Cheap and easy ATO fuse block installation
 

I found a cheap and easy replacement for the old corroding Porsche fuses. I just replaced my 21 way fuse block with an ATO block. They are available in 6, 9, 12 and 15 way, but only had 6 and 15 in stock recently.
They fit almost exactly in place of the old blocks - even the original metric screws were used after I slightly enlarged the holes in the new blocks.The new blocks are the same width and slightly shorter than original ones. I think 15 and 9 way would probably fit, if extra fuses were needed. I have 2 spare places as I only needed 2 fuses to drive the 4 headlight relays.
These panels accept wires under a clamp with Torx T15 screw head.
The original Porsche wire ends in the fuse box have small brass tubes crimped on them and these slip easily under the new clamps. Except for a few really thick red wires. For each of these, I separated the wire strands into 2 groups, and fed them to either side of the screw clamps.
With the ATO fuses in place, the new blocks are about 1/10 inch too tall for the fuse cover to fit!! But the metal tabs at the bottom edge of the box can be bent upwards by that much, so the cover can fit perfectly after all!!
I recorded and carefully marked each wire before disconnecting it, took about an hour.
Then replaced the block and reconnected the wires. Took about another hour, mainly because of the thick wires.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379609719.jpg
The blocks are part number FP-ATO-S06, FP-ATO-S15, priced at $5.58 and $21.87
They are made by GEP Power Products, but sold by them only in huge quantities!
They are distributed by Chief Enterprises, in Elmhurst, IL. in single quantities, and accept phone orders on 1-800-831-7294 or 630-530-1224.
I found them very obliging. (I have no connection to this firm).
So for 2 hours work and $30 this is a great improvement. Enjoy!

Thank you Algernon, well done!

Wow.. that looks really tidy.. I am going to consider this for my car..!

Fresh, clean connections using modern easy to find and replace fuses. Chief has a Web Store - http://store.chiefenterprises.com/ but neither of those part numbers work.. did find a 12 fuse panel though - http://store.chiefenterprises.com/Products/Multiple-Fuse-Relay-Holders/FP-ATO-S12

Guess a phone call is required for the odd sizes but 2 12's should fill it up quite well, $36.xx shipped.

2 -12's is what I ordered a few weeks ago from them.
Nice product. Will install this winter when I do everything else I'm planning to do to my car. :)

nice! and it looks like an easy reversal if need be.

Yes, that's another bonus!

I imagine 2 x 12way will also work fine.

That ought to keep those nasty feral cats out. :p

It looks like the "bridging" you'd find on the back of the original panel was accommodated on the new panel by spliting the large red feeds and putting in red wire loops to the appropriate fuses to achieve the same effect?

Nice job.

thanks,

I did the same thing over last Winter,although it was Fred Cook's system,you definitely have to follow the wiring diagram and bridge the correct wires !
It seems intimidating at first but when it's all done you realize how simple it really is ...

Cheers
Phil

Yes, exactly! I didn't realize there were extra links on the back of the old fuse holders until I turned them over! Good thing I looked!

... just thought of something.... (I was mistaken about the type of connection and now realize it's the 'blade' type fuse connector.

Although yours fit together nicely, I'm wondering if one were to install the blade crimp on connector to each wire - if the splitting of the main red feed would be necessary?

Question: do you think the connection could easily handle a stack of three blade connectors? A few of my old '73 wires have 3 into 1.

thanks,

The reason I really like this type of fuse block is it avoids having to put on any crimp-on connectors! I was not confident that I could get a good enough crimp to avoid future problems.
And to have to go over each crimp with a soldering iron seemed like a real pain, kneeling in the cramped conditions of the trunk.

Further, as the original Porsche terminations have a crimped tube(?) on each wire end, this would need to be cut off and then a new bare end stripped off before even starting to re-crimp. All that work!! Might as well go with Fred's dis-connect method.

With the screw clamp really wide open, yes, I think 3 of the open-mouth type 'spade' connectors would go in fine.
However, the barrel parts of the connectors, containing the wires themselves, might be hard to stack. You could try stuffing more than one wire into a single barrel. You have still got to re-terminate the wire which creates another potential trouble spot if not crimped with enough force!

Actually I had several places where 3 or even 4 wires went to one spot. Because the screw to each fuse place is centrally positioned in the clamp, one or even 2 wires can go either side! So I had no trouble fitting then all in, even with the Porsche terminations.

A couple of the Porsche terminations had got mashed over the years by the original screw points, so I had to massage them a bit to get them to fit.
I tried to get the same amount of wire on each side of the screw, so that it clamped down smoothly. (for the big red wires - I really think a good crimp or solder connection would take a lot of effort!)

But actually the Porsche terminations made things a bit easier as they looked somewhat cleaner than the 30+ years old copper wire itself. I hated the thought of getting a clean solder join without damaging the insulation. Especially as some of the wires were already quite short!

I hope this helps, it was really not so bad. Worse part was making sure every wire was labeled, and I didn't forget any of the 'hidden' connections originally on the back of the blocks!

That is sweet Al.

I'm going to sticky note this one for a winter project.

PP should package this one.

