fuse box replacement/upgrade

[chester rides again]

ok, so i'm losing tach (aftermarket), fuel guage, temp guage, and brake lights on my 2.25 '68 109. if i jiggle the clips on the fuse they all work, but soon fail again. so i'm thinking the fuse box is bad.

i remember reading about someone, bayou jim?, doing an upgrade to the fuse box. anyone have a link or advice on what to upgrade to - or should i just order a new fuse box from our hosts?

[badvibes]

fues box upgrade to ???

Not trying to hijack but along the lines of a fusebox upgrade what are people doing for complete wiring upgrades? A replacement type original wiring redo or something more modern like a Painless wiring setup? I'd think the original type replacement would be easiest but 2 35 amp fuses is pretty old school. I like the idea of the individually fused circuits with something like a Painless kit. Who's done it?

Jeff

[thixon]

I hav'nt done it to my sIIa yet (Im not at that stage of the reassembly), but I have done it other trucks/cars. Its a snap on something like a series rover. Either the painless or EZwiring hot rod kits would work great. You end up with individually fused circuits, using blade style fuses. It could be done in a day on a rover. The EZwiring kit is cheaper than the painless, but boasts a slightly softer insulation on the wiring in my experience. I used the painless kit on an old full size cherokee. It took me almost an entire saturday, but the wiring on that truck was much harder to run, and there were many more circuits to contend with (power windows, locks, seats, etc). If it were me, I would'nt even think of going back to OEM. Just my two cents.

[thixon]

Hey badvibes,

If you rewired with the painless kit you could upgrade from "often runs" to "usually runs."

Don't worry, I'm envious. Right now mine is "won't run because its in a pile in the garage."

[badvibes]

the Painless kit sounds like the way to go...

thixon-

I'm on a roll. Just did over 900 miles over the past 2 weeks in the Rover with no issues. Posted a couple of pics in the camping section. Was elk hunting here in New Mexico.

Jeff

[chester rides again]

fuse block

is there another alternative to the painless wiring fuse block? i guess i should check napa tomorrow.
why wouldn't i want to keep it simple and just have the same setup?

[LaneRover]

ok, so i'm losing tach (aftermarket), fuel guage, temp guage, and brake lights on my 2.25 '68 109. if i jiggle the clips on the fuse they all work, but soon fail again. so i'm thinking the fuse box is bad.

i remember reading about someone, bayou jim?, doing an upgrade to the fuse box. anyone have a link or advice on what to upgrade to - or should i just order a new fuse box from our hosts?

I can be a lazy bastard sometimes and when I have fuse problems I first try wrapping each end of the fuse in tin foil to see what that does. If that solves the problem I usually then get some fine sand paper and clean up the connections. I also scuff up the end of the fuses themselves and at times bend the fuse clips in a little. Should I get a new fuse block - ya probably but I also think that it is good to be able to Jerry rig a solution when you need to.

It may not be a final fix but it could tell you what the problem is.

Brent

[chester rides again]

I can be a lazy bastard sometimes and when I have fuse problems I first try wrapping each end of the fuse in tin foil to see what that does. If that solves the problem I usually then get some fine sand paper and clean up the connections. I also scuff up the end of the fuses themselves and at times bend the fuse clips in a little. Should I get a new fuse block - ya probably but I also think that it is good to be able to Jerry rig a solution when you need to.

It may not be a final fix but it could tell you what the problem is.

Brent

Brent,
I tried that and it worked for a bit, but then everything went south again. I don't mind not having the inside guages working, but the brake lights and signals are an issue.

Does anyone know if the block itself can go bad?
Jeff

[badvibes]

ok, so i'm losing tach (aftermarket), fuel guage, temp guage, and brake lights on my 2.25 '68 109. if i jiggle the clips on the fuse they all work, but soon fail again. so i'm thinking the fuse box is bad.

i remember reading about someone, bayou jim?, doing an upgrade to the fuse box. anyone have a link or advice on what to upgrade to - or should i just order a new fuse box from our hosts?

