Amazon: Stubby fuse to bladed fuse

[JDW3696]

Hello. I've bought a bladed fuse holder to replace the stubby fuse in my Amazon but am unsure where to connect the wires from the blade fuse holder to the fuse box. Looking at pictures it looks like top left and second row connector on the right. I can't find exact details anywhere. Could anyone advise please.Thanks in advance.
Joe

[142 Guy]

You would really need to provide a picture of your replacement fuse holder. Are you replacing just one fuse in the Amazon fuse box or have a new holder that replaces all the fuses? There are multiple ways that you can skin this cat.

[JDW3696]

Just the stubby fuse. I've looked at bending the connections to put a bullet fuse in but decided to by a bladed fuse holder to try and connect that in place of the stubby one.
Thanks

[JDW3696]

Like this

[jpws]

Hello. I've bought a bladed fuse holder to replace the stubby fuse in my Amazon but am unsure where to connect the wires from the blade fuse holder to the fuse box. Looking at pictures it looks like top left and second row connector on the right. I can't find exact details anywhere. Could anyone advise please.Thanks in advance.
Joe

It depends what you are trying to achieve. Are you aiming to replace all ceramic fuses with blade fuses or just one, or something else? Without more information we are unable to help.

[JDW3696]

Hello. Just the stubby fuse for cheaper more readily available one.
Thanks

[jpws]

Hello. Just the stubby fuse for cheaper more readily available one.
Thanks

I presume you mean the 25AMP "dumpy fuse" (as Brookhouse Volvo calls it, part no 11434 https://www.classicvolvoparts.co.uk/...page=H_Fusebox) which is located in position 1 of the fuse box. The wiring to fuse 1 should be a thick red wire on both sides. You should install your in-line blade fuse holder from one side of the fuse box to the other, not disturbing any other connections, i.e. all the wires connected on both sides of fuse 1 need to be connected after you have installed the in-line fuse holder.

If you look at a wiring diagram you will see that the feed from the ignition switch connects to fuse 1 and to fuse 2. You can find wiring diagrams at https://volvoamazonpictures.se/wordpress/?page_id=143 3 Electrical system. Ensure that you do not disconnect the feed from the igntion to fuse 2.

Hope this helps.

[142 Guy]

If you want to replace the 25 amp fuse, you can do exactly what has been done in the photo you attached. The supply to the 25 amp fuse should be key switched so as long as the key is off you should be able to do the work without fear of a zap. However, since your car seems to have suffered from previous owner electrical creativity disconnect the ground terminal on the battery post while doing the work - just to be safe.

[Derek UK]

The top right and second right are joined together. It's not unusual for the rivets there to become loose. Clean to remove any corrosion and solder the joints. See SWEM. Do this even if you use the dumpy fuse.

[142 Guy]

If you want to improve reliability, I would be inclined to completely replace the Amazon fuse block with something that is a little more resistant to dirt and liquids. There are lots of options including this item which has 6 positions; but, they are available with 4 positions.

https://allbatterysalesandservice.com/battery-doctor-6-way-ato-atc-fuse-block-individually-circuited-30111

It won't look exactly original if that is important; but, it will look more original and less like an afterthought than that add on in-line fuse holder. Having 6 fuse positions would never be a bad thing since it would allow you to split some of the shared loads on to separate fuses or provide fuse positions for future additions such as fog lights or a separately controlled headlight relay or .......

[Ron Kwas]

Joe;

As infrequently as F1 blows (if ever!), "cheaper (and) more readily available" is just not enough of a reason to change to something else imo! The cost of a blade FuseHolder and fuses is likely more than the cost of a couple of spare 7 X 17mm 25A (even at $1 ea.) to keep on-board. You've already shown how to connect it, if you insist on making this mod for that reason alone...

I don't agree so much with Derek's explanation of rivets loosening...and that's part of the explanation of the issue...invisibility! Surface corrosion on the terminals creeps its way between the riveted terminal stack and even though they remain tight...


Picture source: http://www.sw-em.com/gastight.htm

...there is typically no looseness evident the electrical connection between terminals even though adjacent terminals in the stack develop Resistance. The only hints of its presence is by inspection: green oxidation in the visible areas, and by function: slightly and ever increasing glowing Amp Indicator when turning ON Blower (see: http://www.sw-em.com/AMP_Indicator_O...er%20Condition ). Presence of those hints and symptoms would be a valid reason for action at the FB...and note that adding the blade type FH does not address this corrosion or symptoms!

As far as a remedy, only disassembly of the stack gets access to this hidden corrosion, and a thorough removal/cleaning followed by reassembling and soldering the terminals together into a monolithic assembly permanently eliminates this issue.

See also: http://www.sw-em.com/Fuses,%20Alloca...es_and_Options

Cheers

[Derek UK]

Happy New Year Ron. I've noted that the #2 right can become loose and swivel. Yes the tab is loose rather than the rivet perhaps but the looseness does make for a high resistance joint. Doing the solder job on the fuse box does usually reduce that minor glow of the ignition light when the electrics are loaded with lights and fans etc. A very small glow is nothing to worry about, just a quirk of the Bosch circuit. Some don't get it at all.

[Ron Kwas]

Derek;

Rivets don't usually become loose, but they surely can (especially if someone has really wrenched on the terminals while installing or removing), and if you have run across such a situation that would certainly be a way less than optimum connection.

Were in agreement here...but its not necessarily quirky...the slight glow is normal, more visible in dark conditions, and absolutely typical because it doesn't take much in the way of a voltage drop to get the indicator lamp glowing (and some just might be more sensitive than others!)...and even the VDrop across the FuseBlock can often be enough...the ideal condition is to minimize VDrop with minimum R terminal and fuse connections...that way, most of the available voltage is dropped across the load, as it should be!

HNY right back!

[142 Guy]

I don't have a horse in this race because I have a 142 and with the 140 series Volvo finally figured out that putting a minimally water resistant fuse box (you still have the cover - correct?) in the engine compartment was not a good idea. Relocating the fuses to the center console area mostly fixed the environmental contamination issue.

However, I admit to being no fan of the bayonet / festoon / torpedo fuses. I had an electrical issue in my 142 that I had trouble sorting out. The fuse on the problem circuit was not blown and I had voltage on both sides of the fuse's little end caps. After much teeth gnashing I removed the fuse on the problem circuit and discover a nice circular cut in both metal ends of the fuse where the ends fit into the little holes in retaining tabs. I don't know whether this was fretting due to vibration, galvanic action or metal transfer due to the load current (really slow arc welding). On checking the remaining fuses, the fuses that carried little load or were only infrequently used seemed to be less affected so I am of the opinion that the problem was current related.

If you are going to stick with the festoon style fuse panel, hew to Mr. K's general advice about cleaning and the application of zinc bearing grease. Based upon my experience, I would add that you should treat the festoon fuses as a consumable and replace them every 5 to 10 years depending on your conditions.

My 142 now has a sealed under hood fuse and relay box (salvaged from a Lexus 300) with nice ATC fuses for all the mission critical stuff. I still have the festoon fuse panel in the dash; but, with the exception of the signal lights all of the critical functions have been relocated to more reliable electrical supplies.

[Ron Kwas]

142guy;

I suggest the circular holes were cut by the last owner doing the "simply twist the fuse in the holder" trick a few times too often with the ever present (when untreated) corrosion products acting as an effective abrasive and the holes (and non-contact) being the final result...a one-time application of ACZP would have prevented that too! PO Engineering strikes again!

Cheers and HNY!