Changing Fuse Box

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Dec 20, 2004 | 08:12 PM

lippsgarage

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From: Taylorville, IL

Changing Fuse Box

I have a 79 F-150 and I have the old fuse style. I want to switch to the newer blade style, but I'm not much of an electrician. I can wire stereos pretty well, so I can do some stuff, buit I don't even know where to start. I've thought about the painless wiring kits, but I'm not sure I'd be able to do everything. I'm just glad it's an old carb motor, at least it keeps it simple. Any help?

Dec 20, 2004 | 09:39 PM

midlf

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This is quite a job. I'm familiar with vehicle electric systems and electricity in general and I would hesitate to do it without a very good reason. Replacing this would require finding a replacement that would fit and then one heck of a lot of splicing. The new connections would be prime candidates for future failures.Before I replaced this system I would try to find an exact one I had and just change out the parts that were failing. If I needed more circuits I would grab the underhood power box from a newer truck and use it, or purchase an auxilary fuse panel and use it.

What is driving your desire to do this refit?

Dec 21, 2004 | 08:39 PM

lippsgarage

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From: Taylorville, IL

I plan on doing a lot with this truck, such as a winch, many lights (like 7 aux and an underbody light kit) a major stereo, and other such features. And with a complete rebuild (one piece at a time) judges would look down on an old system I believe. And I've just never been a fan of the old style. How hard would it be to just add on a second panel for additional and leave the core origional? Again, any help would be great.

Dec 21, 2004 | 09:57 PM

Franklin2

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From: Virginia

Quote:

How hard would it be to just add on a second panel for additional and leave the core origional?

That would certainly be a lot easier than the first option discussed. You can buy a complete aux fuse box from someplace like JCWhitney, or you could hunt around the junkyards till you found something you liked. I am noticing a lot of the newer cars and trucks are doing getting away from fusible links, and are going with "maxi fuses". These things have pretty high amperage ratings, which would be useful for large amps and winches.

You can switch the aux fuse box with a relay if you wanted key on power. The most common and cheap relay is the 30 amp style, and if that wasn't enough amps, you can run two or three 30 amp relays feeding different parts of the fuse box. Or you can buy larger relays, but they are expensive.