New fuse & relay panel

[maytag]

Here's what I've started.


very small dist-block next to the fuse-block. one side for always hot, one side for switched hot. I'll of course label each fuse & relay as I start hooking 'em up.
I drew myself a wiring diagram yesterday that oughtta get everything up-n runnin'. I really only need 8 fuses, so I'll have a couple spares, and a couple spare relays.

I'm SOOOO happy to be rid of the rats' nest under the dash. I've gutted it. Not a single wire under the dash. All new going in. All new connections... I'm hardly gonna know what to do with myself!

[spider2081]

Looks pretty neat. Did you replace the existing fuse panel?? Just curious what did you use the relay's for??

[RRoller123]

Looks great! We think along the same lines regarding the horrible original wiring in these lovely cars. Nearly all the power through the ignition switch and then that hazard flasher switch! It is crazy, they were probably hitting the Chianti bottle when they designed it. Where did you source the BRL-30 relays?

[steve8462]

i have a related question. i have a 1979 spider that originally had a mechanical fuel pump. the PO replaced it with an electrical one mounted in the trunk. he then somehow wired it to work using the headlight switch. i want to correct this act of lunacy but i'm not sure where to send the power lead from the fuel pump to the fuse block. which fuse would be suitable and not be overloaded if i tapped into it. the car came with a new wiring harness in a box in the trunk. it doesn't look like an exact match, has no factory connectors and about half as many wires as needed to complete the job. i was thinking of mounting it in the trunk next to the battery and using it for the fuel pump, the radio, fog lights and any other accessory i might add at a later date. any ideas? or possible pro's and con's? all input would be greatly appreciated

[maytag]

i have a related question. i have a 1979 spider that originally had a mechanical fuel pump. the PO replaced it with an electrical one mounted in the trunk. he then somehow wired it to work using the headlight switch. i want to correct this act of lunacy but i'm not sure where to send the power lead from the fuel pump to the fuse block. which fuse would be suitable and not be overloaded if i tapped into it. the car came with a new wiring harness in a box in the trunk. it doesn't look like an exact match, has no factory connectors and about half as many wires as needed to complete the job. i was thinking of mounting it in the trunk next to the battery and using it for the fuel pump, the radio, fog lights and any other accessory i might add at a later date. any ideas? or possible pro's and con's? all input would be greatly appreciated

What "I" would do?
You've got a perfect power source there in the trunk. (battery )
But you need to switch it properly.
I would mount a relay in the bulkhead, powered from the battery, with an in-line fuse. Then run a small-gauge wire to the ign switch "run" connector. I'll look at the diagram later and tell you what color that SHOULD be, but of course, check it with a test light or meter. You'll ground the relay where you mount it, so you only need a single wire to be switched, adn you're only carrying fractional amp load. Just enough to switch the relay.

[steve8462]

cool beans. thanks. i can rebuild a spider from the ground up, but electrical was always my weak suit!

[maytag]

Looks pretty neat. Did you replace the existing fuse panel?? Just curious what did you use the relay's for??

You may notice that this IS the original relay panel.... I just cut holes in it.

I gutted ALL of the wiring, including the fuse box and all relays.
I don't like the euro-style fuses. they're prone to an obscene failure-rate. Not from blowing, but from PEELING!
And the wiring was confusing to begin with from Fiat, but previous owners hack-jobs made mine impossible to follow and trouble-shoot. so out it went.

[geert]

Looks pretty neat. Did you replace the existing fuse panel?? Just curious what did you use the relay's for??

You may notice that this IS the original relay panel.... I just cut holes in it.

I gutted ALL of the wiring, including the fuse box and all relays.
I don't like the euro-style fuses. they're prone to an obscene failure-rate. Not from blowing, but from PEELING!
And the wiring was confusing to begin with from Fiat, but previous owners hack-jobs made mine impossible to follow and trouble-shoot. so out it went.

very nice ! does that mean you have removed 'everything' to the passenger side , relays and fuses on the exterior side of the panel ? great job. ( on my car I justed added 5 fuses and relays)

[maytag]

very nice ! does that mean you have removed 'everything' to the passenger side , relays and fuses on the exterior side of the panel ? great job. ( on my car I justed added 5 fuses and relays)

I removed EVERY WIRE from the car.
It wasn't worth trying to find where the hack-jobs ended.

[steve8462]

my brother is restoring a 1978 triumph spitfire (but i still love him) he found a company that had a wiring harness that perfectly matched his car. it was the most enjoyable install job i have ever done. never picked up the cutting or crimping pliers once!

[maytag]

my brother is restoring a 1978 triumph spitfire (but i still love him) he found a company that had a wiring harness that perfectly matched his car. it was the most enjoyable install job i have ever done. never picked up the cutting or crimping pliers once!

There are a couple of companies that make "universal" type wiring harnesses. I looked at a couple from EZ-Wiring and Painless Wiring.
In both instances I was looking at paying for stuff I don;t need, and needing to add stuff or modify for the way I wanted to do it differently.
But there are some really good "ready-to-go" kits out there.

[blurple124]

Maytag,

I am starting to seriously consider following in your footsteps with this project.

How did this all turn out for you? Is there any information you can offer as far as part sources, wire sizes, etc?

[maytag]

Maytag,

I am starting to seriously consider following in your footsteps with this project.

How did this all turn out for you? Is there any information you can offer as far as part sources, wire sizes, etc?

I was talking with Daniel (forum member) a few weeks back, and he made a comment that made me wish I had done it differently: He suggested he was going to use cat5 cable to everything up under the dash.

I love it. talk about CLEAN!

so, I mounted my fuse & relay panel in the cowl area. If I had done ALL of the control & sensor / gauge wiring with Cat 5, it would've been so much nicer. I effectively exchanged one rats-nest for another. Yes, it's better, because everything works correctly, and basically ALL loads of anything more than just a couple amps are on relays.

[blurple124]

Cat5!? Isn't that ethernet cable? I'm not sure what you mean.

Also, how did you do the headlights? One fuse each, like the original? Or spit for Hi/Lo? I have the same question about relays for the headlights.

[maytag]

Cat5!? Isn't that ethernet cable? I'm not sure what you mean.

Also, how did you do the headlights? One fuse each, like the original? Or spit for Hi/Lo? I have the same question about relays for the headlights.

yup, Cat5 is used for ethernet as well. but in this application, it would be only a control & signal wire. the control-side of the relay is fractional amp, and 12v. CAT 5 is able to handle quite a bit more than that, so you're fine.
DON'T misunderstand: NOT on the line/load side of the relay! Cat5 won't take that.

headlights:
My HID headlights are on only one fuse, but that's a different system than the stock Hi/Lo. I would put them on separate fuses, because if you have a problem and one blows, you;d still have lights.