My stab at fuseblocks | FerrariChat
Buy

My stab at fuseblocks

Discussion in '308/328' started by PittsS2APilot, Jan 3, 2008.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. PittsS2APilot

    PittsS2APilot Formula Junior

    Jun 29, 2007
    857
    Gulfport MS
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #1 PittsS2APilot, Jan 3, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    OK, I'm a "do it yourself" kinda guy so after much debating and research I took a stab at building my on fuseblocks. Mine are basicly the same as most who've done it. The photos make them look huge but the overall length is 12". I put the white and black blocks together with an aluminum bar which was drilled and tapped to match the holes in the blocks. If I have my measurments correct, two of the holes will line up with the existing mounting screws in the car so there won't be any drilling and a quick simple install. Instead of soldering a wire across the terminals for a buss, I used some heavy duty bridge "saddles" that screw directly into the fuse mount for what I think is a cleaner look. If you will look at the photos you can see the saddles at the appropriate bridge locations. My next step before install is to lable each fuse 1-18 in the center of the block for quick reference. Im open for any suggestions or obvious flaws in the design. Joe
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. PittsS2APilot

    PittsS2APilot Formula Junior

    Jun 29, 2007
    857
    Gulfport MS
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #2 PittsS2APilot, Jan 3, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  3. Hans

    Hans F1 Veteran

    Feb 17, 2006
    7,734
    Hilversum, Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Hans Teijgeler
    #3 Hans, Jan 3, 2008
    Looks good! Round glass-type fuses??
     
  4. FasterIsBetter

    FasterIsBetter F1 Veteran

    Jul 22, 2004
    5,856
    NoNJ/Jupiter FL
    Full Name:
    Steve W.
    #4 FasterIsBetter, Jan 3, 2008
    They look really decent. But, not to take anything away from your effort, why reinvent the wheel? The Birdman blocks are really nice, well made, fit perfectly and work superbly. Plus, they are not expensive. Just having fun or are you going into production?
     
  5. M.James

    M.James F1 Rookie

    Jun 6, 2003
    2,721
    Worcester, MA
    Full Name:
    Michael.C.James
    #5 M.James, Jan 3, 2008
    SO TRUE.....
     
  6. PittsS2APilot

    PittsS2APilot Formula Junior

    Jun 29, 2007
    857
    Gulfport MS
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #6 PittsS2APilot, Jan 3, 2008
    The same can be said for replacing belts and bearing. You can get someone else to do it or do it yourself. I get enjoyment out of building things, always tinkering. Sometimes I do over engineer though! Plus the more you do the more you understand how things work and why, which helps in the future when something goes wrong. One thing I would like to ask of the group though. The old fuse blocks called for 8 and 16amp fuses. All I can find in the buss fuses are 10, 15 and 20's? Joe
     
  7. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

    Feb 15, 2001
    4,367
    NY
    #7 Steve King, Jan 3, 2008
    Nice job. The little higher fuses are OK to use. I built my own FB back before Birdman started selling them and used a copper wire fro the jumper. It looked similar to Birdmans. I would like to go with the mini fuses sometime in the future. It's fun to tinker . Thanks for the show .
     
  8. spiderseeker

    spiderseeker Formula 3

    Jul 22, 2005
    1,718
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Steve
    #8 spiderseeker, Jan 3, 2008
    Your fuseblocks look great, nice clean job.
    I built my own fuseblocks 2 years ago, when birdman was just starting to do his in volume. I also like to build things myself. I found that after spending many hours chasing parts from several sources and more hours building them, that it would have been cheaper and MUCH easier, to just buy them from birdman.
    * If you try to mount them as is, you will find that the OEM mounting screws are too long, I used 1/4" plexiglass spacers under mine, so that I could use the factory screws.
     
  9. FasterIsBetter

    FasterIsBetter F1 Veteran

    Jul 22, 2004
    5,856
    NoNJ/Jupiter FL
    Full Name:
    Steve W.
    #9 FasterIsBetter, Jan 3, 2008
    Joe,

    Nothin' wrong with having some fun, and nothing at all wrong with over-engineering in most cases. Now, if you had put that setup together with the spade fuses rather than the glass tubes, it would be really interesting.

    I found the same thing on fuse sizes. I used the 10s in place of the 8s and the 15s in place of the 16s. So far, none have blown. If one of the 15s blows, I might go with a 20, but would rather err on the low side with the 15s as a starting point.

    Steve
     
  10. Spitfire

    Spitfire Formula 3

    Nov 16, 2006
    1,602
    #10 Spitfire, Jan 3, 2008
    Sam Supranoff makes some very nice replacement fuse blocks that take the spade-type fuses. Sam's blocks even accept the original fuse block covers.
     
