The Infamous Series 2 Fusebox

vaultsman

vaultsman

Well-Known Member
Like a number of forumites, I today found wisps of smoke emanating from Occie's passenger side glovebox. Pulled over and switched off, and it was fairly obvious things weren't looking good around the lower contact for the heater motor fuse. The fuse fitted was a Lucas 15A, but only 30mm long. :roll:



Pulled the fuse and got home without any more smoke, but I need to get it sorted. Given the reputation of these fuseboxes, I'd like to replace it with a blade fuse system rather then have to revisit it again.

From an earlier post on here by Tom W, I found a link to these 6-way rear-entry boxes:

http://www.autosparks.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1267

Tom's thoughts were to fit 2 of these - I've PM'd to ask if he ever did.

In the meantime, any tips from those of you who've done this job? What box(es) did you go for?

Cheers,
Stan
 
Some better pics of the heat damage, now the glovebox is out:




It's also apparent a couple of the other fuses are under-length. I could just clean up the contacts, pinch the holders up and replace any suspect fuses but, again, I'm not convinced the original fusebox gives long-term peace of mind.

Opinions anybody?
 
vaultsman said:
I could just clean up the contacts, pinch the holders up and replace any suspect fuses but, again, I'm not convinced the original fusebox gives long-term peace of mind.

Opinions anybody?
Click to expand...

You could, but then you'll be driving around all the time waiting for that burning smell....
 
vaultsman said:
I could just clean up the contacts, pinch the holders up and replace any suspect fuses but, again, I'm not convinced the original fusebox gives long-term peace of mind.

Opinions anybody?
Click to expand...
Totally agree with Harvey. It looks as though you had a fortuitous escape there, so I wouldn't push my luck any further :shock:

Reading the description of the FBB16U box shows it doesn't have spade terminals in them, so you would have to cut the old terminals off of the cables, then crimp/solder on the new terminals, which may cause you an issue with cable length, as I understand it is a bit tight in there already :?
 
Hi, I havn't had occasion to do this job but it has come close a couple of times. Having
contemplated it and seen how it is connected already, my only suggestions are to get two
shorter fuse boxes this would make working on them easier and also have side entry
Lucar term's they are easier to link together with appropriate terminals. Also crimp then
solder (you know, you just put the egg in your mouth and suck :wink: )

Hope this helps!

Colin
 
codekiddie said:
Totally agree with Harvey. It looks as though you had a fortuitous escape there, so I wouldn't push my luck any further :shock:

Reading the description of the FBB16U box shows it doesn't have spade terminals in them, so you would have to cut the old terminals off of the cables, then crimp/solder on the new terminals, which may cause you an issue with cable length, as I understand it is a bit tight in there already :?
Click to expand...

Thanks Phil. Yes, like I said, blade fuses are the way forward for peace of mind.

The existing terminals will have to come off anyway as they're not standard Lucar spades, but are a special design crimp terminal with integral 1/2 fuseholder.

colnerov said:
Hi, I havn't had occasion to do this job but it has come close a couple of times. Having
contemplated it and seen how it is connected already, my only suggestions are to get two
shorter fuse boxes this would make working on them easier and also have side entry
Lucar term's they are easier to link together with appropriate terminals. Also crimp then
solder (you know, you just put the egg in your mouth and suck :wink: )

Hope this helps!

Colin
Click to expand...

Thanks Colin. Take your point about 2No. 6-way boxes probably being a bit easier to work on than a 12-way.

Not sure side entry is the best option though? The existing box is rear entry and I doubt the cables are long enough as they stand to go round to both sides of a new fuseholder.
 
I have repalced fuse box in situ resoldering tags on. Fiddly is one word to describe it.

The was the mod where you clamp either side of the fuse holder with what looks like a staple.

I think that were both sides connected to the wiring it would help.

Look at the fuse box for a landrover defender. It is a good size and easy to covert.

Colin
 
It looks like your fuse box has melted much more than mine. I have to admit I've been lazy and haven't got round to replacing my fuse box yet. The car has spent much of the last year in a lockup getting precious little use. Sorting out the E-type has been swallowing most of my time and cash.

I do still plan to replace the fuse box with a blade type, as I proposed in the earlier thread. The concerns I have that I've yet to resolve are can new fuse boxes be mounted without drilling extra holes in the base unit? Will the cables be long enough after cutting off the old terminals? Will the new terminals be big enough to take the multiple wires that need to connect in from the loom? These are currently divided between both legs of the fuse holders. How important is maintaining originality? Obviously I don't want it so original it catches fire, but glass fuses are period so should I fit a reliable glass fuse holder? This tends to add up to much more than the blade fuse solution.

I believe the fundamental problem with the standard fuse box is the 2 halves of a fuse clamp are only electrically connected by the fuse end cap and various circuits are daisy chained along the input side of the fuse box from one common feed. As the fuse box gets hot, the clamping pressure on the fuse drops and the resistance increases, generating more heat and causing a vicious spiral.

