Upgrading/Relocating Fuse Box

mike76c3

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2008
Messages
101
Location
So. Cal.
I replaced the headlight switch in my '76, and no longer have dash lights or tail lights. Research indicates it's likely a bad ground somewhere. I did have to replace a fuse, which was a pain to get out. While checking the fuses, I noticed some corrosion on some of the prongs in the fuse box. I also noticed "trails" that indicate water is leaking down the firewall where the box is located :cussing:

SO, I'm thinking about relocating the fuse box, and while I'm at it, upgrading to "modern"-style fuses. I thought there had been at least one thread where someone did that (or was at least contemplating it), but can't seem to find it. Anyone else recall that, or am I confusing it with something else?

Any other thoughts/suggestions? While I'm tempted to go with a complete package, I'm not up to completely rewiring the car right now.

Thanks,
Mike
 
I think someone used to make those blade fuse adapters but cant find it anymore
 
I think someone used to make those blade fuse adapters but cant find it anymore

No wonder, as the fuse clamps are steel, and they are stamped onto copper/brass based metal for the main leads in behind the fuses, and so the steel based clips/clamps are going to corrode on both ends, and so the fuse gets hot and melts the internal solder on the glass fuse ends.....

even though I went krazy with my fuse block some years ago, I would still recommend tearing that OEM crap out, and replacing with tear out unit using copper/brass wiring .....and blade fuses....

:cussing:
 
I would still recommend tearing that OEM crap out, and replacing with tear out unit using copper/brass wiring .....and blade fuses...

That's what I'm considering. I was just trying to see if someone else had done it to keep from stumbling over any blocks I don't need to stumble over. For instance, I seem to recall something about the connector on the back of the fuse block.

Also, I remember reading a post you made where you talked about extra wire length if the box was relocated to the passenger side of the dash panel, and gauge considerations.

But alas, I can't find the thread(s) with the details as my notes didn't include a link/bookmark.

I'm also thinking I would like the new fuse box to be under the hood somewhere, as it would be upright and easier to access.

Mike
 
I would still recommend tearing that OEM crap out, and replacing with tear out unit using copper/brass wiring .....and blade fuses...

That's what I'm considering. I was just trying to see if someone else had done it to keep from stumbling over any blocks I don't need to stumble over. For instance, I seem to recall something about the connector on the back of the fuse block.

Also, I remember reading a post you made where you talked about extra wire length if the box was relocated to the passenger side of the dash panel, and gauge considerations.

But alas, I can't find the thread(s) with the details as my notes didn't include a link/bookmark.

I'm also thinking I would like the new fuse box to be under the hood somewhere, as it would be upright and easier to access.

Mike

SO many ways to approach this, an old friend from 25? years ago had problems on her '63 vert, and so I went in and replaced the entire block with hard wiring...and blade fuses....no problem, just that back then I was a whole lot more flexible than now....it took about a day to do that.....

MY car has almost followed suit, but the fuse block itself was fine, so I just rewired the heavy links in the 1/2 of the plug design, THAT is all direct wired, some 12 years ago....I left the headlight wiring alone, it still works...

so if you are all that affected by water, maybe find a junkyard fuse/relay/wiring block from some other car, and go under the hood, not that I can imagine where it would go....maybe behind the map pocket, where my computer is on my '72..??? wire length is no problem for a few feet, the trick is to keep the same gauge/thickness on the conductor.....

for instance, some maybe 5 years ago, I took a chop saw to a Mutsobitchy fuse block off some junkyard cars, and so used the good end to power up my motor home/camper.....

needless to say, being a old phardt ET, complete with soldering iron, not much stops me with auto tronics......


