LUVTruck.com

Hey guys... anyone here ever done anything about those glass fuses? I don't think I would mind them so much if my fuse panel wasn't all rusty and my wires didn't look like hell. I'm going to be upgrading some of the wiring and I picked up an ATC fuse panel real cheap, so I figure that'll remedy the bad fuse connections at least. I'm not an electrical genius, to say the least, so I just want to know if anyone else has ever done it and what your thoughts are. Also perhaps about upgrading wiring? By the way guys, look into this fuse panel I picked up at NAPA...

BUSS ATC Fuse Panel 15600-06-20

Many have had to replace their fuses blocks in favor of a better setup. As long as the new fuse holder has 6 fuses it shouldn't be too hard to do. As for wiring upgrades, i would recommend a head light upgrade. The stock headlight wiring is 22 gage and at least 20 years old. Going to a better wiring system for the headlights should be mandatory to any street legal Luv. The trucks came stock with incandesent headlights and going to halogen sealed beam lights will only do little to help. But upgradeing to bigger wiring will show fantastic results. This may be more than your willing to tackle but if you keep everything organized and a wiring diagram to follow, it will be worth it. And if you want to go that extra step, you can go with composite headlight shells that take aftermarket bulbs. This will be on par with current headlight technology and it will light up the road!

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I plan to go with PAINLESS WIRING and just install an entirely new harness. Let them know just what you have to power and you can get one oustanding harness with everything you need. Every wire is labled so you know exactly where it goes. You will get one top of the line setup and the only headache you will get is trying to determine the best routing for it.
Rick

make a wiring diagram before you start.
that takes all the guesswork out of it.

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03Cobra

You may want to try this supplier, they are quite a bit cheaper than painless. http://www.ezwiring.com/


2centsworth

EZ is a lot cheaper and offer more circuits, not that I would need them, but they would be nice to have and allow future ideas. Thanks....
Rick

Thanks for the opinions, guys. Just wanted to let you know that my ATC blade-type fuse box upgrade is an awesome success. My glass-fuse fusebox was a real piece of junk. If I so much as looked at a wire the wrong way, everything stopped working.

Heres what I'm did: relocate the fuse panel to inside the cab and slightly under the dash. I added 2 seperate small fuse panels instead of just one, each with 6 fuses for a total of 12. One is the hardwired (always hot) fuse panel, and the other is switched. You're probably asking "why the hell do that, the LUV only has 6 total fuses?" Well heres my reasoning... the fuse panels are compact, cheap, and don't have the capability to hook up multiple different sources. Meaning, the incoming wire goes to all 6 fuses. The 2 panels also leaves me the ability to add things to where I need... like if I want the new accessory hardwired or on only when the ignition is. On top of that, I like having lots of open fuse slots to play with for when I do my alternator upgrade

So.... how much does this all cost?
2 ATC blade-type fuse panels: $30
1 pack of fuses: $5
1 25' roll of 14 gauge primary wire: $5
Misc. connectors and mounting screws: $5

In other words, all of this happened for me for under 50 bucks. I also did some minor wiring upgrades under the hood with the leftover wire I had. I put all the new wires that are running through the firewall to my fuse panels in a nice wiring loom to keep them together and looking professional. I would have to say that for the money, this ranks as one of the must-do upgrades for the LUV.

Thats pretty heavy for a guy that says that they're not an electrical genius.... Was this just a ploy to bait us with so you can show all of you M.I.T. buddies what a bunch of dorks we are!?!?!?!
Glad to see that it was a success. I still recommend a headlight upgrade!

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I had to post again because i didn't like the previous post count

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Well, Blue Meanie just blew my cover. No, actually I really do suck with electrical stuff but this upgrade was surprisingly simple and absolutly worth every dime. You're right about those headlights though, and when I have some more money I plan on doing the whole thing... H4's, new connectors, and heavier wiring.

You can do the headlight upgrade for about the same cost as the fuse block job but without the new light assy's. Then later you can get the new assy's and it will be plug and play. The light wiring will help the stock setup.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.