• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Fuse block upgrade

Share this page

When I re-wired my Bugeye, I still had my old Fiat 124, so I used the fuse block from it which has 10 fuses. I have been very happy with having so much more protection throughout the system. I created my own wiring harness, so I was able to fuse everything in such a way that a blown fuse does not wipe out everything the way the original used to!
 
I had been studying general aviation maintenance and got hold of some circuit breakers from a Cessna. Push button type. As in the Cessna, they are accessable from the cockpit.
 
Any (real) electronics store can sell you a fuse block, with any number of places, to take the same kind of fuses (AGC or 3AG) that the car now uses. You can also get blocks that take the more modern kind that cars use today. I don't think these are any better, just less expensive. I'd avoid the fuses that are ceramic cylinders, pointed at both ends, with a lead element on the outside--just too fragile.

I have plans to make this mod myself someday, adding extra fuses for the lights. Because of the wiring location, some may have to be located in the passenger compartment; not sure though. Shouldn't be difficult, just no time right now. The fact that I'm currently in Helsinki, and won't be home for a month, doesn't help....!
 
I did this upgrade when I swapped the generator for the altenator. I seperated many of the individual circuits for seperate fusing as follows:

A) Headlamps (with relay)
B) Tail Lamps
C) Horn / Parkign Lights
D) Radio
E) ??? I forget; used a relay)

Got it from JC Whitney - an good upgrade. It's a low cost item and added soem piece of mind (& newer style fuses).

Good Luck -

Geo
 
I cannibalized an 80's Olds station wagon of its wiring harness, relays, and fuse panel. I pretty much took everything from the dash forward. I also grabbed some more relays, sockets and wiring out of a 80's Chevrolet Celebrity. Lots of great stuff all to be had for 30 bucks on a lovely 92 degree summer afternoon in a wrecking yard spent with a pair of wire cutters.

I ran the GM fuse box ( a nice addition, especially since GM actually labels their circuits) inside the vehicle and ran the harness in the outboards (inside the left fender) for a cleaner look. Nice GM connectors and heavier gauge wiring- I even followed GM color code. I also run H4's and an electric fan so I also decided to add relays for the headlights as well as the fan (and also put one in for an electric fuel pump).

Those original Delco relays are also a lot better than the relays you can buy now- most of the newer relays are a two piece casing, which makes them susceptible to moisture.
 
Back
Top