underhood fuse box

[1990LTD]

Rear defrost has its own fuse link, at least on my car.

me too

[85crownHPP]

can you take some pics of the backside of that fuse box?? the tabs holding it together are definitely tiny, tight, and a pain in the ass, but they should be there.

[1990LTD]

they're there, I can see them, I just can't physically get them to unclip.

[85crownHPP]

perhaps you lack the proper instruments?

[1990LTD]

I got 'er off of there.

[1990LTD]

Can I connect the grounds (pin 85) from the relays for my headlights and then just tap the connecting wire and route that out of the box? instead of having two ground wires coming out I'd only have one to worry about.

[1990LTD]

and is it okay to do the same thing with the pin 30, power it off of a fuse in the box and then power the second relay with the same feed? instead of running two separate fuses for the headlight power, i'd have just the one. trying to make things more efficient.

[1990LTD]

actually I just powered each relay w/ a 30a fuse but combined the ground wires so I've only got one ground coming out of it to worry about.

30 = 12v feed for the relay (coming from a separate 30a fuse on both of them)
85 = ground for the relay (I connected the two grounds together and then spliced into that.
86 = trigger wire from headlight switch
87 = power fed to the headlights when pin 86 receives signal

Does that sound right? I might be overfusing it, since it looks like on Daves he's got a 30a fuse for BOTH high and low beam relays. Maybe I should knock those ones back down to 15 or 20 amp units? What do you guys think?

[1987cp]

I don't remember, I always either refer to the diagram printed on the relay or click it with jumper wires a couple of times to refresh my memory. Usually both.

Do you know offhand how much power is required by the high and low beams, respectively?

[sly]

on my 88 it's 110W for the low beams and 170watts for the high beams... so just under 10 amps for the low beams and little over 14 amps for the high beams total (50W by 2 for the highs plus 35W x2 from the low beams' high stage). This is using Xtravision bulbs too.

[1990LTD]

ah so 30 would definitely be over-fusing them. a pair of 15s it is, then!


what's the deal with the weird looking metal fuses? there are spots for 3 of 'em on this distribution block.

http://rocky.digikey.com/weblib/ETA/...160-02-30A.jpg

(pic is huge so i didn't use img code)

the fuse itself says 30a 12v...as far as i can tell, the only difference is i have no idea if it's blown just by looking at it. if it's NOT actually a fuse then i'm way off.

[sly]

I'd put a 20 on the highs just for some wiggle room... and make them auto-reset circuit breakers instead of standard blade fuses.

the weird looking metal fuses are circuit breakers.

[87gtVIC]

looks like a circuit breaker.

[1990LTD]

back from the dead because I'm probably going to rig this shit up tomorrow. I've got my new diagrams done, got most everything labeled and ready, just a matter of hooking the thing up and figuring out how to bolt it to my inner fender....I don't know if it's got the bolt holes for it, but without the nasty factory wiring in the way, the fender will be clear enough that I'll be able to put the fuse box anywhere.


thanks for the help all. i've been referring to this thread constantly.

[86VickyLX]

back from the dead because I'm probably going to rig this shit up tomorrow. I've got my new diagrams done, got most everything labeled and ready, just a matter of hooking the thing up and figuring out how to bolt it to my inner fender....I don't know if it's got the bolt holes for it, but without the nasty factory wiring in the way, the fender will be clear enough that I'll be able to put the fuse box anywhere.


thanks for the help all. i've been referring to this thread constantly.

The only inner fenders that have the holes are the 90 Town Cars. It's possible that the aero grand marquis or crown vic inner fenders will fit as well. But I don't think anyone tried.
I extended the wiring I was going to add, wrapped it in tape, and then conduit, and then tape again and ran everything through the fender. Much cleaner.

If you plan on putting the fender braces from a wagon, you're kind of limited on where you're putting the box.