Tom
 
If you do embark on this, I can thoroughly recommend crimping tool MP71 £8.95 from Vehicle Wiring Products. This is for non insulated terminals and, with practice, you can produce some professional looking crimps.
 
I believe most places list them as 32mm long, but I seem to recall these are an equivalent listing for the correct 1 1/4" inch long fuses. thetoolboxshop.com list them.
 
Here you go, Stan. This is what you need:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-P6-Fuse ... 1149735594

Not only will it restore the original weakness to your car for those who prize originality in all its forms :wink: , but the seller has also helpfully hacked the wires off at the bulk head, meaning you'll double the number of dodgy soldered up connections and connector blocks, for extra period risk!

Joke, of course :LOL: I'd be very interested in seeing a blade fuse setup if anyone has pulled it off. Failing that, how big did good old fashioned bakelite fuse boxes go? Perhaps you could double up with a pair of them.
 
It is possible to replace a heat damaged original style fusebox with a good, used identical Fusebox without cutting any wires. Of course, disconnect the battery first. If you find a small flat headed electrical screwdriver, you poke it down the outside edge of each terminal, from the front. This flattens a small tang on the terminal which allows you to withdraw the wire and terminal from the rear of the fuseboard. You will possibly need to repeat this procedure for the replacement fuseboard, swapping cables over one by one and making notes so you don't create a bugger's muddle. You then simply lift the tang on the terminal and then feed it back into the correct position on the replacement fuseboard.

I found that one wire had melted slightly at the terminal. so I cut the damaged section back (all of 1 inch plus terminal) and then used one of the spare, uncrimped terminals from the replacement fusebox to make up a new connection. I used Vehicle Wiring Products crimper MP71, which produced a factory quality crimp. I cleaned up all the terminals with fine emery paper and sprayed them with a mist of Servisol.

Touch wood, with new 11/4 inch fuses, none of these get warm in action, but I will keep my eye on them.
 
rp61973 said:
It is possible to replace a heat damaged original style fusebox with a good, used identical Fusebox without cutting any wires.
Click to expand...

I happened to be looking in the parts book for something else the other day and there's a fusebox kit listed in there, and in my book there were hand written notes next to the illustration, so they were being fitted when they were new(ish), probably for the same problem.
 
I replaced mine with a spare one that I had from a local spares haul.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4907&start=0&hilit=fuse+box

I can remember it being a bit fiddly, and that was replacing like for like. I took a load of photos, just to make sure they all went back together correctly, then set about with a small screwdriver removing one blade at a time.

It's been fine since then, must be 5 or 6 years ago now.

Richard
 
redrover said:
How's this? Same number of fuses. Roughly similar shape. Seems about right? Just a lot of stripping and crimping to do with lucar connectors...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blade-Fuse-Bo ... 1c22bbbcbc
Click to expand...

Thanks Michael. Yes, that looks OK but I need to check carefully if there's enough slack on the cables after fitting new spade terminals to use a side-entry box. At the moment I'm still recording the connections and cross-checking against the wiring diagram...as there are quite a few terminals in the box that have 2 or even 3 cables/links connected.

I've been looking around for 6- or 12-way boxes that have double-decker connections to each side of blade fuse, but no joy so far. This (probably) means there'll be quite a few piggyback spades to cope with. With all the cables and links, there are 43 crimps to do (if I do one cable per spade).... :roll:

rp61973 said:
If you do embark on this, I can thoroughly recommend crimping tool MP71 £8.95 from Vehicle Wiring Products. This is for non insulated terminals and, with practice, you can produce some professional looking crimps.
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul, looks well worth the extra few quid on the job.

Stan
 
Hi Stan,

I had a problem with the fuse for the blower motor in my Rover some years ago. Had the blower running, but the air flow was decreasing and then the motor just stopped. Had a look at the fuse and it was too hot to touch. Luckily it hadn't started melting anything. The connectors on the reverse side were touched with solder and that seemed to keep everything much more acceptable, although since then I have had a reluctance to use the blower.

Another point that I have noticed is, should the voltage drop across the fuse exceed 60mV or so, then it will increase in temperature with use. In such a case, I'll remove the fuse, clean the contacts then squeeze them together so as to apply additional pressure to the fuse upon refitting. The voltage drop across the fuse will then be in the order of 40mV or so, and when in use, no discernable heat will be felt.

Ron.
 
SydneyRoverP6B said:
clean the contacts then squeeze them together so as to apply additional pressure to the fuse upon refitting
Click to expand...

Heard this a few times and to honest, I disagree that it helps.

The springiness is nothing to do with the brass contacts, as most of them are not joined together at the back. The plastic forms the spring, not the metal bit.

Give them a good clean and ensure that the fuses are the correct length, that certainly helps.

Richard
 
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