible from the stock wiring. In addition, a deep-cycle battery is much better equipped to deal with low-draw accessories such as a fridge because it will drain much slower than a traditional starting battery. Overall, if you plan on running more than a few minor electrical accessories, a secondary battery system is highly recommended. However, even if you are sticking with the factory battery setup, the general concepts of this article should still apply.

In my case, since I already have an auxiliary battery in place, I’ll be integrating this new fuse panel into the secondary system. Preparations and requirements for adding a fuse panel may vary from application to application. A lot of the details depend on how much amperage you plan to draw. Any large-draw accessories, such as off-road lights, will end up using a separate system that ties more directly to the battery using a series of relays and switches. The intent behind the fuse panel is to support a large assortment of low-power accessories like music and movie players, cellular phones, and portable GPS devices.

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In preparation for a multitude of electrical devices within the FJ Cruiser, one of the next logical steps for me, was to upgrade the existing electrical system components.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with the stock setup as is.  But with only a single 12v power port, the FJ lacks the ability to support multiple devices without potentially overloading the stock circuit.  So my plan for this particular upgrade was to engineer a system that allowed me to physically separate any add-on electrical ports and fuses from the stock electrical system, as well as add support for more demanding devices, such as an electric winch.

For safety reasons, I should point out that any modifications to the stock electrical system have the potential for causing harm to either the vehicle or the passengers within or both.  Building a secondary electrical backup system for accessories does require some knowledge of electrical properties and systems.  If you are not comfortable with this type of modification, I highly recommend taking your vehicle to a professional installation shop to have the work done.

That being said, it was time to start digging up all the necessary parts.  I actually began my research with the intention of piecing the system together bit by bit.  Given the complexity of what I required, I figured this was the only way to achieve my end goal.  So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Dirty Parts, a small off-road parts supplier in southern California, was offering a complete dual-battery electrical upgrade kit specifically designed for the FJ Cruiser.

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As promised, I’ve compiled quite a few additional videos covering some of the many great features available on the FJ Cruiser platform. Most of the videos are short but they do provide a good visual demonstration in addition to describing each feature. Not all of the options featured in the videos are available in the base level configuration; some require one or more upgrade packages. But each of the upgrade packages offers a number of additional options that may also be of interest to a potential buyer. For more details on upgrade packages, simply contact your local Toyota dealership. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to fill you on the details. Without further ado, the video links I promised can be found below.

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