Separate Fuse for Lights

Paul in Colorado

Paul in Colorado

Senior Member
Here is a simple way to add a separate fuse for the lights and horn. I used a AFK-1 fuse holder from Fun Projects to fuse the line from the generator to the light harness. Rather than cutting and splicing the harness, I put leads with terminals on the fuse holder, and bolted the harnesses together with a short 8-32 bolt. The picture shows this connection before I insulated it. I put a 14 amp fuse in the fuse holder, so a short in the light or horn circuits will blow it without blowing the main fuse. The engine will continue to run and the generator will continue to charge properly. I put the wire to the generator under the harness clamp attached to the front hood hold down. My only complaint is I wish the fuse holder were black so it would not be so conspicuous. Is there something I can paint it with?
 

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You could try Krylon Fusen paint. It is made for plastic. I use it and it works on most plastic.
 
700rpm said:
Why would a dog need to find a fuse in the dark? And since dogs are color blind, it wouldn't matter what color it was. ;)
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Hey, Ray, Dog:cool: here,
Who told you that stuff? Did you ever ask a dog? Then how come I can read wiring diagrams? Like, the main charging from the cut out is YELLOW/BLACK up to the junction block and on to the ammeter, where it changes to all YELLOW, back down to the junction box and then to the BLACK fat battery cable at the starter!
Want more? From the lighting switch, the dim is fed by a RED/BLACK wire to the headlite bucket & the brights is a GREEN/BLACK wire. CONVINCED??
Buster T.:cool:
 
Paul in Colorado said:
Here is a simple way to add a separate fuse for the lights and horn. I used a AFK-1 fuse holder from Fun Projects to fuse the line from the generator to the light harness. Rather than cutting and splicing the harness, I put leads with terminals on the fuse holder, and bolted the harnesses together with a short 8-32 bolt. The picture shows this connection before I insulated it. I put a 14 amp fuse in the fuse holder, so a short in the light or horn circuits will blow it without blowing the main fuse. The engine will continue to run and the generator will continue to charge properly. I put the wire to the generator under the harness clamp attached to the front hood hold down. My only complaint is I wish the fuse holder were black so it would not be so conspicuous. Is there something I can paint it with?
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How about separate fuses for everything! See here-
 

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A circuit breaker instead of a fuse in the "standard" place at the starter switch is a good idea. If it blows, it will re-set itself so if the lights were the problem you can turn them off and continue driving. Some are made as a direct replacement for a fuse.
 
Jim Brierley said:
A circuit breaker instead of a fuse in the "standard" place at the starter switch is a good idea. If it blows, it will re-set itself so if the lights were the problem you can turn them off and continue driving. Some are made as a direct replacement for a fuse.
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I respectfully disagree.

First of all, we are only discussing the "uni-fuse" installation. That is, the single fuse mounted on the starter of the Model A. In this case, the fuse is in series between the battery and the generator (or alternator), and the fuse is actually only 'protecting' the battery. The only time it protects anything else in the electrical system is when the motor is shut off. Assuming driving down the road and the lights short out, the generator is staring into a short circuit with no protection, and it's after the generator or cutout fails that the fuse between the generator and battery finally opens. Assuming the generator isn't totally fried, one now has to open the hood and investigate, making possible the opportunity to see something is amiss.

If you replace the uni-fuse with a self resetting circuit breaker, assuming the same scenario, the driver simply waits for the thing to reset and drives away, not knowing how much damage has been done. Also, in the case of the self resetting circuit breaker, the trip point and trip curve is much different than a fuse. A short spike in current, like when the headlights are first switched on or switched between high and low beam, can trip the breaker even though there is no actual fault in the circuit. A fuse will tolerate short spikes in current (also called "inrush current") and will not blow.

I am not a fan of the uni-fuse scheme at all. It really protects very little. However, I do admit, it may help keep your car from burning to the ground in the garage. But it will not protect your electrical components while running.
 
Paul in Colorado said:
Where did you get your fuse holders? They look different than the one I use.

Paul
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They are just typical marine style waterproof AGC style fuse holders. Available online or from your local West Marine. Just ream them a little to get the larger cotton covered wire in them. I added labels and clear shrink tubing to show what they are and what size fuse goes in them.
 
Why not use a circuit breaker on the lights. That way it will protect the system and not leave you completly stranded. Since a fuse was not factory and would require some changes from original, a small 30 amp marine breaker can be hid and not be a Rub Goldberg.
 
Some add on fuse holders come with a "SLOW BLOW" fuse, that would take about as much time to blow as it would for a circuit breaker to open. Circuit breakers are quite quick to open. I created a "SHORT" just past it with a jumper & it opened QUICK! If I were to protect other circuits, I would use the small G.M. blade type circuit breakers, along with the available pig tail leads, quick & easy! The breakers are available in MANY different amp ratings. Like on the horn or lights, or stop lights, maybe choose 5 AMPS or so above what those units draw. Can you just hear this, "Hey Ma, did you put those fuses in your purse like I told you"? About that time she KAWHALLOPS you with a flashlight that has DEAD batteries!! "Hey, Sam, what's that DOOSEY on your forehead"? Bill W.
 
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P.S. said:
How about separate fuses for everything! See here-
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I am also following this method. I have a 10amp fuse for horn, a 15 amp for my fog lights , 20amp for head lights and a 30 amp for the main. I took Pauls suggestion and it made a lot of sense. I got all from McMaster-Carr
 
The yellow is gone!
I cut off the loop connecting the two halves of the fuse holder. I then covered the two halves of the fuse holder with black electrical tape. It worked well, and looks much better.

Paul
 
Didn't know the Yellow bothered you. If so, you always could have dropped the covers in common fabric dye for a while. They take color very well.

I left mine yellow since that's the color of the wire in them as per Ford's color scheme.
 
P.S. said:
Didn't know the Yellow bothered you. If so, you always could have dropped the covers in common fabric dye for a while. They take color very well.

I left mine yellow since that's the color of the wire in them as per Ford's color scheme.
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If the fuse were at the starter, where the wire is yellow, it would not bother me so much. Also, at the starter, you cannot see the fuse through the hood louvers. However, the fuse is at the generator to fuse the lights and horn, as I described in the original post. It can be clearly seen looking into the louvers from behind. It is much less conspicuous when it is black.

Paul
 
Right. The wires from the generator to the horn and lights is supposed to be yellow cloth covered wire inside a cloth loom. So, yellow wires would be seen at the generator through the louvers also.
 
P.S. said:
Didn't know the Yellow bothered you. If so, you always could have dropped the covers in common fabric dye for a while. They take color very well.

I left mine yellow since that's the color of the wire in them as per Ford's color scheme.
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I'm a troublemaker, Paul,
I tape dark colored aluminum screen wire inside my hood sides!! Drives 'em KRAZY!!:D "Can I open your hood"??-----------"NO"!!!!! Bill W.
 
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