  11. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 6, 2002
    79,418
    Houston, Texas
    Full Name:
    Bubba
    #11 BigTex, Jan 3, 2008
    Well, you have hit on my reservation for changing styles, you'll have to approximate the ampacity of the original style fuse, rounding up or down........no big deal at 12V but it's one of 'those' things....

    I have always put replacement OEM blocks back in, and they accept the original fuses.....
     
  12. PittsS2APilot

    PittsS2APilot Formula Junior

    Jun 29, 2007
    857
    Gulfport MS
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #12 PittsS2APilot, Jan 3, 2008
    I found a block sourse for the mini-spade fuses. These mini blocks look interesting and simliar to the OEM's in size and they have covers but a little expensive. The saddles I used on these would not have worked on the mini's so that would have to be figured out. I wanted to give this a shot first since it has the 1980's looks and it is a quick fix to the voltage issues. I may do the mini's next week and then decide which to use. Joe
     
  13. FasterIsBetter

    FasterIsBetter F1 Veteran

    Jul 22, 2004
    5,856
    NoNJ/Jupiter FL
    Full Name:
    Steve W.
    #13 FasterIsBetter, Jan 4, 2008
    Joe,

    If you put together a unit with spade fuses, please post a picture. I'd be interested to see it. I have Birdman's fuse blocks in mine, and they work great. Cleared up a few minor electrical glitches I had when I bought the car. But I'm partial to spade fuses, if I ever got ambitious again.

    As for Sam's blocks, those look great, and like the idea of having the original covers, but IIRC, they are 2 or 3 times more expensive than Birdman's blocks.

    Steve
     
  14. Paul_308

    Paul_308 Formula 3

    Mar 12, 2004
    2,345
    #14 Paul_308, Jan 4, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Having read technical reports and personally experienced reliability issues on barrel fuses, I don't know why anyone would select an ancient problematic component when a great ATO replacment is available. Pictured is my full size ATO blocks, there is plenty of room for two 10 position blocks. The extra Left#10 is used for my amplifier and right #10 for my remote door locks.

    I choose to use ATO style fuses with a particularly attractive feature, a built in led indicator. Should the fuse blow, the led lights. To each his own but as an electronics engineer I wince at not using the latest. These blocks have covers but I see no need for them, and I have a large diagram attached to the rear of the panel which includes relay positions.

    Realize the Ferrari problem is ONE rivet at the fuel pump supply fuse...to keep a car in concours appearance and fix that weakness, simply bury a parallel circuit/fuse behind the panel.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  15. spiderseeker

    spiderseeker Formula 3

    Jul 22, 2005
    1,718
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Steve
    #15 spiderseeker, Jan 4, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    "Realize the Ferrari problem is ONE rivet at the fuel pump supply fuse...to keep a car in concours appearance and fix that weakness, simply bury a parallel circuit/fuse behind the panel."

    When I bought my 308qv 2 1/2 years ago, this is what I found, when I looked at my original fuseblock. A PO had replaced the Fuel Pump fuse with a 30amp external !
    I replaced the fuseblocks and relays, shortly after I bought it, after seeing that mess. The stock 15amp fuel pump fuse has never blown, since being installed in the new fuseblock.. It's amazing what some people do to these cars , thinking that they're solving a problem.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  16. jwa

    jwa Karting

    Feb 23, 2003
    108
    Enschede
    #16 jwa, Jan 6, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  17. spiderseeker

    spiderseeker Formula 3

    Jul 22, 2005
    1,718
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Steve
    #17 spiderseeker, Jan 6, 2008
    JWA - Beautiful job on those fuseblocks !
     
  18. jwa

    jwa Karting

    Feb 23, 2003
    108
    Enschede
    #18 jwa, Jan 6, 2008
    Thanks Spiderseeker.
    I like working on the car and making new things like these almost as much as driving it.
     
  19. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    18,060
    USA
    #19 f355spider, Jan 6, 2008
     
  20. PittsS2APilot

    PittsS2APilot Formula Junior

    Jun 29, 2007
    857
    Gulfport MS
    Full Name:
    Joe
    #20 PittsS2APilot, Jan 8, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    This weekend I installed the new blocks. No problems and everything was done in about 45 minutes. I had no idea what I would find when I got to look closely at the origioinal blocks. To my surprise, they were in very good condition. The black block is near perfect condition. The white block #3 fuse showed some discoloration but not nearly as bad as some of the others I've seen on here. I have both of the OEM blocks and the cover for the black block if anyone is interested in them you can PM me. Joe
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     

Share This Page