Secondary fuse box?

[BigIrish]

So the fuse box in my '62 Fairlane is attached to the back of the headlight switch. The most asinine arrangement I can think of, since you can't even see, much less access it.

Anyway, I need more juice to run the future stereo, elec fan and, A/c blower, so I was thinking about adding another small fuse box. It would be turned on via a relay. Power for the relay would come from the original radio wire so it turned on with the ignition.

Sound reasonable? Anyone else done something similar?

 

[Dirtyrat]

Makes sense if all you are doing is using the radio wire to power up the coil side of the relay!

 

[sgtpontiac]

It's the way to go.....

by pass all the other stuff and power it on it's own.....JMHO

 

[JeremyL]

Makes sense to me. I added a bunch of additional relays & a small fuse panel to my old 64 Galaxie. I needed a BUNCH of extra power because I had a high powered stereo, electric fuel pumps, electric fans, and so on & so forth. I managed to tuck everything into the factory battery location under the hood.. I figured it was a good use of the space since I had moved the batteries to the trunk.

 

[donsrods]

Sure, just treat it as a totally independant fuse box. Run a fused 10 gauge wire from the battery to the input side of the new fuse box and dedicate the new fuses to any accessories you might want to run. You will not need separate ground sources as a ground is a ground. If you are going to run big amps you would need to step up to battery cable size wire as some of them draw a ton of current.

What you are describing is very common in the boating industry. A boat might have one set of circuits for the lights, ignition, etc, and a totally separate fuse box for radar, depth finders, gps, etc.

Don

 

[sneakysnake]

Just be sure to use a big enough relay to supply the whole circuit,a fan alone will need 30-40 amps plus any other items.

 

[Dirtyrat]

You can also run multiple relays as well =)

 

[Rust in peace]

Here is a picture of mine. I ran relays for fan, fuel pump, hi-low beam, neutral safety switch, etc.

If you notice I also have some old style glass fuses for each down below the relays. (these fuses seem to be becoming obsolete)

This is in addition to the somewhat conventional fuse box to the right.

Don

 

[Rust in peace]

Thought I would post this. Scary!!!!

This is what it looked like part way through the wiring process.

A mechanic friend told me I only need to run "three" wires to wire a vehicle!

Technecally I guess he is correct but I always end up with hundreds.

Don

 

[BigIrish]

Aaaahhh!! That reminds me of how much a hate wiring.

I'm not planning on any big stereo, but since this is Houston, I am planning on the biggest dang A/C I can get my hands on, and the biggest cooling fan that will fit under the hood.

Thanks for all the great input as usual fellas. Relays and new fuse box it is.

 

[donsrods]

What I have found helpful when wiring is to coil up all the wires individually and put a few wire ties around them to keep them neat. Then I unwind one at a time as I install them which keeps down the spagetti mess from confusing things. If you just let all the wires hang there it starts to confuse things and makes the task look bigger than it is.

Kinda like "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer. "One bite at a time."

Don