:D
 
I moved mine to behind the center console on the passenger side. Its a painless 18 circuit. A regular radio wont fit anymore, but a smaller fusebox might be able to squeeze back there if you need a DIN sized radio
EC9-9A3597B0A838-5276-0000046D7A63449D_zps60dd146c.jpg
 
I moved mine to behind the center console on the passenger side. Its a painless 18 circuit. A regular radio wont fit anymore, but a smaller fusebox might be able to squeeze back there if you need a DIN sized radio
EC9-9A3597B0A838-5276-0000046D7A63449D_zps60dd146c.jpg

There you go, better spot than my offhand comment about behind the map pocket, which is where my FI computer is hung...being a '72 I have those little panels on the center console, could easy hide a fuse block there, especially with those mini blade fuses, you know the ones, that you can't read the rating on without a mag glass......:rofl::skeptic:
 
I left the original in place and working on my 77 (I didn't feel like a total rebuild of the wiring harness the last time I had the interior gutted), but I added an under-hood box salvaged from a Ford product. It has both standard blade fuses and the larger "maxi" size, and several relay positions. It handles almost all of the wiring from the front of the firewall forward, and some of the aftermarket stuff that I've installed. The relay positions are used for the headlights.
 
I left the original in place and working on my 77 (I didn't feel like a total rebuild of the wiring harness the last time I had the interior gutted), but I added an under-hood box salvaged from a Ford product. It has both standard blade fuses and the larger "maxi" size, and several relay positions. It handles almost all of the wiring from the front of the firewall forward, and some of the aftermarket stuff that I've installed. The relay positions are used for the headlights.

HEY BUD, I like the way you think!!!


:nuts:
 
I used the space behind the passenger dashpad for a universal harness when I did my LS swap. I cleaned it up from the initial install here.
Only downside is you need to remove 6 screws if you blow a fuse. But then again, I've never blown a fuse since installing.
 
I replaced the headlight switch in my '76, and no longer have dash lights or tail lights. Research indicates it's likely a bad ground somewhere. I did have to replace a fuse, which was a pain to get out. While checking the fuses, I noticed some corrosion on some of the prongs in the fuse box. I also noticed "trails" that indicate water is leaking down the firewall where the box is located :cussing:

SO, I'm thinking about relocating the fuse box, and while I'm at it, upgrading to "modern"-style fuses. I thought there had been at least one thread where someone did that (or was at least contemplating it), but can't seem to find it. Anyone else recall that, or am I confusing it with something else?

Any other thoughts/suggestions? While I'm tempted to go with a complete package, I'm not up to completely rewiring the car right now.

Thanks,
Mike

Painless makes a 18 circuit block (PN 30003) that mounts right up to the stock firewall disconnect.

0022_zps90c9c151.jpg

001_zpsd0f81a5f.jpg
 
Time to start mapping . . .

The nearby Pick A Part had a 50% off sale last weekend, so I stopped by. In addition to my '76, I also have a '00 Saturn Wagon, so I was thinking if I pulled a Saturn fuse block, the fuses (and relays) would be common to both cars. Plus, Saturn was part of GM, so I'd be keeping it "in the family". Just inside the gate, I found a few Saturns. About 15 minutes (and $20) later, I had this:

thum_5725357718e6231f.jpg

So, at some point in the future, I'll go from this

thum_5725357718d85dad.jpg

to this

thum_5725357718e38734.jpg

Since I don't have windshield wipers installed right now, I had pulled the washer reservoir, which will make a nice spot for the box, right next to the wiring connector on the firewall, and somewhat more accessible.

Now I need to start mapping the old circuits to the new ones. I will also have to wade through the wiring diagrams to make sure I've got the right wires going to the right places. I probably won't get around to putting it in the car for awhile as I need to work up the courage first.

Mike
 
Interesting posts to read. I'm in the process of installing a Lectriclimited repro interior firewall harness in the 70. The reason is that Bubba chopped the stock radio harness up to install a custom stereo and also chopped up the original harness for an aftermarket alarm system. Anyhow with the new harness, the connector/fuse block looks like new. The spade fuses would look a little prettier, but the old fashioned fuses in the new fuse block look good. I have a Vintage Air AC unit mounted behind the passenger's panel. It has it's own extensive wire harness. (I got rid of the stock AC because it takes up way too much room in the engine compartment ..BB with headers...and is thermally very inefficient..the cold air plenum on the stock AC is adjacent to the exhaust manifolds and is uninsulated!)

