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Big Wire Harness Under Center Console on 2000 Explorer XLT

puzzaa

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October 9, 2016
Messages
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City, State
Maryland
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 Explorer
Underneath of the center console in front of cup holders and under the hvac controls there is a big rectangle wire harness that plugs in and is bolted down. Does anyone know what this is for? I want to tap into it because I needed a 12v power source. It seems to be connected to the hvac system because one of the wires looses 12v when you turn on the blower fan. Are all the wires just for hvac and/or the rear radio control panel? I can get a pic if you need a reference of what it looks like. Many thanks
 



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One thing you could do is use a multimeter to check continuity on that wire. Pull the fuse out of the suspected circuit then measure between the fuse box output contact and the wire.

Make sure the wire doesn't read 12V at that point, so you know you have the right fuse pulled and aren't just measuring between a different circuit and getting continuity because both are still connected to the battery.

Something else you can do is turn on everything (that you'd ever use at once) on that circuit and measure current across the fuse box contacts to see how much margin the circuit has to power something additional. In some cases if the wire hasn't been downsized you might be able to put a little larger fuse in to compensate (consult a wire gauge vs current chart) though it goes against the design intentions of providing more protection by blowing sooner if anything is using more current than it should.

If the tap doesn't need to turn off with ignition, I'd probably just tap into the lighter outlet or auxiliary faux-ligher outlet as they are 25A/20A respectively (may vary by model year) without nothing else on their circuits AFAIK. The rear blower motor appears to have only a 7.5A fuse.

Heh, I didn't answer your question. There is another rear control panel circuit that takes a 7.5A fuse... guess I'm not going to answer your question, sure seems like that wire bundle would be for everything in the rear console. ;) Some vehicles with the exterior lamp out indicator/feature would have a sensor box with the light circuit wiring there.
 






The full console models have a power outlet circuit in the console. That large connector under the center of the dash goes to the console, for the many circuits in it, the rear AC controls/fan, the CD changer, message center, and the 12v outlet. That power wire is on a 25a fuse I think, or 20a at least.

Dash-Console connector .JPG
 






^ I'm pretty sure that pic is the back of my computer desk, not an Explorer.:laugh:
 






It's actually the back of the dash, laying on my old 93 Explorer rear carpet, over the front of a 94 Mustang. It made a decent work bench to rewire the dash to include the ARC shocks etc.
 






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