Dave Helms Fusebox 2K mile update

Just passed 2,000 miles on the 512TR since performing the Dave Helms/Scuderia Rampante fuse box upgrade and I'm very disappointed. There is no mystery anymore, no delightful aroma of burnt connectors, no wondering if today will be the day my circuit board delaminates. How boring. Now the car starts every time with the first turn of the key, the power windows work better and all the fans come on at the right time. Ho-hum. Ferraris are supposed to be finicky beasts, always in the shop, and breaking down at the most inopportune moments. Now my 16 year old Italian sports car is more reliable than my 2007 Nissan truck. It's downright embarassing when I'm with other ferrari owners. I feel ashamed that it runs so well.
If you do one thing for your car, this is the one that will give you the best bang for your buck.
Dave Helms is a remarkable fellow. I will ultimately try his connector and hose upgrades, but I figure if I wait long enough, he might just design his own car. If that ever happens, sign me up for the first run.
Thanks, Dave.

 

Yep, Dave's the man, all right!

 

Yes his fuse board has done wonders on my 512TR too. Best upgrade so far and peace of mind.

 

i have always thought about my 86 regarding the board, and the diff - suffice to say i will most likely do the Newman diff in the yrs to come when i have to take the engine out again - are there any pics of the before and after of this helms box ? and whats the price for the box over the OEM ? Please prices who has done it ... not percentages .... 14% less than OEM doesnt mean much - thks !

 

I too have done the fuse box upgrade.. I think its a mandatory modification. I read so much about replacing the old board with new oem board and that is NOT going to solve the problem. It will return.. for sure.. If your board is in good condition, do the modification now or you will have to buy a new board and then pay for the mod. to avoid a repeat.. Dave has got some great innovations.. I installed the fuse box and the gold connector kit.. Both well worth it.. Dave is top notch.. Take you time when installing the gold connector kit.. its easy but you need to stay focused.. Its best to do a couple connectors at a time.. that is the way I did it.. two one day.. two the next... etc.. etc.. The diff?? A good mod as well.. Fuse box and gold kit take priority.. then move on to the diff.. JMO...

R

 

I agree on all accounts.

I did my main circuit board upgrade just in time. I had two internal printed circuits for the cooling fans fail right before I did the mod. My car had NEW white connector blocks at the time and it was still having problems. Now, even on the hottest of days, I can turn on every high amperage circuit in the car with full confidence that nothing will overheat, fuses blow, connectors or the circuit board melt.

I also did the Gold Connector kit on mine over last winter. It is a tedious job but worth the effort in knowing that the all of the connectors in the engine bay are now at optimum performance, delivering pure signals to the other components. The Gold terminals will resist corrosion longer than the car will last. The Kit also came with new boots and in some cases new connector bodies.

One thing to note is that my car ran very well BEFORE I did the Gold kit so I was a little skeptical that I would realize any significant improvements. The end results were better cold starts with stable engine RPMs during warm up, better hot starts, nearly instantaneous at a turn of the key and smoother throttle response.

To me the Gold Kit is a pre-emptive investment in the electrical system that will last the life of the car. The installation of the Gold Kit will also eliminate one possible cause of a poorly running TR.

Dave also set me up with new Bosch fuel pumps for a good price and supplied me with with killer Nomex fuel hoses for the supply and crossover.

The differential is next on the list, to be done at the next 30k.

 

Last I checked the circuit board mod was less than 1,000 US IF your board is in reasonably good shape. It could be more now due to refinements and improvements of the mods.

If your board is total junk, a crispy mass of circuits you can purchase a remanufactured OEM board through Dave for much less than a new one would cost (if you can find one) THEN have it modified with the dedicated high amp circuits.
Go here and scroll down for more info, http://www.scuderiarampanteinnovations.com/solutions.html

I believe there are pictures of the Board mods here on Fchat.

 

Here is a good thread on the "China Syndrome". Dave explains things very well here, http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213035&highlight=china+syndrome&page=2

Go here for related threads and pictures, http://www.thebestemployee.com/forum/search.php?searchid=4124891

 

Since replacement fuse boxes for 512TR's are not available anywhere, for any price, this modification was a no-brainer. 14% less than an un-fixable vehicle is still a bargain. Here are the photos after installation. The mods are noticeable only to the trained ferraristi eye.

I also threw in some pics of my new chromed wheels -so sweet (Shamile, please don't choke - I still have the original factory rims).
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Interesting, the TR board is different quite a bit.
All of my new circuits are stacked on the passenger side of the board.
2 Fuel Pumps
2 H2O Cooling fans
1 A/C Circuit
1 A/C Condenser Fan

 

Lets just hope his fuse doesn't blow

 

They won't

 

Your creation Jim ?

Interesting to see the solution to solder wires inside OEM relais...

Hope they are replaced by the same relais on the back of this board...

Because in case of break-down: how otherwise change the failing relais..

If compared the fuses to my fuseboard (photo below), there seems to be missing some in the red striped locations....

What happened here ?

Missing are here:
# 1 for the A/C Condenser Fan
# 5 for the A/C
# 6 for the LH water radiator fan
# 7 for the RH water radiator fan
#18 for fuel pump bank 1/6
#21 for fuel pump bank 7/12

So these circuits are now outside the board I presume. Not # 8 for the oil radiator fan...?

I am still puzzling about a cheap solution with an extra set of relais like this........ it's only a 12 volt system ....:-0) !

And: I like the wheels....!! Very Nice ! How were they chromed ?
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Mel:
This is all Dave Helms. The circuits are now outside the board and the new fuses are on a separate panel on the right. The relays are attached to the back of the board and are accessible by removing the board. It really works.
I bought the wheels (used) already chromed from a true Ferraristi in Marco Island, Florida. I love them.

