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TR6 Classic Technologies Fuse Panel for TR6

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Brosky

Brosky

Great Pumpkin
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I have obtained one of the Classic Technologies Fuse Panels that has been made by Marc Goldblatt of the TR6 Sealing Block fame. Classic Technologies

I met Marc in CT several years ago when I bought my sealing block from him and we've talked from time to time since then. I have recommended that product on my website for several years. From a post that I had made in another thread, I stated that I wanted to replace my fuse panel and actually had found some very inexpensive covered panels, but they were not really power units and consequently not what I truly wanted. Marc read my posts and contacted me with an offer to review a new product of his.

Before I go any further, I will state that I have NO financial interest in this product, nor do I lend my endorsement to any product or service that I do not firmly believe in and use on my own car. I think that anyone who has looked at my website and knows me personally, knows that with the exception of one product which I had several very bad experiences with, I never knock anyone's product, but neither do I praise mediocrity for any reason. So enough for my disclaimer.

My search was for a new fuse panel that would allow me to have additional outlets to break up my wiring and get away from the very small Lucas box on the inner fender well. It has served it's purpose well, but every time that I think about adding an accessory, I have to decide what to piggyback on to and I don't care for that method of wiring in a car.

So, I get an email from Marc asking if I would consider evaluating his box and at that point I had not really seen much about it. I knew of the sealing block and how well that worked, so I said why not, with the agreement that there was no promises until I actually read the manual and saw the unit first hand. We agreed that if I didn't like it, I was free to comment about what I didn't like as well a what was good about it. Another key factor in agreeing to do this was that my wiring is in very good shape in my car, as anyone can see from my website and the pictures therein.

So, I now have the box and here we go. I am VERY impressed with the overall unit quality and construction. It is very heavy for a small package, due to the stamped metal cover and base plate as well as the heavy duty PC board inside. The box has been designed for a very easy conversion of an existing wiring harness in a TR6 and comes with complete instructions for what has to be done for each and every circuit. I have read the manual through once and plan to do so again, but I cannot imagine this conversion process taking more than one day, perhaps even an afternoon if you have everything ready ahead of time and have a good set of wiring and soldering skills. And by that I mean being able to cut and spice wires and solder the ends of open wires before inserting in the screw down lugs.

In my opinion, this is a first class fuse panel that can make the wiring in a TR6 a lot more dependable and eliminate a lot of potential future problems and expenses when it comes to adding high wattage headlamps, driving lights and additional accessories that need a dedicated power source. I recently added a headlamp relay package to mine when I installed the halogen headlamps and I can now combine that wiring into this panel. Not that there is anything wrong with what I have. It is a fine, top quality package, but this will allow me to put everything under one roof, so to speak.

So here are my pros: Great quality construction, ample circuits available, exceptionally easy to read manual and instructions of how to convert a TR6 to this product.

And the only con: The product does not currently come with an optional complete wiring harness, but I understand that Marc is working on that. And there are a few suggested wire additions that can be made easily enough, but those I felt should also be in the kit. Marc is working on that as well.

So there it is. I do plan to buy this unit and I'm hoping for some warm days to get it installed before the driving season. I have included some pictures of the unit below and will add a few pics of the documentation as soon as I have a few minutes to get it done.

classic001.jpg


classic002.jpg


classic003.jpg


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classic005.jpg


classic006.jpg


classic007.jpg
 
Wow, Nifty! This upgrades the Triumph to what you find on modern vehicles. I wonder fi I could do this to my GT6? Of course, I doubt that Mr. Lucas would approve :devilgrin:
 
That's what I think Tony. It's sitting here on my desk, but it's way to cold and damp to go out and start cutting wires at this time of year.
 
Tom , I think it's made to replace the stock unit.
 
While it appears to be a very nice piece of equipment, I prefer to have the relays external. One of the things I like about my TR6 is the ability to fix most things on the side of the road in the event of a break down. This is a step away from that.

Sam
 
SamL said:
While it appears to be a very nice piece of equipment, I prefer to have the relays external. One of the things I like about my TR6 is the ability to fix most things on the side of the road in the event of a break down. This is a step away from that.

Sam
Click to expand...

