02 Jeep Grand Cherokee Build (AKA Project Silent Night)

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Well here's what we will do this is a link to the build log album on Photobucket*http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/nkrell11/library/The Jeep Build*everything done will be uploaded here. I will switch to Flickr for everything from here on out.

The dual alt setup is on I haven't wired up the transpo or anything but I did hook up the factory connections to test that everything would spin. All I needed was a slightly smaller idler pulley and a slightly longer belt as I bypassed my AC. I ordered a belt that was too long the first time but the second one I ordered fit like a glove. For anyone wanting to do what I did the parts I purchased were a Continental Elite 4060887 and a Dayco 89175.

So if you guys remember correctly I bought a used stock alt bracket and was going to use it to locate an alt where my AC was. Well I scrapped that idea as it was going to be a pita but I did still use the bracket. After some heavy modifications this is what was left of it.





For some reason the paint didn't cure well even though it sat for 24 hours at least, but I wasn't going to take it back out to repaint it.





Oh also I chose to bypass the AC as it was easier and I don't really need it. Also it made it easier to guess the belt size I'd need.

 

[Hertz Mafia]

Well here's what we will do this is a link to the build log album on Photobucket*http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/nkrell11/library/The Jeep Build*everything done will be uploaded here. I will switch to Flickr for everything from here on out.
The dual alt setup is on I haven't wired up the transpo or anything but I did hook up the factory connections to test that everything would spin. All I needed was a slightly smaller idler pulley and a slightly longer belt as I bypassed my AC. I ordered a belt that was too long the first time but the second one I ordered fit like a glove. For anyone wanting to do what I did the parts I purchased were a Continental Elite 4060887 and a Dayco 89175.

So if you guys remember correctly I bought a used stock alt bracket and was going to use it to locate an alt where my AC was. Well I scrapped that idea as it was going to be a pita but I did still use the bracket. After some heavy modifications this is what was left of it.





For some reason the paint didn't cure well even though it sat for 24 hours at least, but I wasn't going to take it back out to repaint it.





Oh also I chose to bypass the AC as it was easier and I don't really need it. Also it made it easier to guess the belt size I'd need.

Just wrap a string around the pulleys and measure how long it is it get the correct belt size. Then there is no guessing

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Warning this post is likely to be long winded for the small amount of progress that has been made, consider yourselves forewarned.

So the jeep has been pretty neglected for the last month, basically it comes down to not being motivated to work on it after work and doing other things on the weekends. Ive actually done a small amount the last couple of nights. However things seem to be one step forwards and ten*steps backwards. So after getting the dual alts installed I made a bracket to hold my regulator, relay and fuse holder the flimsy piece of sheet metal wasn't going to cut it. Got it wired and installed couldn't get regulator to work. Luckily it was an easy fix. Then things went downhill fast I plugged the factory alt plug into the bottom alt for temporary purposes and it started smoking. On top of that after I got it unplugged my Jeep wouldn't start it would crank and crank but not start. Luckily tonight I pulled all the fuses under the hood and found that my injector fuse was blown so the Jeep runs again I got super lucky there. However my bottom alt is now not charging so I have to take it off and send it in to Mechman to have them look at it. Thinking I will send both of them just in case as I don't want to have any more problems. I plan to still work on the Jeep with the alts off but I probably won't be making leaps and bounds, thanks for checking in.

Also for the record I don't know if one of the alts was bad when I got them used or if something happened to it while it sat on the shelf but obviously something was wrong with it don't want to blame anyone and don't know so it is what it is, hopefully the repairs are cheap.

Stand for stuff.





Lot of wire in a small space, basically how everything will look, needs a little tidying up but you get the idea.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Alright so more updates made a little progress this weekend, all my 2/0 is ran and secured, relays are all wired and the fans are up and running, speaker wires and RCA's are ran, toggle switches for VC1 and volt meter are wired up, amps are mounted, alts are removed and packaged to ship back to Mechman and I think that's about it. I will say this build definitely has the most wiring out of anything I've ever dealt with. More updates soon I hope, hopefully Mechman doesn't charge too much for repairs.

I modified the seat brace so that the wires could run through and hopefully not mess up the carpet so bad.









Money shot....

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

i really doubt you'll have any issues, and you are doing a better job of installing than i would be able to do, but might i propose that it would be a good idea to put some sort of rubber or fabric between any sharp edges of metal you might of cut and the wiring. you're putting a lot of bass in that increases vibration and i really dont want the casing to slowly get cut causing a short. if those cuts are flat you're probably fine, i just obviously didnt feel it myself

there's a lot of good things i want to say but i dont want it to be redundant lol so i just wanted to add that little bit

 

[Buick_66]

i really doubt you'll have any issues, and you are doing a better job of installing than i would be able to do, but might i propose that it would be a good idea to put some sort of rubber or fabric between any sharp edges of metal you might of cut and the wiring. you're putting a lot of bass in that increases vibration and i really dont want the casing to slowly get cut causing a short. if those cuts are flat you're probably fine, i just obviously didnt feel it myself
there's a lot of good things i want to say but i dont want it to be redundant lol so i just wanted to add that little bit

Agree...in both cases. Looks great otherwise.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

So is this thing playing music yet?

