Simple power distribution "block"

So my fiancée has a mish-mosh of add-on electronics (gauges, boost controller, etc) that were not wired up in a very healthy way. Replacing the turbo timer the other day ended up cutting off power to half the gauges.

This presents a good opportunity to clean things up a little bit, but I'm having a little trouble finding a really simple way to run a single line from the battery to under the dash and then split that out 4-5 ways.

Looking at this junction block it seems like you could just put a bunch of rings on the same stud, but somehow that seems goofy.

Does this make any sense? Basically just need a simple solution that is electrically solid (not tapping a single wire 5 times) to get one line of power to four or five devices.

A simple 4 fuse add on panel would be the best way. Allows you to run power to one side and pull 4 fused circuits off it on the other side. Available at almost any FLAPS or chain store for less than 10 bux. We always use them to wire up all our accessories in the BABE cars.

go to boneyard and find an 88-95 chevy or gmc fullsize truck, pull the cover under the hood on firewall that says fuel pump relay and power distribution block, there ya go.

take a 14mm socket for the nuts holding the terminals on and a 10mm for the two screws holding it to the firewall. they are perfect and i install them on every car i build.

your local napa has an assortment available to them.

patgizz wrote: go to boneyard and find an 88-95 chevy or gmc fullsize truck, pull the cover under the hood on firewall that says fuel pump relay and power distribution block, there ya go. take a 14mm socket for the nuts holding the terminals on and a 10mm for the two screws holding it to the firewall. they are perfect and i install them on every car i build.

What might one of these look like?

In a similar fashion I pulled some nice ~135 Amp fuse holders from 97+ for pickup trucks when I wired in my 3G alternator in a vintage ford.

i'm sure every different car manufacturer has had them somewhere along the line, but pretty much every GM car and truck built since at least the mid 70's will have a distribution block under the hood somewhere that will work.

my 74 Monte Carlo had a nice convenient junction block right next to the brake booster that they used to get power from the alternator to the inside of the car- you could stack as many ring terminals on the stud as you wanted to.. just take a 5/16" socket to remove the nut, pile another wire on it, and put the nut back on. the housing even had a few different spaces where the wires could poke out and not allow the wire to twist as you tightend the nut back down.

if you are looking for a high amp junction block, then look under the hoods of late 80's-90's Caprice cops cars- they had a large block with a big cable right off the battery that you need a 15mm socket to get apart, and it is encased in a nifty red plastic housing that latches shut so you can't drop a wrench on it and make an accidental spark show. those cars also have a super spiffy add on fuse block under the dash with either 6 or 8 circuits on them. the whole thing is self contained and wired into another junction block under the dash, so you don't even need to cut any wires to get it out. i think it's just a couple of screws with 8mm heads on them and it's out...

Radio shack. Get two barrier strips and some jumper strips. Run power to one, ground to the other. Jump all the terminals on each. You now have 7 free terminals for power and ground each.

It'll cost you about $8.

That's what i just did in my car. It's great. I can install a gauge in literally 5 minutes.

the chevy truck one is a plastic rectangle block that is insulated from the body. about 1.5" tall and 5" long with 5 terminals on it.

on my belair i have the battery in the trunk. the #2 cable from trunk to the starter, then off the starter lug i have a #4 up to the junction block. then all my power is drawn from there, alternator lead goes there, etc... works great, i will look for a pic

I'm looking for a power block, relay enabled, than turns on once my motorcycle tallight is on.

here is the chevy truck one i refer to - to the left(right) of the engine on the firewall