Think of it this way Sam: this is one of those parts that you won't need to fix on the side of the road. Also looks like the relays are plug in type so they can be replaced if ever needed.

I like it because you can use as little or as much as you need, either for hooking up some new lights, stereo amp, etc, or as a complete replacement for the Lucas unit.
 
I see no evidence that the relays are plug-in.

I also don't like TV's with built in DVD players or DVD/VHS combo players. The more parts you put into one unit, the more likely that you will have to throw away good parts with the bad.
When the speedometer failed on my modern car, guess what. They had to replace the whole dash board.

I don't subscribe to the idea that just because it is modern, it is better. I did automotive electronics for over 15 years, and I can assure you that some of the older way of doing things are better. They just are not cost effective.

Kind of a broad statement that this part will never fail.

Sam
 
Just curious, but for the electonically illuminated folks on the board, what are the two components on the circuit board between the relays?(diodes,resistors?) And what are the thoughts on intended purpose?
 
Sam,

Sorry if my delivery is a little blunt. That's just me.

"I see no evidence that the relays are plug-in."

I think you are jumping to a conclusion without research. I saved the 6th picture, opened it in Office Picture Manager, rotated and zoomed in on the relay with the part number. I cannot clearly read all the characters, but I can make out V23374 A1601. The third grouping of characters starts with X but I can't make out the rest.
Even so a quick search on Google shows there are relays with V23374 A1601 as the first two groupings of characters in the part number. For example a 12 Volt 30 amp Tyco micro relay V23374-A1601-X003
See;
https://www.pcsconnectors.com/micro-relays.aspx

This may or may not be the relays used in this unit, but this may be part of a family of relays whose part numbers begin with V23374 A1601. As you can see in the link this is a plug in relay.

Also in the pictures there is a distinct difference in materials between the top of the relay and the botton. This could be the relay mounted into a socket.

I see more evidense that these are plug in relays than there is evidense they are soldered in place.

"They had to replace the whole dash board."

Another comment regarding the speedometer in your modern car. I've replaced lights in 2 GM gage clusters and replaced a Honda gage cluster. Both gage clusters used a flex circuit to power and actuate the gages and various idiot and illuminating bulbs. ( For those who are not familiar with flex circuits. They are basically a flexible circuit board. ) These clusters are a plug and play module. When one gage or circuit goes bad it is easier to replace the unit than to try and repair the individual circuit or gage. Correct me if I am wrong. I suspect the gage cluster was replaced to fix your faulty speedo. Not the entire dash. Other than having to replace the illuminating light bulbs these clusters are pretty reliable and cool. I don't know for certain, but I'll guess the latest clusters use LED lighting to eliminate the replacement of bulbs.
By the way, the reason I replaced the cluster in my Civic was to gain a tach. All the wiring is in the harness and plug. It was simply a matter o finding a cluster from a higher level Civic, remove a few pieces of the dash that surround the cluster then unplug the none tacj cluster and plug in the tach cluster. Plus I got rid of the automatic transmission gear selector indicator. (I plan to swap the automatic out for a 5 speed)

You can see the back side of a modern gage cluster here;
https://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/mustangtuning/9698-simco-gauge-cluster-10.jpg

Compare it to an the gage cluster from a 1970 Chevelle and you can understand the reason they are so common in modern cars.

https://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/3202/2561/33003780018_large.jpg

Ricers, or Japanese car enthusiasts (SP?) play with this stuff all the time. They change the color of the lights, swap clusters, tweak or tune something to personalize their ride. On this link you can see information on trouble shooting the gage cluster from an RX7.

https://www.negative-camber.org/crispyrx7/dash.htm

I doubt that most mechanics have the skill set to repair or replace individual components on a circuit board. It is easy to damage the circuit unless you are used to doing this type of work. My guess is for liability and expediancy the entire gage cluster is replaced when a major component goes bad. (ASE certified mechanics are an exception)

One of these days I want to research the possibility or replacing the dull gage lights in my TR6 with some brighter LEDs. I'll post it on the forum if I ever get around to researching the LEDs.