 

An old thread, a new update.

After much deliberation and following my own Gold Connector Kit, finally got the fuse box upgrade done.

Whew.

Sent my old fuse box to Dave Helms after modding the relay panel for a 'hopefully' better fit (meaning more room created.)

Dave sent the fuse box all wired, ready for me, and RUSHED to have it to me for the long Thanksgiving weekend. THANK YOU DAVE AND KRIS!

Dug in, followed the instructions, (clipping wires in a Ferrari always gives one a slight pause), and placed things back in order. I took my time - partly due to paranoia - and got it installed.

That compartment is very tight, very full. Dave said there's no air circulating either, so that doesn't help.

Did my 'own' remedy there, using small dash vents from a 360 Modena that fit pretty neatly. They're about the same size as the courtesy light, so they really do look - to me - design appropriate.

Once buttoned up, twisted the key and voila! Vrroom! Cold starts seem faster, idle is actually higher at warm up, then settles down correctly. Ran the car pretty hard after it warmed up, and it sounds healthier than ever. If not, my attitude about it is!

Yet, not debatable:

When the rad fans come on, my car USED to drop in rpms just slightly, or the headlights would barely dim. (Dave said my fusebox looked perfect though.) Now... nothing.

I turned on the headlights, air conditioner, hit the brakes WHILE the rad fans were on and not one heartbeat of protest. I feel tons better with the 'full' Dave Helms upgrade done.

So worth it in time, value, peace of mind, performance and avoiding the unthinkable meltdown.

 

I love happy endings................

 

I do as well.. I sound like a broken record.. Fuse box and gold connector kit is a must...

R

ps.. what up D.. hope all is well with you..

R

 

Ahhhh..... I love the delightful aroma of burnt connectors in the morning. Great thread.

 

Sniff, Sniff....makes you want to cry with joy!!!

Ohhhhh Mr Helms........got a minute?

 

So do I....but usually for me they happen at Asian Massage Parlors..."Me Sooooo Horny"!!!!....Mark

 

Guys – sorry for the newbe question

I am a bit perplexed – I had done a bunch of research and finally purchased a 1994 512TR last month (right now parts of it are at Ferrari of Atlanta and other parts are at Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale; the details, and hopefully a happy ending to come shortly) – but I am concerned after reading this post about something I did not know

I got the 1994 version of the TR because all the research suggested this was the one to get (differential issues, shaft, many 512M updates, etc). I was not aware (shame on me) of the “China Syndrome”. I had thought the 1994 version of the TR had an upgraded fuse box. I have done a search in this forum and appears the Testarossa fuse box is different from the 512TR fuse box, but based on Adams post (and Adams has the 1994 512TR as well) a upgrade is possible and recommended (Jimbo also appears to have a 1994 512TR)

I have searched all the posts and folks say it is not difficult and Dave Helms was great and the replacement was “straight forward” but there was not a ton of detail about the actual procedure of removing and reinstalling the fuse box.

A couple quick questions
1) Does Dave tailor the fuse box fix for the 512TR vs. the testarossa (given they seem to be different fuse boxes)

2) How long / how hard was it to remove the fuse box?

3) What level of expertise is needed to carry this out – I have replaced the radio and speakers in my 328 (which required some basic wiring, dash and door removal, etc) – but I am by no means a gear guy

4) Really dumb question – the fuse box is in the middle of the bonnet – how the heck can you work for any length of time leaning over at a difficult angle?

Thanks for your input – hopefully I will have a 512TR in my garage soon

Best,
Lewis

 

Isn't that a Asian music group?

 

Only the very late '94's have the upgraded differentials. You have to check the transmission serial number to find the change point. It happened after #1370.
See post #9 in this thread for ALL of the changes and when. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176896&highlight
See SB 30-23 specifically.
From gearbox number 1370 replace welded differential 146769 with forged unit 155099


1) AHudson just installed the upgraded panel in his 512TR. He can answer your questions about the difficulties, or lack thereof.
2) The panels aren't hard to take out. It only takes 15 minutes max. (usually). Then you have to ship it to Dave Helms. It took me a couple of hours to reinstall mine but that's because I was triple checking everything I did (running a few wires and making a few new terminations) and I am anal about how it goes together.
3) If you can wire speakers in your door you can splice a few wires on your panel. The instruction CD is full of detailed pictures.
4) You can't, that's why it took me two hours. Take lots of breaks and stretch. Put heavy padding on your fender, they dent easy. Wear NO belt buckles or jewelery.

 

Working on a new winter project, Turbo Shark. http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16709

 

Don't sweat it. This started, for me, bc of an errant 'CEL' caused by a thoroughly unrelated issue. Did the gold connector 'just because'. The conventional wisdom - if there is such a thing in Ferrari land - is to follow with fuse box. Dave agreed mine was essentially 'perfect', though none of these are immune. You have THE most updated, factory upgraded TR that can be; I'm just a precautionary fool.

I 'think' he does. I sent mine to him and got it back done, but that's all I know.

Not. I'm not a tech, by any stretch. I'd say 15 minutes, with poor tools and sweaty palms.

Fuse box is a snap OTHER THAN 'fitment' within a pretty confined space. Really, the 'technical' aspects are minimal.

In my case, I'm 5'5", weigh 138, and got nearly cozy in there. Whats the prob? A 'normal' human can do it though. 2 screws on fuse box, 2 screws on relay panel.

You don't 'have' to do any of this. Get the car. Get used to it. Watch the gauges, listen to the starting rhythm, check any 'dimness' when the fans cut on, check your fuse box at the fan, AC, fuel pump junctions for any discoloration. In time, you may want to upgrade, but first, live with the car and enjoy it!