Replacement Fuse Blocks and Possibly TERMINALS

[BowlingSS]

Getting ready to install the TC fuse holder as soon as I get the parts.

Bill

[jetmechmarty]

That one above with the red wires looks professional and I'd have that guy do electrical on my bike anytime.

I have to agree.

[LoHo]

I think that, like most things on these bikes, there are a few ways that work and a million that suck, and that a good method can be ruined by crappy workmanship (like my solder joints). Most guys promote the way they do it, and a few disparage any other methods.

I was just saying that the TC fuse box is a good choice for someone with the old brass and glass fuses. And there is more than one way do it right. The TC box, or something similar, works well. That one above with the red wires looks professional and I'd have that guy do electrical on my bike anytime.

[Gmac]

Dunno LoHo

I've never seen a manufacturer use individual inline fuzes to create a fuze block, just individual usage. They are the blade type fuze in a snap tight enclosure that is waterproof. YMMV

[jetmechmarty]

LoHo,

I hope it's OK if I answer. Here is the response I receive in the ugly duckling thread.

I used the OEM fuse holder and four individual ATM fuse holders from Autozone. I removed each OEM fuse and the associated wires one-at-a-time. I cut back several inches of the OEM wire bundle wrap and s,pliced, soldered and heat shrunk each connection. I varied the lengths of the pre-wired ATM fuse leads so I didn't end up with a bug lump in any one location. You can see one or two of the soldered shrunk connections on the left side of the box, the remainder are up under the re-wrapped main bundle.

Each individual fuse holder is double zip tied to the OEM fuse base at the location of the original glass fuse using the area where the fuse clip use to attach. I used wire marker wrap to maintain an I.D. of each wire and also marked the fuses with: "M 30" (Main), "H 10" (Headlamp), "T 20" (Turns Sigs), "I 10" (Ignition)

Kurt's job looks very good to me. If I had done it, I would have used high temp (uninsulated) butt splices because it's easier for me to do a good job that way. I find doing a good solder joint to be a PITA. There's nothing wrong with it when done properly.

I did mine with TC's box and used the flag terminals. I now have a flag terminal crimper and those joints are good. They aren't easy to crimp without a proper tool. The wires would pull right out of my original installation. I have seen others do the same.

If you did an installation like Kurt's and did a poor job of crimping butt splices, particularly insulated butt splices, the final product would not be any better than poorly crimped flag terminals.

The one that's better is the one that's done right. The Autozone boxes are waterproof. I backed my TC box with a piece of rubber, so it's protected as well. It doesn't get wet behind the side cover anyway on a stock bike.

[LoHo]

Hey Gmac, if that is a superior method, which manufacturers use individual in-line fuses?

[Gmac]

Those are

Individual fuze holders, not the terminal block that TC farms.
Very water proof.

[jetmechmarty]

If it ain't broke, it's still 35 years old, and made of plastic, brass, and glass. I generally agree with the "wait until it fails and fix it" idea, but I think this is pretty pro-active. I'd hate to have an intermittent electrical problem to chase around because a glass fuse had mostly failed, but worked well enough to screw me around.

I bring it up because you can take the right side cover off of many of the bikes that have this modification and pull the wires out of the flag terminals. Mine was one of them! There is one way to do it right and several other ways to just get it done. Some work fine and last a long time, others, not so much.


This was just posted in another thread. (Ugly duckling rebuild) It looks like a nice clean installation. I'd like to know a little more about how the wires are terminated.

[LoHo]

If it ain't broke, it's still 35 years old, and made of plastic, brass, and glass. I generally agree with the "wait until it fails and fix it" idea, but I think this is pretty pro-active. I'd hate to have an intermittent electrical problem to chase around because a glass fuse had mostly failed, but worked well enough to screw me around.

[jetmechmarty]

Of all the mods people consider, this should be first and foremost. It is fairly easy and solves a host of hard-to-find problems down the road.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Do it wrong and you can introduce new problems. Yes, when it's time to replace the box, spade fuses are the way to go.

[LoHo]

Of all the mods people consider, this should be first and foremost. It is fairly easy and solves a host of hard-to-find problems down the road.

[CaptonZap]

If it makes you feel any better, TC doesn't make any money on the kits he sells, he just does it for the love of the game.

CZ

[IanDMacDonald]

I am interested in the fuze block & the 90 degree "Flag style" 0.250" terminal connector. Please send me your paypal email if you are still selling these.

Thanks.
Bill

Hi Bill-

Send a PM to TopCat, and he'll hook you up with the fuse block and flag terminals.

[jetmechmarty]

You should find the flag terminals at your local hardware store. You need four blue ones for the fat wires and the rest are the red ones.

[BowlingSS]

The fuse block is only $3.22 right now.

Bill