TR Fuse Box Solution Question

This is what "they" called the spaghetti boards years ago. Now there are more then 200 likewise boards and 14 years later with a lot of positive response.

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What are the other companies that make these reproductions boards? went to the above web site and it looks like they are out of stock. What have you guys used or recommend?

 

Guido and GT Car Parts are the only ones I know of who make complete replacement boards. Scuderia Rampante modifies an existing board by moving some relays to an auxiliary board

 

What are they charging for these reproductions? Maybe I should go into the business. Mine wasn't pretty because I didn't care but it has worked for years. I could make them pretty.

 

https://www.gtopartsshop.com/en-gb/ferrari/el99677n_new_f40-fuse-board_part-no-62425800
or 1/3 of that when order directly.

 

Used Guido's board on my 512 tr, no hiccups after 2 years and I drive my car regularly!

 

The SR removes the wires from the problematic white connectors and routes them to relays. This cuts the power requirements running through the OEM wiring.

 

I rerouted the high load items such as the fuel pumps and cooling fans to an auxiliary set of relays myself. I agree that the tiny little pins are the Achilles' heel of these boards and as part of this job I took them out of the equation.

 

My problem with just rerouting the high load circuits is that as time passes the old boards will and are delaminating. Eventually this will be a problem. My original was delaminating and the final failure was the where the power/battery plugged into the board.

 

You don't happen to have a schematic for this mod do you?

 

Not really, I used the wiring diagrams from the WSM to determine the lines that go out of the fuse panel to the high-draw items. I bought a relay holder from Amazon - even came with the correct Bosch-style relays! I ran a new line from the battery using a fuseable link to the new breakout box, took the signal leads from pins 85 and 86 on the existing relay sockets and ran them to the corresponding 85 and 86 on the new relays. That way there's nothing to mod when it comes to the signal from the keyturn. I then cut the wire from the Jx plastic connectors coming out of the fuse board, going to one fuel pump for example and routed that to pin 30 on the new relay, with the raw battery power coming in at 87. So now, the high draw items are getting their *signaling* from the existing fusebox wiring setup, but their 12v drive is coming directly off the battery through the new fuses, thereby cutting the problematic connectors out of the picture. And it's extremely reversible if I ever want to return to stock - all I have to do is repair the wires coming out of the Jx connectors and plug back in the original relays to the fusebox. Easy!


Fyi the relay box I bought is this one: https://www.amazon.com/ONLINE-LED-STORE-Waterproof-Automotive/dp/B07MR64XK1/ref=sr_1_4?crid=JHY3JGS3YJD9&keywords=relay+breakout+box&qid=1636045179&sprefix=relay+breakout+box,aps,130&sr=8-4

 

After reviewing the aftermarket choices available with the mechanic who would do the install (his specialty is electronics), we picked Guido's board to use on my 1992 512TR. Guido's board is a work of art and the mechanic and I both swear the car runs better. Highly recommend!

 

When I built mine I practically had the entire wiring schematic memorized I spent so much time looking at it and tracing leads.

 

Thanks for your comments. What do you mean "the car runs better" ? Engine turns smoother, quicker starts, all electric works better ? Just curios to see the evolution after installation. Maybe because I only use copper, brass and silver materials, the resistance is low enough that a better result is achieved. Here a diagram of electric conductivity of materials :
Electric conductivity (10.E6 Siemens/m) Electric resistivity (10.E-8 Ohms.m)
Silver 62,1 / 1,6
Copper 58,7 / 1,7
Gold 44,2 / 2,3
Here you can see that gold only comes on the 3e place after silver and copper. So a gold connecter kit is'nt the best idea overal.

 

FWIW, I bought a replacement fuse board from Guido and HIGHLY recommend to any one who needs to do similar, to do similar. Excellent experience and my 85 Testa is running beautifully!

 

Waw, that is an old post ! That amount of 70 boards has now more then tripled. It makes me humble to get so many positive responses. Thanks guys. That's what I do it for. That you have a lot of driving pleasure with these beautiful cars. By the way, boards can only be send until November 15th. Then it will have to wait until April next year....

 

Hey Guido, I’m interested in a board for my 1985 TR. Can You pm me or I you? Email? How do I need to proceed?
Thanks, Chris

 

Chris , I started a conversation

 

I’ll challege that.

Gold does not oxidize. Copper surface oxidizes…. think of the green statue of liberty. A connector is exposed to oxygen and quickly oxidizes. A copper wire is enclosed in an insulating sleeve with little/no O2 and has little surface oxidation.

The oxidized layer offers the resistance.

The difference is electricity passing ‘through’ solid copper that only has surface oxidation rather than ‘across’ the connector’s oxidation layers

A quick search produced various results. Nothing definitive. My comment is based on intuition rather than hard data.

 

No problem with comments Vincenzo. Do you see green oxidation on that board above ? All soldered connections are protected by the silver in the solder. All copper and brass parts are protected by a tin layer. So no bare copper that can oxidize. And all boards are protected with a sprayed plastic layer. Boards can be washed with lukewarm water with detergent and let it dry in a warm place (such as in the sun) for a few hours.
This is my experimental board after 10 years of use. It looks identical as when it was produced. Pictures taken 4 years ago and still using it in my car. And that board does'nt even have the sprayed plastic layer.

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The tin is used specifically to reduce oxidation on the contact surface. It works fine in everyday electronics. Not trying to challenge your board’s design, just that bare copper or even tinned connectors are superior to gold plate. The true comparison should be gold vs tin plated connectors.

The aerospace guys seem to exclusively use gold plate. Silver seems the most common, more reasonably priced solution - especially for soldered connections. The solar panel folks use silver pretty exclusively. Tin seems to be the most common everyday coating, but tends to corrode in harsh environments.

Lots going on in connector design. Electrical conduction, thermal conduction, tensile strength, young’s modulus, fatigue resistance, oxidation effects, galvanic couple and likely many more. Definitely not a simple subject.

I’m no expert on this subject…. just sharing my impressions. In general though…. if there was something better than gold plated connections, the aerospace guys would be using it.

 

You can Google to find answers why gold is used in space. I think the mean reason is protection against the extreme fluctuations of temperature.
Gold acts as an incredible shield against radiation and heat from the sun. In outer space, radiation from the sun transfers heat directly into objects, much like a microwave oven, so insulation is not the best option. Gold-coated Mylar reflects heat without creating a glare, keeping the instruments and astronauts cool.
Resistant to rust and corrosion, gold is the world's most reliable and durable electrical conductor, essential for computer electronics and satellite communications technologies. .

Luckely our cars aint going to space.

 

Except for Elon’s of course

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It ain't for lack of trying!

 

Fully agreed basically boils down to cost as well… but looking at the price of the replacement boards I would expect them to be made using solid gold!