Was it the fuseable link that was bad or just the wire near it? If a fuseable link is bad, it's best to replace it with one exactly like it. They are there to protect the vehicle from major elextrical overload/fires, etc in the event something goes really wrong.

If it was just the wire that leads up to the link, then splicing in a new wire is just fine.

 

What is that wisecrack about? Sounds like somebody here is a chebbie spy!

Actually I'm not a very good Ford owner. I don't treat them as well as I should, but the old trucks keep treating me right anyway!

 

Hey, I wouldnt own a GM truck, if you can call it that. This is my 2nd Ford, and the first one ran 320,000 before I sold it to my friend, a former GM man, who has been converted to Fordland.

I love all of those FORD titles. Found On Road Dead is my personal favorite, and being told that on cool nights in the fall you can hear a Ford rust.

I own a General Misery car, an Olds, and it has been with me for 20 years itself.

I promise that I would not post here if I was not a true blue Ford man. Every work truck I have driven have been Fords, and they rode surprisingly good, considering what was being hauled on them. A Chefrolay truck cant do it.

 

RR4E is right of course. Fuse links are just that: FUSES

They are, however, protection from very serious short circuits. Better to lose a fuse link rather than an entire wiring loom, and possibly burning the whole vehicle. I have replaced fuse links by installing a small heavy-duty fuse block and routing the affected circuit through a "Slo-blo" fuse. The problem with this scheme is that I have found no specs on the amperage rating of the fuse links. Therefore I look at all the circuits fed by the particular link and come up with a reasonable estimate of the maximum current that the fuse link should have to handle if all is working well, then us a fuse of or below that amperage.

I have come to the conclusion that the fuse links never fail except in the case of a really disasterous short, of the type usually caused by humanoids.

So why would I change to a fuse block and Slo-blo fuse? Because to properly change a fuse link is just as much trouble, but with my arrangement, it you ever have to change the Slo-blo fuse, it's a plug in deal. And it is easier to trouble-shoot.

 

Fuseable links are color coded, as are fuses.

You can simply replace them with an in-line fuse holder that requires a fuse of the same color. They would do exactly the same thing. To add to this, prior decades of Fords came with in-line fuse holders. My 69 had them, and they were rated according to color of wire(you had to check the manual to find the right fuse color, as they were not blade style fuses). If you use a current in-line blade style fuse holder(color coded to the specific amperage of the existing fuseable link) you can replace it with the same safety specs the link had, but with less hassle to change out, should it blow.

 

My '83 has all of its original fuse-links. My previous truck, an '84, had seen much hardship before I bought it. All of the links had been cut out and not replaced. I replaced all of them with the proper size replacement. I also un-did alot of bad wiring and idiotic lighting ideas. What were these guys thinking? When I bought my '84, there were no working accessories circuits. I blew fuses in the fuse panel every couple of days, and had taillights that glowed at night with no lights turned on, and a heater motor that would sit there turning several RPM's without really doing anything.

After my repairs, all of this stopped, no more blown fuses, and never had a problem with the links at all. Sometimes I wonder where peoples heads are when they are hooking things up in their vehicles. I've always done wiring 'by the book,' and have never had an issue... knock on wood.

 

I understand the pain. I'm a real advocate of solder and shrinktube connections, many here will say that crimp connectors are good enough. I prefer better than good enough, and take the time.

On my own truck, I've found everything from house-hold marrette's(made for 110/115 volt AC current) to wire tie(twisted together) connections wrapped in electrical tape, amongst other assorted crap including some of the most despiseable connections know to man kind...namely splice/tap style connections, where the splice cuts all but 2 or 5 strands of wire, and leaves it to chance with one or 2 good bumps that cause it to flex enough to cut the remaining strands, but still looks ok to the naked eye.

I've sorted through god only knows how much wire and solder this summer, and I'm not done yet, but may have to give it a rest for the winter, as I have no garage to work in. My attention now, is on the front brakes, and a good winter tune-up and battery check. The bubs need replacing as well, so those are my next few week's worth of projects, and may have to suffer in a borrowed cold garage, rather than work outside(better out of the wind) to get it all done.

One thing to be said for any job done. Do it right once, and you won't have to come back to it. One thing I absolutely hate is repeating a repair I did just a few months ago. It's better to do the whole job once, with quality parts, than do it several times over in not to long of a time period.

 

It was the wire before the fusable link not the fusable link.