Replacing Old Fuse Block W/Pics

I know there has been discussion on this before but when I did mine I took some pictures along the way and thought I'd share with the group.

As stated by many on here the first thing you want to do on one of these is take out that fuse panel from hell. I had way too many cases of power just dissappearing until I looked at one of those glass fuses just right. So I ordered a stab fuse block and put it in. First a few notes. Make sure it is a 4 in and 4 out. While I have seen others work it definately seems easier to me. Second I would recommend going with the 6 or 8 block. I ordered the 4 before I really thought about and have no slots for spares or expansion. Anyways, on with the steps.

Tools needed:
4 rolls electrical tape, different colors
wire cutters
crimp tool
female wire connector ends (the slide on thingys)
fuse block
patience and about 30 mins

Step 1
Disconnect battery first


Step 2
First thing I did was mark off the wires with one color per set. So the main fuse had a single color and then with marker I wrote L and R. Continue this for each set. Once marked you can simply pull them from the black plastic holder. They are fairly brittle so just pull off easily. You may also want to cut some of the tape down to make this easier.

Step 3
Cut each of the old connectors off and then strip about 1/4 inch of the shielding off each wire. Slide a female connector on each and crimp in place. Make sure all of them are nice and tight.
This is personal preference but I removed the tape tags on each of the right wires now and just wound a small piece of each color on the left side wires. That way if I ever need to replace them I know Left from Right. Next I attached each female connector to the corresponding male connector matching the original configuration.

Step 4
Once all are in place put the cover back on and secure in place. I used one of the original screws from the old fuse panel and put it through the new hole and tightened it down. I plan on getting some two sided velcro tape for the back too. I also printed off a wiring diagram from this link in the gallery:
http://xjbikes.com/coppermine/displayim ... os=18.html
and then put it on top and covered it in tape.

You're done! and no more gremlins in the fuses.

 

By far the most important repair/upgrade on these bikes, nice job.

Mine wasn't near that pretty!

 

You mean I should have disconnected the battery before I started??!! Haha..that's gotta be the first thing they teach you about any kind of mechanical work..cut the power sources first...and yet...it's so much quicker not to. Can't say that I've ever disconnected the battery on a car or motorcycle before doing electrical work though. Just try not to ground anything out.. Probably lucky I haven't fried any parts or myself before..came pretty close though when I about welded a wrench to a starter I was removing from a car once...

 

Nice job! Nothing like a clean looking fuse block.

BTW, you're linky to the fuse label is pointing to a picture of a gas tank with a crack in it.

 

Gamuru thats wierd it works for me. Yeah I thought the step to disconnect battery was self evident but then again I started before I thought of it too.

 

that original fuse block looks to be in good shape was there a reason for replacing it ?
i like my glass fuses, they look so retro

 

They are not reliable. All the power to the bike would just cut out until I jiggled them just right. Looked retro but much safer with the new ones

 

there's a reason modern vehicles don't run the glass fuses. they're less efficient, more problem prone, and a breakage issue. Probably the single best bang for the buck improvement you can do to your bike. Nice write up!

 

less efficient ? the purpose of a fuse is to be inefficient beyond its rating
problem prone, i've never seen a piece of electronic equipment with atc fuses
other than cars
breakage, yea i guess you can break them
the reason for atc is the block can be smaller and cheaper than a agc fuse

 

Most home electronics don't have to deal with weather!
just my $.02

 

I just like the improvement that when you dropped the old ones, if they survived that, you typically had to chase them to wherever they rolled to.

 

The glass or ceramic ones tend to be more difficult to read the value. Remember VW's old fuses? Colored ceramic with the conductor on the outside. Color coded like todays blades. Held by the tips.
http://www.partsemporium.co.uk/images/t ... 83_van.JPG.

A little searching, and blade fuse blocks are a recommended replacement item for the old VWs too.
Another nice thing about the blade style, with a 1/4" male spade connector (empty or with wire crimped in), you have a handy hole to stick a probe from your meter, rather than trying to hold 3 things at one or alligator clips for the round glass fuses.

It is harder to pull the redneck .22 shell fuse replacement trick...
http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/fuse.asp

Steve

 

I do remember those old fuses...and don't forget VW's weren't the only cars using them. Porsche used many the same parts as VW which is why my '81 924 Turbo used that style of fuses. What a pain. The corrosion and problems were ridiculous, and that's with the fusebox on the inside of the car!

 

And we won't be tempted by that old back woods trick of using a 22 shell to just get a connection. It was that guy in a pick up truck that used that to get into the Darwin Award book.

 

My clips were broken so I replaced mine with a replacement fuse block from Radio Shack, it fits under the stock cover and uses the same glass fuses.

 

i hear there are blade fuses that light up when they blow, now if there were ones that lit up all the time and went out when they blow, that would be the beans and i would change tomorrow but who wants to wait till one blows

 

I've done a fuse block upgrade myself I retained the glass style fuse and solderes the wires. Do not recommend crimping if you ride a lot. The vibrations will work the crimps loose. Solder the wires and utilize shrink tubing if necessary.
George