Griff

Wow, Elmhurst is just 15 minutes from me, and I drove through there yesterday. Need to hop over there next week and pick up a couple pieces for myself. I have one of Fred Cook's panels that I haven't installed yet, but this looks far easier.

Nice find Algernon!!

If you're putting the bare stranded wire into the panel, be sure to tighten up the screw that holds them down after a few miles. The stranded wire will loosen from under the clamp with a bit of vibration. It's just the wire compressing and a quick check of the tightness of the screw should eliminate the possibility of any flaky connections later on.

Great idea and good luck!

Next time I do this, I will substitute one of these for the left hand group of fuses, to eliminate the 'big red' wire problem. These blocks already have the fuses ganged or 'bussed' together!
http://www.ceautoelectricsupply.com/fuseholders.html
I wish now I'd seen them before. In fact I might retro-fit one if numbers fit.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379728970.jpg

To avoid the red wire loops you can make a copper bridge like this one:
(this one is a dummy just to show you how I think it should look like, I would use a copper strip of 18 or 20 gage.)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379737331.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379737356.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379737382.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379737406.jpg

What is the current rating of those fuse blocks?

30 amps per fuse circuit.
GEP Power Products - ATO Blade Type Fuse Panels

With those copper bridges I would be careful to use thick enough copper to carry the current load. Could you not use a straight piece of copper and just bend it to make bridges to go over the insulation barriers between the circuits?

There are tinned brass jumpers made for terminal blocks I use a lot in the industry. I'll take a look and see which ones fit the best for these next week some time.

With the GEP Fuse Panels you could use these jumpers. They seem to have the same spacing between th slots for the screws, 0.438". And you could use multiples if you want to bridge more than 2 circuits:

Molex Incorporated - 38002-1478 - Terminal Block Accessories - Jumpers / Bridges - Allied Electronics

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379743890.jpg

Nice find Porwolf, exactly what I was talking about. (Except mine are squared off on top)

One other jumper option would be to file the insulation barriers and use a straight strip of copper with holes to fit the screws.

You made me look Don...:cool:
Just pop the segment off and connect them internally. They come off the base really easily with a small flat blade screwdriver.
Each screw terminal segment then pops right out.
May need to do a little fab work but it would be hidden... Very stealthy mod!:D
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379746936.jpg

Great idea!

Dennis
I have not found the way to put the jumper internally. The only way I was thinking is to put the straight jumper with holes and use nuts to hold it in place but it must be screwed after the cable is secured.

The other concern to use this type of fuse block is the total amperage that it can handle as a whole unit. I remember somebody mentioned it in another post.

30 amps per fuse, I posted it and a link to the manufacturer earlier at the bottom of the first page.
Just exploring options, perhaps the manufacturer has linked terminals to insert in the cover for this product.
I was thinking I could waste/trash a segment working on a solution as I don't need all 24 fuse positions for my car. 21 gives me a few spares on my zero optioned '78.
I bought 2 12 piece blocks a few weeks ago. :)

The total amperage is not as important as how good the conductors are in all thel the segments, including the fuses. If there is minimal voltage drop then there is minimal heat generated. It probably would be best not to use the wire ends to connect to the screw terminals but crimp-on ring connectors as seen in post 17.

The GEP catalog says: "Inquire at factory about bussed options". Timmy, have you asked them?

diifficult to find fuse blocks with that high of a current rating, that are such a close fit....excellent find.

regards,
Al

How about these 30A jumpers from Amazon...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379776160.jpg
Blue Sea 9217 Jumper Terminal 2500 Series,
5 per packet, nickel plated brass rated at 30A,
$6.80/pkt, O.O.S. at the moment.

I have not talked to the factory, as the OP noted they only want to supply in bulk so
I guess calling their distributor Chief Enterprises would be the best bet.

Would those not raise the height of the panel and impact closing your cover?

Can anyone comment on how effective this project has been to wake up things that haven't worked for a while? It seems like a no brainer at this price, I'm adding it to the winter projects!

Fuse load rating?
 

Just curious, what is the individual and combined fuse load rating for these blocks? Often, a block might be able to take a 30 amp fuse in one position but the combined load rating might only be 60 amps (for example). Since some of the 911 fuse panels will use 2, 3 or more 25 amp fuses in consecutive slots it might be overloading the panels safe capacity. Something to consider.

Jumper strips......
 

Leaving the jumper strips exposed/not insulated might not be a good idea. Too easy to cause a short! Maybe a dip in some liquid plastic tool handle material would fix the problem?

When I posted this concern:
"The other concern to use this type of fuse block is the total amperage that it can handle as a whole unit. I remember somebody mentioned it in another post."

I was trying to remember Fred Cook's comment in another post:

"Just curious, what is the individual and combined fuse load rating for these blocks? Often, a block might be able to take a 30 amp fuse in one position but the combined load rating might only be 60 amps (for example). Since some of the 911 fuse panels will use 2, 3 or more 25 amp fuses in consecutive slots it might be overloading the panels safe capacity. Something to consider."

Now regarding the exposed jumper strips, the original Porsche fuse blocks had some exposed jumpers. But the idea of painting the exposed metal with Plastidip or something similar is a very good idea.

Exposed jumper in origial fuseblock
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1379866077.jpg