BOBH
 
TR4nut said:
Just curious, but for the electonically illuminated folks on the board, what are the two components on the circuit board between the relays?(diodes,resistors?) And what are the thoughts on intended purpose?
Click to expand...

Look like diodes.

Sometimes diodes are placed across relays. This, I have read, is to protect other electronic components in the system from the voltage spike that occurs when the relay is de-energized. The diodes are installed reverse-biased relative to the system polarity so that it doesn't affect the relay operation.

The magnetic field surrounding the relay coil collapses quickly when the relay is turned off. This quick collapse induces a high voltage in the coil. The polarity of the induced voltage is opposite the applied voltage, so the diode is forward-biased to the induced voltage and provides a path for the current made by the voltage spike to "chase its tail" and dissipate without harming anything. If you just ran a wire across the coil (no diode) for this purpose, the wire would short out the coil, but the diode allows the coil to work normally.

These are used in aircraft relays alot to save the avionics from damage. One bright homebuilder asked the avionics manufacturers if their equipment was really hurt by the spike. The answers were that old radios were, but the modern ones are not, and the diodes are still used.

I probably got something wrong here, but others will bail me out, I'm sure.
 
PeterK said:
https://classic-technologies.com/fuse-box.php#specifications
https://classic-technologies.com/pdfs/Classic-Technologies-Brochure.pdf

YEEEOWWWW $390
Click to expand...

This seems like a nice product but in my opinion a bit of an overkill for a TR. I mean, how many fused circuits could you possibly need? Concerning the price, custom products and low level production often means higher prices. That said, for about $100 you can get something like this. Eight fused circuits should be more than enough for a car that came from the factory with three or four!
genericfuseblock.jpg


Here's the link: https://www.snsclassics.com/wiring.html
 
Twosheds said:
I probably got something wrong here, but others will bail me out, I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Nope, looks to me like you nailed it. Without the diode, the inductive kickback can reach 100 volts or more; and comes at the worst possible time if the relay is being controlled by a simple switch (or another relay). The contacts are just barely opened, so the kickback causes a spark that can eventually erode the contact material.

Modern cars frequently have solid-state circuits controlling relays, and the kickback can damage the controlling transistor. Generally the transistor is protected well enough anyway, but the diode adds a "first level defense".

BTW, many inexpensive relay sockets also incorporate a diode across the relay coil. It's probably a good idea, but makes the socket "polarity sensitive" (meaning you need to pay attention to which coil lead is which, and you'll get a short if the car's ground polarity is inadvertantely reversed). For my "brake and turn on the same filament" project, I had to cut away the diodes. Since my circuit always has a relatively low resistance to ground, the diodes are irrelevant anyway.
 
SamL said:
I just paid $30 bucks for a new fuse box identical to the one that has already lasted 35 years in my car.
Click to expand...
That's basically the way I went; using a TR6 type fuse box for additional fuses on my TR3.
 
I wound up going with Dan Master's set-up from Advance Auto Wire. Since I had to replace my wiring harness anyway, it just seemed like the correct way to go. He uses a lot of relays to handle the heavier load circuits rather then running them through the switches. I was adding a few things such as electric fan and 10SI alternator and his system was set up for that. It was a lot of work installing all the wiring, but I'm very happy with the end result.

I feel that if you're going with a new wiring harness and don't care about the concours thing, a more modern system that offers some versatility and relays to handle the higher amp loads is the way to go.

BTW, I heard that the new guy that took over from Dan wasn't shipping. Does anyone know what happened there?? It would be a shame to see a nice system designed for our cars fall through the cracks.
 
Art- as of now he is caught up and has of now gone full time with the business. Last order took a couple of weeks was the word.
 
I think my post was deleted so I will just answer some of the questions asked.

All the components, relays, flasher, fuses are "plug in" on this module. These are components that are designed to be the inexpensive weak links in an automobile that fail so other more expensive components don't. So they have to be replaceable.

The relays used are no secret. They are top quality Tyco 12V 30amp relays that you can get anywhere if one fails. From the link posted, you can see that they can be replaced for $7 and not $50 or more for the old style relays.

The diodes on this fuse box prevent the hazard indicator light from flashing when the turn signals are flashing.

Marc Goldblatt
 
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