Battery fuse Box

[Stevie t]

I've decided that while I'm sorting the alternator out I may as well replace the battery fuse box as well as on closer inspection there are some slight signs of overheating and having read the excellent quide by Silver beast.I can't see any OEM number on it but all the ones that seem to be listed seem to have the same number of connections as mine so can I assume they will be the correct one,just double checking,thanks.

[Chrispb]

Don't forget the real issue is the crimp terminals, they should have been soldered from new, you may be able to salvage your old one or replace with a new cable, if you solder the new cable you should not get anymore problems there.

[Stevie t]

Yep thanks,will do.👍

[brianh]

The diesel vs petrol ones have a different combination of fuses, but you can swap them over. Only issue I found with the first one i got (which wasn't a particually good part anyway) is the terminal on the end wasn't a good match for the original one, so didn't fit particually well. I ended up replacing it with another one which appeared to be a proper Ford part and fitted a lot better.

[Stevie t]

Ok have obtained an alternator wire (which I'm replacing when I get the fuse box) but it looks like a right job to actually unclip it all.Has anyone managed this without removing a load of stuff that's in the way,thanks.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

 

[johnnyroper]

Ok have obtained an alternator wire (which I'm replacing when I get the fuse box) but it looks like a right job to actually unclip it all.Has anyone managed this without removing a load of stuff that's in the way,thanks.

Yes I did mine didnââ,¬â,,¢t use a VW cable though I used some railway grade heavy duty stuff with new lugs. I ran it in flexible conduit and just secured to the old cable. With old one I chopped the ends off so they couldnââ,¬â,,¢t interfere with anything else.

[Stevie t]

Hmm,that's an idea, I assume you used cable ties,mines come with the outer shield and I didn't fancy scrambling around underneath etc and taking loads of bits off.

[johnnyroper]

Yes just followed the same route and cable tied it to old one.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Is it important to make sure the cable has insulation which can withstand the extreme heat of the engine bay

[Stevie t]

I think it should be ok as the replacement cable already has the shielding around it.My thoughts were that once cable tied iñ place I could chop off one end of the old cable and then completely pull the inner  out.Of course if I was advised that it was would be unsafe I wouldn't do it.

[johnnyroper]

I didnââ,¬â,,¢t bother as the old cable have something substantial to cable tie on to.

Even without any shielding cable insulation is perfectly able to deal with under bonnet temps.

[brianh]

Don't forget the real issue is the crimp terminals, they should have been soldered from new, you may be able to salvage your old one or replace with a new cable, if you solder the new cable you should not get anymore problems there.

Bear the above comment in mind, even a new cable will still have the same weak point. It may be ok for a while, but its recommended to solder it to make sure it doesn't give you grief you don't need.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Thank u for confirming about insulation, I wonder if a piece of a jump lead (nice thick one) would be suitable here...

[Stevie t]

A word of warning here.Many of the fuse boxes bounding about may not be suitable.I ordered one which I was assured was the correct one for my model and when it came I noticed that the metal strips where the actual nuts clamp the wires are actually fused links.On my original box the alternator link was rated at 150 amp the one supplied was 110.The others were different too.Needless to say quite a difference so it went back.

[brianh]

You should be fine to switch the fusable links across. Sounds like you got sent one with the petrol links in it rather than the diesel ones. Also worth noting that you need to get the cables back in the correct places as well while your there.

[Stevie t]

True, on reflection I could have done that but may be easy to miss if you don't look closely.

[johnnyroper]

When I replaced mine I also swapped the cables around a bit,put the high load ones at each end of the box just in case of any heat build up so it dissipated better. I read it on a vw site to do it just remember to put correct fuse in correct position.

[Stevie t]

Thats a good tip pal,thanks