Sounds like a loose or dirty connection when you can "jiggle" it to get it working. Have you pulled it to see if cleaning things helps? If things are loose maybe you can crimp or solder a repair. I didn't mean to get things side-tracked with my question about re-wiring and don't think you need anything so drastic as that. I know my trucks wiring is bodged by the previous owner and I haven't done anything to improve it but remove/disconnect smoking wires. Simple is good and if a replacement fuse box is available and not too expensive it sounds like a reasonable option. This guy's site is interesting and has helped me to get/keep my truck running.

www.bayourovers.com

I just know that somewhere down the road my 43 year old wiring is going to have to go or I'll be in for trouble. Sorry for the sidetrack.

Jeff

[Terrys]

is there another alternative to the painless wiring fuse block? i guess i should check napa tomorrow.
why wouldn't i want to keep it simple and just have the same setup?

Yes. Susquehanna Motorsports sells Hella fuse blocks. A 4 circuit fuse block costs about $7.50

[daveb]

have had the same problem. "green" (i.e., ignition/switched) fuse loses connectivity. I had pretty good succes using some copper paste on the fuse clips. also a little emery cloth and bending the clips so they are tighter will help. don't rewire your whole truck juist because one fuse is breaking contact.

ok, so i'm losing tach (aftermarket), fuel guage, temp guage, and brake lights on my 2.25 '68 109. if i jiggle the clips on the fuse they all work, but soon fail again. so i'm thinking the fuse box is bad.

i remember reading about someone, bayou jim?, doing an upgrade to the fuse box. anyone have a link or advice on what to upgrade to - or should i just order a new fuse box from our hosts?

[chester rides again]

Problem Solved - but I feel stupid!!!

So I scuffed up the contacts, started to check all the grounds, and then went back and stared at the fuses... I pulled the one in question out and gave it a slight twist - the end cap came right off!!! The fuse looked good, but with a cracked end it would contact when I played it, but when it started to take a load, it lost contacts....

Man I feel like a idiot, but I'm real happy to be going for a drive tomorrow!

Brent, you pretty much hit it on the head!

Jeff

[daveb]

bastard nigel

took my 109 out for a test run today, first time on the road since arpil, new engine and a host of other repairs and upgrades.

went to get gas and it would not restart. lost contact on the starter button.

fixed that and found no tail, brake, or running lights. guess what? the fuse was not making contact. uncanny...

actually that occured a few days ago as well, so maybe your rover acquired the illness from mine. which would be a mutation of nigel's disease because I never even mentioned it!

So I scuffed up the contacts, started to check all the grounds, and then went back and stared at the fuses... I pulled the one in question out and gave it a slight twist - the end cap came right off!!! The fuse looked good, but with a cracked end it would contact when I played it, but when it started to take a load, it lost contacts....

Man I feel like a idiot, but I'm real happy to be going for a drive tomorrow!

Brent, you pretty much hit it on the head!

Jeff

[Donnie]

Brent,
I tried that and it worked for a bit, but then everything went south again. I don't mind not having the inside guages working, but the brake lights and signals are an issue.

Does anyone know if the block itself can go bad?
Jeff

just stop by your local body shop, they will have a small spot bead blaster that will cover the area about the size of the fuse box, it has a recovery feature so as not to get media all over, very neat & clean...easy to do while U wait if you are a friend. this unit is hand held about the size of a paint gun..........Donnie

[LaneRover]

So I scuffed up the contacts, started to check all the grounds, and then went back and stared at the fuses... I pulled the one in question out and gave it a slight twist - the end cap came right off!!! The fuse looked good, but with a cracked end it would contact when I played it, but when it started to take a load, it lost contacts....

Man I feel like a idiot, but I'm real happy to be going for a drive tomorrow!

Brent, you pretty much hit it on the head!

Jeff

No reason to feel stupid! At least you figured it out before you dove into too much work! Come to think of it, I think I have had a fuse lose an end cap before too.

And usually when I hit something on the head, it is usually my mine!

Brent