As in my 68, I'm installing LED's in the shifter console and the instrument console. I'm leaving incandescents in the tach and speedo. I can dim these lights with the stock head light switch reostat. Using LED's elsewhere reduces current loads on the reostat so it won't burn out in the future...The original 68 reostat burnt out. Ordered the LEDs today from Superbrightleds.com

I will be creating some original wire harnesses for the 70, as I did with the 68. I'll need harnesses for the electric fan(s), the electric fuel pump, the HEI and for the Vintage Air. I want to make professional OEM looking harnesses to avoid the Bubba thing. For an individual to make an OEM looking harness it's expensive. Because I have a lot of left over parts from the 68, the 70 will be less expensive. I'll be using Packard Electric Weatherguard connectors. Typically: 2, 4 and 6 pin connectors will be used. Let's say you want to build three 4 pin connectors. I buy from Weytek.com. Typically, to build a 4 pin connector, you first have to make a minimum buy of, say, 20 female connectors, and the minimum buy for male connectors is...maybe 25!! Then you have to buy male connector pins and female connector pins. But the connector pins must be bought in bags/strips of, say, 50 for male and female...and then you have to buy different male/female connector pins depending on the wire gauge! Basically you're going to be buying three different sizes of male/female pins. And then buy a crimping tool for the various pin sizes, and also a pin insertion tool to install the connector pins in the socket....Whew! Is that all...NO. The Weatherguard connectors have rubber seals to seal the wires and sockets to keep out water. You guessed it..the rubber seals are gauge dependent, so you have to buy bags of seals for the different gauges. So to build just 3 four pin connectors, you're going to end up buying hundreds of component parts.

The Vintage Air installation instructions call for the entire unit to be powered from the battery. This is to take advantage of transient surpression from the battery...however the ammeter will interpret all the AC draw current as battery charge current. So, I want to power my Vintage Air from the alternator. I'll build a transient suppression circuit. Already I've bought a ferrite torroid that's 4 3/8 inches in outside diameter and 2 3/4 inside diameter. (~$170). I'll wrap many turns of the Air Con main power line around the core and install large capacitors on the input to the torroid and to the output. The input/output capacitors will be parallel capacitors of a large electroylitic for low frequency transients, a smaller RF silver mica for RF, and a zener for absolutey preventing large voltage spikes.
 
Typically, to build a 4 pin connector, you first have to make a minimum buy of, say, 20 female connectors, and the minimum buy for male connectors is...maybe 25!! Then you have to buy male connector pins and female connector pins. But the connector pins must be bought in bags/strips of, say, 50 for male and female...and then you have to buy different male/female connector pins depending on the wire gauge! Basically you're going to be buying three different sizes of male/female pins. And then buy a crimping tool for the various pin sizes, and also a pin insertion tool to install the connector pins in the socket....Whew! Is that all...NO. The Weatherguard connectors have rubber seals to seal the wires and sockets to keep out water. You guessed it..the rubber seals are gauge dependent, so you have to buy bags of seals for the different gauges. So to build just 3 four pin connectors, you're going to end up buying hundreds of component parts.

I had the same experience with Weaterpack connectors. I could buy them locally at an automotive electric supply but the male connector shells were 5 pack and the female were 3 pack. And you had to buy 100 seals specific to the wire size. I eventually bought a crimper but in the beginning I was hand crimping and soldering.
 
