Hey all, Just received my new fuse blocks from Birdman, they look great and I can't wait to get them in the car! I've got a couple questions though first... 1. What "type" of fuses do these new blocks accept? 2. Are the three different amp ratings 8, 16 and 25 respectively? I'm used to the "red, white and blue" ceramic fuses from Mercedes. Just double checking that they are of the same amp ratings. Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi
Use the standard "glass" tube type fuses - easy to find - try Pepboys, NAPA, O'Rilley, AutoZone ... I bought Birdman's fuse blocks for my 74 308GT4 last November - best purchase I ever made for my car.
You know what's funny? I don't actually remember off the top of my head what they actually CALL the fuses that go in these fuseblocks. They are, like EuroDino said, the "standard" glass automotive fuses that you can find virtually anywhere from your local autoparts place to the Wal-mart auto dept. Unfortunately, I don't have a pack of the fuses sitting around. They are in the 308 which is 8 feet in the air on the lift right now with a car parked under it! EuroDino, glad to hear the fuseblocks are working for you! Peter, glad to see you online more often recently. Are you bored at work? We still love the Mondial. I just rebuilt the clutch slave cylinder AGAIN because I didn't hone it the first time and it ate another seal in about a year. Live and learn! We'll see how long this one lasts. At least I'm getting good at getting it out of the car. The front seats are being re-upholstered right now too. I'll send you pics when they are done. Birdman
Does'nt the fuse order and the amp are in the owners manual I don't have a manual but I think it should be in there.
Ok, got it worked out. The car uses only 8 and 16 amp fuses. Was able to find the 8 amp BUSS fuses but could only find 15 amp, instead of 16, so I substituted those for the 16s, shouldn't be any problem. If anything, it should be safer! Is it possible that because some idiot wired a 25 amp inline fuse in the fuel pump circuit, it was the cause of my fried relay? Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi
That makes me so happy to read... I've got them on-order as we speak from Birdman for my '79 308GT4. So far, my car has no electrical gremlins...but, I had some extra money in the PayPal account. Rather than trolling eBay for more worthless crap to fill my closets with, I thought I'd actually put it to some good use and do my first "upgrade" to the Dino! Can't wait to get those babies... Too bad gas is $3.60/gallon (91) here - I'll probably want to spend an entire afternoon riding around, basking in my newfound lack of potential for electrical gremlins....
Bergxu- the PO of my car had a similar problem, except they replaced the fuel pump fuse with a 30 amp !!!!- see photos- the brown and red wires go to each end of an aftermarket fuse holder.- The other photo show the melted fuse block at the fuel pump fuse. The reason for the melted fuse holder was a short in the wiring at the AAV (aux air valve), the wire had rubbed against the expansion tank and worn through the insulation and caused a high resistance short to ground. I believe the same wire goes to the WUR(warm up regulator) I've since replaced all relays and the fuse blocks- everything works great now and I went back to using the stock fuse size with no problems. The fuse can melt for a variety of reasons, a short in the wiring, a bad fuel pump drawing too much current, a plugged fuel filter making the fuel pump work too hard etc. You may want to inspect the wiring at the fuel pump and engine compartment to be sure all is ok. Steve Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Doing this install cured almost every electric "issue" my '78 308 had. Best money I've spent on the car to date... Bill
Steve, Thanks for the info! I am going to check out the rest of the wiring in the fuel pump circuit, but in the meantime the car is running well. Had it all over town today and she didn't give any problems. Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi
getting ready to install mine this week. should i disconnect the battery terminals first? seems like you should but is it neccesary?
Absolutely neccesary!! Just to be safe, take the battery out. Then clean up the battery tray, paint and clean the terminal ends as well. Are you sure you're ready for this?
Just disconnect the ground wire from the battery if you want to be safe. I'll be honest, I changed mine without disconnecting the battery. The connectors on the wires in the fusepanel are all insulated so you probably won't short anything. BTW, the type of fuse is "AGC" so when you go to buy fuses, look for AGC-10, AGC-15, etc. Birdman
Hope you guys don't mind if I put a few of your comments as "testimonials" on my site. No names, of course, to protect the innocent. Birdman
I built my new fuseblocks myself (NAPA style)- but with the time and expense chasing for parts and assembly, I'd highly recommend getting Birdman's fuse blocks and save yourself alot of unnecessary grief. Steve
Just got mine in the mail today, Birdman! Can't wait to get 'em installed - just gotta go track down some fuses... Aaron
Aaron, Glad they made it and sorry again for the delay. Let me know how the install goes. Thank you all for your permission. Check out my website at the bottom of the page. BTW, do you guys think people would find it worth an extra optional cost to supply these things pre-supplied with fuses? It's kind of a pain, I would need to order 8 zillion fuses in the right ratings and keep them "in stock" but it would make it easier for people to put them right in when they arrive. How much is reasonable to charge for this service? Birdman
Birdman, Isn't rocket science to figure this one out ..... but then you know what i do for a living Considering your time and initial investment for the varrious fuses that you will inventory to do accomodate us, anything less than $50.00 would be a give away. Eurodino
Yo Eurodino, You are right. It really isn't a big deal to do this yourself, but I still have a fair number of people that want to do this mod and they stress about buying the right fuses, being able to find them, and putting them in. Not everyone is a car fixin' guy. Several people have asked if I can supply the fuses as well, and the more I think about it, the easier that would be to just buy them with the fuses installed. Talk about your no brainer installation! Birdman
