any BB owners using a Birdman fuseblock?

saw a lot of 308 owners using it with good results.
curious if anybody can tell us about their experience with it on a BB

 

I recently installed a birdman fusebox in my BBi. Works great. Turn-around time was very fast, despite this being a nights / weekends thing for Jonathan. The quality is solid and the install was straightforward.

 

thanks for that.
some of the 308 users reported improved functioning of the electric windows, interior lights, headlights, AC. etc.
did you experience the same?

 

Yes, I did. It can be noticeable on any of the terminals, but I found it especially noticeable on terminals that bus their voltage from one of the other terminals. The bad connections (loose / oxidized) can create resistance that limits voltage – which degrades a lot of the electronics you mentioned. You can measure this using a multimeter. This can also create intermittent functionality, or even enough heat to start a fire.

As an example, terminal 18 was finicky and would cut in and out. This terminal gives power to the clock, the horn, and one of the radiator fans; which would cause the car to run hot because the fan wasn't running as often as it should. I would know it was cutting out because I could see the clock was stopped.

In my opinion, it's a no brainer upgrade. In-fact, I see the original fuse blocks as a liability. As a side note, I had reached out to Sam about his fuse block design (which would retain the covers), but he informed me he no longer making them. So I think your best bet is Jonathan Bird's product; which is still very high quality.

 

Good day Ross,

There has been many Boxer and 308 owners that have used Birdman's blocks and they all have been happy with them. They improve and increase the overall fuse contact area resulting in more voltage being supplied to the loads (so better operation), along with less heat being generated across/within the blocks which promotes long term reliability.

The only points worth noting are:

a. You will need an additional 2-fuse small fuse block for the BBi fuel pump fuses in addition to replacing the larger "white" and "black" blocks
b. These blocks cannot be used with the original fuse block covers. In fact I think the blocks I made are/were the only replacement blocks that did .

Overall, I think you will be very happy with these blocks and will improve your electrics a lot. If you do decide to remain with your original OEM blocks, they can be preemptively reworked to correct "some" of their design deficiencies. However, their basic design is so-so at best and so they will require periodic checking, fuse cleaning, and fuse clip tensioning from time to time.

Cheers,

Sam

 

i ordered a set today. hope it wont take Jonathan too long to send it.

 

I received mine 10 days after purchase, and he mentioned that he needed to purchase parts before he could get started.

Also, you need to purchase AGC fuses, as he does not provide them. In my case, I used 10W fuses on the terminals that call for 8W, and I used 15W fuses on the terminals that call for 16W.

 

Good day Robert,

Replacing a fuse size with a larger rated one is not a good idea. Ferrari wiring is so-so at best, is pretty much the lowest grade wire that one could use, and so potentially overloading the existing wire could lead to very nasty consequences. Depending on the fuse type, a fuse's current rating does not mean that the fuse will expire when this current level is reached. In fact a fuse will continue to operate even at or slightly above the rated size for several hours, etc and "may" expire at some point, This means that your 10W fuse would allow a minimum 20% or more current to flow through already crappy Ferrari wiring for long periods... the result could mean melted wires or in some cases cause a fire. Proper wire has flammability ratings which mean that their insulation will not contribute to enhancing a fire/flame. Crap wire has no rating and so the insulation could contain fire accelerants and so could actually help a flame to spread, follow the wire, and so ignite other materials. It is very important to know the fuse type, etc, but in general you are usually safe to use a lower rated current fuse as opposed to using a larger one.

Given the age of our cars and electrical equipment, it is more than likely that may downstream devices are consuming more current than when new... and so your load currents could be higher than what you think.

Cheers,

Sam

 

Hi Sam,

You make good points, but it seems a bit alarmist and not exactly representative of the realities of circuit design. For example, an 8A circuit might have 2x overhead the nominal current (to cover spikes, etc.). If a 4A circuit spikes enough to blow an 8A fuse, it will assuredly blow a 10A fuse. If the fuse is considerably higher than the nominal current, something else becomes the fuse (eg, the wire – as you allude). This wouldn't happen when going from 8A to 10A.

All that said, to be fair, it is low effort to purchase 8A fuses. I had 10A and 15A fuses already, so I used those.

 

10W, 8W, 15W or 16W - what is this?
fuses are denoted by ampere, not by watt

 

You're right. I was multi-tasking while writing that post, and didn't catch it until the edit window passed. If you look at the post directly above yours, you'll see I used the correct UOM.

 

I only wondered about the W, that is why I posted

 

Goods day Robert,

Having reviewed and analyzed Ferrari's electrical circuit when I created my fuse blocks I beg to differ. Secondly, my background and profession is one where I design all sorts of Electronic and Electrical equipment and so I admit that I am overly "particular" to details like fuse sizes, etc. That said, my style of engineering design has suited me well where I have equipment that has operated for decades (some go back as far as 1996) and continue to operate 24/7 without issues and so I take offence to your comment about being an alarmist. However, do as you want, as this is your car. I was simply trying to assist, but I see my comments and advice are not welcomed and so I will refrain from speaking anymore on your endeavours.

Cheers,

Sam

 

Sam,

My apologies, it was not my intent to offend. I value the community, and your input is absolutely welcome. Hopefully you can understand that I can both disagree (in this case, only slightly), and still value your opinion.

In this instance, I consulted a family member who is an electrical engineer with 45+ years professional experience. He concurred with my comments. Personally, I am only an hobbyist, but I have built numerous guitar amplifiers from scratch; which does require a certain minimum level of knowledge on the subjects above.

That said, neither he nor I have the extensive experience with Ferraris as you do – which again, is why I value this community and your opinion.

I hope that you continue to assist / comment.

– Robert

 

Good day Robert,

Having any form of background and knowledge in electrical items, electronics, etc is not enough unless you examine all aspects of the resulting design, its potential flaws, weaknesses, etc. Looking at one element... say a fuse... and assuming that all is fine with a larger one without looking at the other aspects of the electrical circuit is simply unwise to me and is something that I would not do, but that is from my perspective. For examine, have you or family member actually viewed and examined the wiring (composition,strands, etc) and its insulation composition and type? How about the number of these bundled adjacent to one another? How some of these wiring bundles are ran inside closed cavities without air flow? How about the loads and their ages and how their current draw increases over time because of age and use. Have you reviewed the various fuse circuit inrush current characteristics along with their steady state current? It is quite possible that bumping up the fuse size capacity may not cause you any issues, but it would professionally liable for me to suggest for anyone to do this. I cannot speak for others or their background, but my style of design is quite detailed and so if that makes me a stickler for details or an alarmist, then so be it. As I said, this is your car, do as you see fit.

Cheers,

Sam

 

Sam,

I appreciate the input, and I understand you feel caution is warranted. I think our disagreement is simply in the matter of severity; which I haven't changed my opinion. Also reiterating, it is possible to purchase 8A fuses, and so that is probably the better way to go (I just didn't have any on hand at the time).

I do hope you continue to comment on my posts, as I value your expertise.

– Robert

 

I was customer #1 for Jonathan's fuseblocks for the BB; I sent him my middle block as a guide on 21-May-2007.
16 years later, electricity flows flawlessly. Never blew a fuse, no electric gremlins, nothing.