Upgrade 1970 VW Beetle Fuse Box

CJ-ski · Samba Member Joined: June 02, 2010 Posts: 7

I am new to this site. I would like to upgrade the standard fuse box to a Blade Style Fuse block. The trick is I may have to jumper some of the connectors to mimick the standard fuse box. I am thinking about a 12 circuit fuse block for future wiring runs (like gauges). Do you know of any instructions / diagrams; any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

mondshine · Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:18 pm Post subject:

I did this many years ago on my '74 Thing.
I'm not sure if it will work for you, but here it is:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Good luck, Mondshine

CJ-ski · Samba Member Joined: June 02, 2010 Posts: 7

Thanx for the reply. I also found additional links for another aftermarket wiring harness and 12 circuit fuse box Smile

gcan · Samba Member Joined: May 28, 2008 Posts: 246 Location: Al

can you post what you found...I'm interested in a upgrade as well
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73 vert

CJ-ski · Samba Member Joined: June 02, 2010 Posts: 7

wompninja · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:59 am Post subject:

I've got the Watson's kit and it is well worth the 350. It took a bit of work but I never have electrical issues and I can add on things without fear of melting the stock wiring.

chbix · Samba Member Joined: February 23, 2011 Posts: 49

I know the topic is old but im wanting to do this on a 65 bug that I just acquired.

Basically do a whole new wire harness with an upgraded fuse box to support some accessories and modernize the design.

Wompninja do you have any pics of your install? The kit seems pretty complete short of a few relays perhaps, did you need anything else to install? Was it difficult?

fmartin_gila · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 7:45 am Post subject:

I just did the Fuse panel upgrade mentioned at the start of this thread in my Thing. The ATO blade type fuses do make a very positive electrical and mechanical connection which seems to be much better than the standard VW setup.

Fred

73vwtype1 · Samba Member Joined: November 07, 2012 Posts: 1

Okay so I wanna do the blade fuse upgrade on my 73 bug. I noticed that on the stock fuse box there are three pins on a few fuses how would I wire that to a new blade fuse box? I tried to do it and wired the two together and the third to the other side of the fuse it wouldn't work. Any ideas or sites that have schematics to do this upgrade? Thank you for your time!

lil DUC · Samba Member Joined: February 04, 2014 Posts: 9

ok so i am new to the VW bug world and i just got a 73 beetle type 1. i am wanting to do the upgrade to a blade type fuse box, but i cannot find 8 and 16 amp blade fuses. am i going to burn stuff up if i go up to 10 and 20 amp fuses or is there something else i must do to do this upgrade. thanks in advance for any help.

GArBa · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:51 am Post subject:

personally, I would not do that (you can still buy OG or equivalent fuse boxes and hundreds of bosch type fuses on the cheap; I just carry a dozen in my glove box for peace of mind). That said, blade fuses don't come in 8 or 16A. Using higher rating fuses you won't fry anything as long as your electrics are fine, but you will lose protection in case of any electrical fault.
_________________
cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
~~'14 type AA Seat Mii~~ (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

ashman40 · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:51 am Post subject:

ATC/ATO fuses do come in 7.5A and 15A sizes. These should work nicely as replacements for 8A and 16A GBC fuses.
VW never pushed their circuits right to the edge. Typically you would see the 8A circuits only supporting 5A or less of actual current draw. There are a few exceptions in both directions.... for example, a 16A fuse to supply the 10W (0.8A) dome light?! Who came up with that one! (I know its a spare circuit, it was just amusing)
_________________
AshMan40
---------------------------
'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road Sad

}
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

Hyperspace · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:48 am Post subject:

Even at its rated amperage a fuse can take hours to burn through.

Short out 12V through the wire loom wich may easily have a resistance of .5 ohm or less and a short would put 24 amps over the fuse and melt it shortly.
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If you can't fix it with a hammer, it is an electrical fault.

Photo's http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=Hyperspace&show_results=summary

texson · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:54 am Post subject:

I did that to my 71 cause the PO had made a real mess by cutting and splicing making many of the paths hard to follow. Did the best I could and everything works now. But it is a time consuming task. A word of advise... jack the front end up as high as you can. It will save your back.

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lil DUC · Samba Member Joined: February 04, 2014 Posts: 9

Thanks for all the input guys. I haven't decided what I want to do yet but I do want to make some upgrades to the electrical system. I'm an aircraft electrician and I wasn't sure if the components in my bug were as sensitive to changes as some of the circuits I'm use to working with.

Texson, that looks nice. Mine looks much like your before pic and it's driving me crazy!

70vwsnork · Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:29 pm Post subject:

Looks great! That's how I want my 70 to look under the hood.
_________________
The "Snork"

car is:
1970 baja beetle
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1260652.jpg


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