New Fuse Panel Installed

[Pstallo]

Finally! The fuse panel is installed. I have two small problems left to sort out (cigarette lighter doesn't have power and the fresh air fan doesn't turn on. I'll disassemble those connections and see if my wires came loose.

This is the Fred Cook panel, but I opted to keep my pre-existing JWest headlight relay just because I was already familiar with the wiring. It only took a slight adjustment with a Dremel tool and the stock fuse cover fit back into place as well.


Anyway, here's the 50 tagged wires and the finished product:

[70basket]

Good job looks nice

[timmy2]

Cigar lighter and fresh air fan are on the same feed.
(usually a blue wire from the fuse panel, the lighter wire becomes a black wire in the 6 pin connector for the fan controls)

Should be an easy fix.

[Pstallo]

Turns out I still missed one last jumper that included fuses 8, 9, and 10. Made up the crappiest-looking three-way jumper ever, put it in and everything was working.

Then, I went for a test ride around the neighborhood with the wife and daughter. I watched the voltmeter, the wife held a fire extinguisher, and the child waved to everyone like the queen of England.

Fortunately, the trip was a success--no smoke and no hot wires! Success!

[fred cook]

Very nice installation job! Your car should be much happier now than before! As the "A Team" would say, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

[DougZ]

Eventually this upgrade will have to be done by most owners to keep everything safe. I am just wondering. Would this upgrade diminish the value and originality of the car when it's time to sell. If you enter shows would this upgrade be accepted.

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by DougZ

Eventually this upgrade will have to be done by most owners to keep everything safe. I am just wondering. Would this upgrade diminish the value and originality of the car when it's time to sell. If you enter shows would this upgrade be accepted.

If the original cover is kept on the new fuse panel and the trunk has the normal carpet, the new fuse panel is completely out of sight. The judge(s) would have to pull the cover to see the updated panel. That is one reason that I build the panels like this!

[Pstallo]

The cover fits just fine over mine. Just today, I received my 'smart fuses' that light up when they are blown, so the whole thing completely fits into my goal of 'modernizing everything possible, but keeping the look the same'

I actually can't believe that I completed the job on my own! If I can install the fuse block, then absolutely anybody can.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by DougZ

Eventually this upgrade will have to be done by most owners to keep everything safe. I am just wondering. Would this upgrade diminish the value and originality of the car when it's time to sell. If you enter shows would this upgrade be accepted.

I think people should consider their goals for their car. If the goal is to create a 'concours perfect' vehicle then you should obviously not do this. But the vast majority of 911 owners do not have cars with the providence to be a special concours car.

On my '83, if I wanted concours perfection, I would not:

- upgrade to later Carrera oil-fed chain tensioners
- install updated ATO style fuse panels
- install an in-line fuse near the front condenser blower motor (prevents a fire hazard)
- install a fuse on the instrument panel circuit (another fire hazard)
- lower it to Euro ride height
- install stiffer torsion bars

You get the idea. There are things that you can do that improve reliability, safety or performance. Those changes are worthwhile to a car that is actually driven, in my opinion.

How might it affect resell? I'd point to something like Carrera chain tensioners. Not original, but somehow people generally consider that acceptable (in fact, many potential buyers ask if it's been done). Why is this any different?

If your goal is a reliable driver, then you should absolutely consider a job like this.

[emac]

Fred would you be kind enough to post prices again. Thank you

Ernie 81sc

[Jonny H]

Ok, I'll chime in here.

One of the reasons we kept with the screw terminals on our fuse panel design is so that the original wiring loom doesn't need to be messed about with. Unfortunately, any solutions based on crimp connectors will require removing then brass ferrules from the end of each wire as crimping over them is not satisfactory.

If we are talking about reliability, the 50 or so extra connections required for the crimp terminal solution also introduce more potential failure points. If you use a cheap crimp tool you are going to end up in a worse position. The only way I would entertain this method is with bare metal crimps applied using a professional ratchet tool and heat shrink / boot over.

[Pstallo]

To comment on Tirwin and Jonny H: I agree that you have to determine what your goals are. My goal is not concours, but to have as modern and reliable a car that I can that still has the cool, classic looks.

For Jonny H, I would whole-heartedly agree about the crimping tool. I had to ditch a cheap Ebay crimper and get a decent one. I spent more money, but the cheap one just wasn't doing the trick at all.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by Jonny H

If you use a cheap crimp tool you are going to end up in a worse position. The only way I would entertain this method is with bare metal crimps applied using a professional ratchet tool and heat shrink / boot over.

That's what I did. Anyone doing this job should absolutely invest in a quality crimp tool.

There was a thread a while ago where people debated crimp vs. solder vs crimp AND solder.

Also I had quite a bit of corrosion on my old wire ends. No matter which solution you use, it is a good idea to remove a few millimeters of the wire ends to expose clean copper and use a good anti-oxidation agent.

[winders]

I don't think it is good form for someone with a competing product to comment negatively on a choice a made by the competitor in a thread about an install of the competitor's product. Save that as a positive for your product in a thread about your product.

This would have been better:

If you are going to install a fuse panel that requires the use of a crimp tool, make sure you use a professional ratcheting crimp tool. Using a cheap crimp tool will increase the likelihood of crimps coming loose and would lower the reliability of the fuse panel even versus the factory fuse panel. Also, I would recommend using bare metal crimps and heat shrink / boot over.

[Ds1]

I'm about to attemp this but "home made" using fuse blocks made for car audio. What did you use for jumpers?