I dunno guys, seems that ever car project, even that motor home, had such a surplus of wiring in it, it was just funny, I have several LARGE boxes of automotive wiring,....mainly GM, I have never bought a connector/fuse block/harness except from a junkyard....I"m a junkyard hotrodder, I slowly weeding down through war surplus spools of wire of various colors, some of them dated from WW2 and Korea...the insulation is just fine....I don't use push on wire end connectors, I solder the wires, like to the high speed blower relay under the hood, and the high power relay running the fans directly off the alt stud with a fuse link in there.....:crutches::cool:
 
Typically, to build a 4 pin connector, you first have to make a minimum buy of, say, 20 female connectors, and the minimum buy for male connectors is...maybe 25!! Then you have to buy male connector pins and female connector pins. But the connector pins must be bought in bags/strips of, say, 50 for male and female...and then you have to buy different male/female connector pins depending on the wire gauge! Basically you're going to be buying three different sizes of male/female pins. And then buy a crimping tool for the various pin sizes, and also a pin insertion tool to install the connector pins in the socket....Whew! Is that all...NO. The Weatherguard connectors have rubber seals to seal the wires and sockets to keep out water. You guessed it..the rubber seals are gauge dependent, so you have to buy bags of seals for the different gauges. So to build just 3 four pin connectors, you're going to end up buying hundreds of component parts.

I had the same experience with Weaterpack connectors. I could buy them locally at an automotive electric supply but the male connector shells were 5 pack and the female were 3 pack. And you had to buy 100 seals specific to the wire size. I eventually bought a crimper but in the beginning I was hand crimping and soldering.

I haven't bought any for a while, but there used to be some decent deals on eBay from resellers who would buy that stuff in bulk and put it together into reasonable kits.
 
I haven't bought any for a while, but there used to be some decent deals on eBay from resellers who would buy that stuff in bulk and put it together into reasonable kits.

I'd actually thought about that also. So far I don't want to be bothered since I still work 40 a week, but If I have to become retarded maybe that might be a good idea. Used to be, years ago, you could buy electrical components at Radio Shack, and here in LA, the mecca was Earl's Surplus store, who was selling off surplus from the many aerospace manufacturing companies in the So Cal area. In the 1970's Earl's was a fascinating place with a lot of quality electrical and hydraulic components, hydraulic tools, electrical test equipment, hydraulic test equipment at cheap prices. Prowling through Earls you never knew what fascinating things you'd find...highly discounted supercharger kits for VW Beetles!..etc. The demise of the aerospace industry ultimately was the demise of Earl's. The tradename Earls still lives on. The business now sells new hydraulic components under their own name. For example, check out summitracing.com and search on earls.

Anyhow, for today, it's not easy to buy electrical components on a small scale. Just to buy different colored 20 gauge wires, I had to go to the internet.
 
I haven't bought any for a while, but there used to be some decent deals on eBay from resellers who would buy that stuff in bulk and put it together into reasonable kits.

I'd actually thought about that also. So far I don't want to be bothered since I still work 40 a week, but If I have to become retarded maybe that might be a good idea. Used to be, years ago, you could buy electrical components at Radio Shack, and here in LA, the mecca was Earl's Surplus store, who was selling off surplus from the many aerospace manufacturing companies in the So Cal area. In the 1970's Earl's was a fascinating place with a lot of quality electrical and hydraulic components, hydraulic tools, electrical test equipment, hydraulic test equipment at cheap prices. Prowling through Earls you never knew what fascinating things you'd find...highly discounted supercharger kits for VW Beetles!..etc. The demise of the aerospace industry ultimately was the demise of Earl's. The tradename Earls still lives on. The business now sells new hydraulic components under their own name. For example, check out summitracing.com and search on earls.

Anyhow, for today, it's not easy to buy electrical components on a small scale. Just to buy different colored 20 gauge wires, I had to go to the internet.

OH MAN, do you bring back olde tyme memories......Empire Electronics was a surplus shop about 5? streets down from the folks house, loved that joint, back in the late 50's.....still have a Norden Bombsight Gyro from there....settin here in the living room only had it some 55? years now.....Goes with a whole huge bronze/brass collection of nautical antiques.....from the golden ages.....including a New England Whaling spear.....all for sale, BTW PM if interested.....
 
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