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

i really doubt you'll have any issues, and you are doing a better job of installing than i would be able to do, but might i propose that it would be a good idea to put some sort of rubber or fabric between any sharp edges of metal you might of cut and the wiring. you're putting a lot of bass in that increases vibration and i really dont want the casing to slowly get cut causing a short. if those cuts are flat you're probably fine, i just obviously didnt feel it myself
there's a lot of good things i want to say but i dont want it to be redundant lol so i just wanted to add that little bit

You know that thought had crossed my mind and I knew just the thing to grab from work but I totally forgot about it, I really just wanted to get out of there today.

So is this thing playing music yet?

No it won't play until it's done want to save all of my disappointment for the end.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Gettin' closer Nick....can't wait for the end result. Gonna make a youtube vid eventually?

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Ok so I guess it's been too long since I've updated this. Anyhow state finals was this last weekend and I didn't make it lol, surprise surprise. So lets see I got my alts back from mechman really fast it was like two days and they were on their way back I think it was $280 for repairs. I had the bracket sand blasted as the paint looked like crap so I think it looks better now at least in my opinion. I also built out the bottom of the wall and sealed it off with loctite foam. Cut the vent out of the floor that takes heat to the rear to cut down from the bulge caused by wiring and trimmed the carped to fit. Wired up almost every amp I just need like 10 feet of Red Electron Beam 2/0 to finish, somehow I have plenty of black left but no red.*To be honest I think my wiring looks pretty good considering 2/0 isn't the worlds most flexible stuff.*So making wooden trim panels has never been my strong suit but luckily it's just for looks not for sealing. Started on trim fiberglass beauty panels, last Saturday I got resin in my eye so I haven't done anything since then today was the first day I could actually see well enough to go back to work so from now on WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.*











So basically I need to finish the trim panels, do door panels which is going to ****, a little more wiring and tune some amps and that will be it I think. Thinking about putting in for time off for Ruckus and Chill would just have to find a trailer to tow the Jeep as it's about a 14 hour drive. Thanks to*anyone that's still following this.

 

[ChaseinBass]

Ok so I guess it's been too long since I've updated this. Anyhow state finals was this last weekend and I didn't make it lol, surprise surprise. So lets see I got my alts back from mechman really fast it was like two days and they were on their way back I think it was $280 for repairs. I had the bracket sand blasted as the paint looked like crap so I think it looks better now at least in my opinion. I also built out the bottom of the wall and sealed it off with loctite foam. Cut the vent out of the floor that takes heat to the rear to cut down from the bulge caused by wiring and trimmed the carped to fit. Wired up almost every amp I just need like 10 feet of Red Electron Beam 2/0 to finish, somehow I have plenty of black left but no red.*To be honest I think my wiring looks pretty good considering 2/0 isn't the worlds most flexible stuff.*So making wooden trim panels has never been my strong suit but luckily it's just for looks not for sealing. Started on trim fiberglass beauty panels, last Saturday I got resin in my eye so I haven't done anything since then today was the first day I could actually see well enough to go back to work so from now on WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.*










So basically I need to finish the trim panels, do door panels which is going to ****, a little more wiring and tune some amps and that will be it I think. Thinking about putting in for time off for Ruckus and Chill would just have to find a trailer to tow the Jeep as it's about a 14 hour drive. Thanks to*anyone that's still following this.

i Think I said this before, I love your attention to details! This is one of the nicest big build i have ever seen and cant wait to see it playing !

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Def a long process.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Lets see here I put on a sticker, not really a huge fan of sticker bombing the outside of vehicles not sure if I'll use more on the insides like the one I used or not.

Welded on some bolts for frame grounds as there wasn't any good ones.



Attached wires to said bolts to do the big 3 or whatever.



I also made a good amount of progress on my door panels I think they will remain top secret until they're done. Surprises make it better anyways right?

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Alright so I've been slacking on the updates a little bit.

Aside from working on my doors I've been modifying my ash tray to hold my voice coil temp sensor display. Getting sick of fiberglass to be honest but you gotta do it. A little filler and some sanding and this thing will be ready for paint.



Also I think I said my build wouldn't be pretty or have any lights but I guess I lied, I wanted to show off the *** inside my enclosure. I didn't want to do LED strips so I got cubes. It was only $13 for the pair and if the first one fails I have a spare I had to modify the bracket and the Allen wrench to get the cube to mount in my application but at least I got it in there. I tried pointing it at the back of the box first and I wasn't happy with the output so I re aimed it at a 45 degree angle or so. Overall I'm happy with the output. If you don't like the light that's fine, I think it looks better in person for the record.



Stay tuned for door updates, I hope to have them done by the weekend.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I see 4 azzez!