dratted fuse 5

[chesters6]

been having lots of trouble with the corrosion on fuse 5 ,one day it works after a good clean then its back to overheating and melting.
took the drastic but long overdue task of updating at least the troublesome connectors in the fuse box.

i spotted a very nice little fusebox in halfords (4 fuse version £7.99) that uses the less troublesome but alien blade fuses.
had a bit of thought first there are inline versions in many sizes but should another fuse start getting the same problems it would be back to square one.
i plumped for the enclosed 4 fuse version in pic one
for such a big car i was going to mount it in the engine bay but surprisingly there's little room where you can safely drill holes blindly in the firewall so i did the second best but much easier option of mounting it on the passenger side panel close to the fusebox.

now the wiring is pretty simple each connector has a encapsulated feed wire going to the rear (pic 3 with meter probe in it)and the load wires in front of it ,in the case of the DRL theres two .pic 2
i decided to join both of them together with a proper spade joiner but not having a 2 to one i had to cut one feed wire and crimp it to the fitting,you could if you wish split the feed and use two fuses for each load wire its up to you.
make sure your wire can handle the load ,in this case i used 17amp wire which ofcourse is far higher than the fuse can handle so as intended the fuse will fail first.

after joining the two loads together i fitted an extension wire to carry it to the new fuse box and then for safety the complete connection was shrink tubed ,dont use to much heat you dont want the sharp bits coming through the tubing ,(pic 4)
the feed wire was simple connected to its extension with a shielded male spade its fuse box end with a female red connector (red to remind me its the feed but it doesent really matter which end is connected to either connector on the fuse box fuse holder) .the Loads extension was terminated in a blue female spade.

simply fit the feed to the fusebox ,fit the load wire to the opposite spade and hey presto its done ,put the side panel back in (its only held in place by the knee lining and the carpet and the door trim ,theres no unscrewing needed ) pop up the knee lining which hides the fusebox (you could mount it lower but my mrs has clumsey feet!)

switch on and the green light comes back on hopefully for ever ,ps i use a 5 amp fuse but i have put in the vacant fuse holders 7.5 amp one just in case


PS if anyone has a spare metal "lock" thing that sits in the side panel that locks the fusebox cover in place (turn screw fine in the cover) could i buy it please

pps anyone know what the unused yellow lead is for i presume its fuel pump or something else unneeded it was just lying behind the side wall

i can now rewire my cd magazine to a spare fuse instead of the inline one you may spot dangling in the back ground on purple wire


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