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Projects Someone Stole My Fuse Box

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Falconewbie, Apr 13, 2012.

  1. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

    Check out Rebel Wire and their 9 + 3 harness. Its easy to install and will cover your whole car. The owner is great to work with and will help you through it.
    I installed one of their harnesses in a 1951 Ford F1 last fall and it was a piece of cake.
     
  2. Falconewbie
    Joined: Apr 13, 2012
    Posts: 26

    Falconewbie
    Member
    from Dallas, TX

    Alrighty, sounds like a have a very fun weekend ahead of me (and I actually do mean that). Thank you all for your advice — I'm going to start by removing gauges and checking out how loose the wires may or may not be. A friend of mine is going to come over for a few beers and look over it as well (he knows WAY more than me), so hopefully by Sunday afternoon I'll be driving around with the windows down and the breeze in my hair. Or else I'll be putting in a new wiring harness. :)

    Thanks again, I'll be back with news as soon as I have it!
     
  3. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

    The Rebel 9+3 is less than $200. You won't need to do any soldering and they have new terminal lugs to match your car.
     
  4. dont forget that some of the cheaper harnesses you need to splice the original steering column connector in. but if it was any more than that i would pass on that harness... but that should be what it is...
     
  5. greaseyknight
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 225

    greaseyknight
    Member
    from Burley WA

    I would start by trying to repair what you have before trying to replace the whole harness. At the very least it will be a good learning experience. If you don't have a voltage meter or a test light, go pick one up from Harbor Freight, I would never trust my life to one, but they work just fine for basic troubleshooting on a car. Start at the battery, and follow the wiring diagram till you find the bad/corroded connections. Be sure to check both sides of the circuit, as the ground is often corroded.
     
  6. NMCarNut
    Joined: Nov 28, 2009
    Posts: 635

    NMCarNut
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Depends entirely on what "harness" he is selling you. May be relatively straight forward or could be a real can of worms.
     
  7. el caballo loco
    Joined: Mar 7, 2012
    Posts: 166

    el caballo loco
    Member
    from colorado

    Good advice about re-wiring. Get with the guys at rebelwire and order a new harness. Not too expensive compared to burning your car to the ground and pretty easy to install as well.
    P.S. Not a principle with rebel, just a satisfied customer. : )
     
  8. JohnEvans
    Joined: Apr 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,883

    JohnEvans
    Member
    from Phoenix AZ

    Horse CaCa on the new harness ! Check out what you have as your picture shows a normal underdash area. Most all T/S issues are either a flasher or the T/S switch it's self. And guess what a T/S switch does NOT come with any wiring harness. With a wiring diagram and a test light and a bit of common sense 99% of the issues can be solved . Two other bits of advise make sure ALL wiring grounds are go and wait till the jobs done for the beer.
     
  9. Before going too far, see if a local HAMBer can take a look at what you have there. It may not need a whole harness.

    Bob
     
  10. GonzoSS
    Joined: Oct 18, 2007
    Posts: 216

    GonzoSS
    Member

    Hey local noob!!! I'm in the white rock area...give me a shout sometime! I'd recommend doing it right the first time then being on the side of the road on fire...just my opinion.

    David
    214.862.2358cell
     
  11. Yep look first! I've owned over 30 falcons. Never had one need a total rewire. Don't make it harder than it needs to be. And learn to solder anyway. It's easy and a basic skill your going to need if you play with cars.
     
  12. If you are keeping the car basically stock (IE motor and trans, no A/C, not a lot of electrical aftermarket stuff) then I would NOT rewire this whole car with a new universal street rod harness. There is No Need to. The stock Ford stuff works fine if it hasn't been butchered or screwed with. And looking at your picture it looks fine to me. I have had a handful of Falcons and Mustangs, still have a 63 Convert.
    What usually happens in these cars is a bit of corrosion at the "Fuse Box" which is just a couple of fuses attached to the headlight switch and at the ignition switch. I would pull each of those loose so you can get to the connectors and clean the corrosion off, then coat with a dielectric grease. The fuses and terminals get a bit corroded as well. Most likely, unless some has disconnected or cut wires this will cure your issues.
     
  13. el caballo loco
    Joined: Mar 7, 2012
    Posts: 166

    el caballo loco
    Member
    from colorado

    Or,.... you can cobble something together on a 40+ year old car and hope for the best.... Wonder if the patch it guys will be there to help put out the fire WHEN it happens. : )
     
  14. mrconcdid
    Joined: Aug 31, 2010
    Posts: 1,156

    mrconcdid
    Member
    from Florida

    anytime you buy a car, by the correct manual for that car.

    You can buy a harness or build your own, It isnt that hard, just take your time and follow the manual, cars back then didnt have a whole lot of electrical do dads and thinga ma-jigs. They are wired really straight foraward, I wired mine for about 50 bucks, thats the correct color wires and size and a universal fuse block.

    If you buy a harness, you can use an univeral basic harness.

    Godspeed
    MrC.
     
  15. IF, it hasn't been butchered and just needs some TLC (like I suggested it might be) there is no reason that there should be any "Patch Jobs" nor a fire. The wiring on 60's Fords was plenty adequate providing it hasn't been screwed with too much.
    And I have had to re do the complete wiring on many cars that came in my shop that the owner had put a new universal kit in and screwed it up worse than before they started.
    It just sounds to me like, in this case, he is better off seeing if it just needs a bit of a "Tune UP" before he tears all the wiring out for no reason.

    If he finds that a whole bunch of stuff has been cut, spliced, by passed etc, then by all means replace the harnesses as necessary.
     
  16. el caballo loco
    Joined: Mar 7, 2012
    Posts: 166

    el caballo loco
    Member
    from colorado

    I kind of figure the disappearin fusebox is a hint that things have been.... massaged. personally, i think a little work and investment now is a better bet than tryin to replace a burned car later.
     
  17. TexasDart
    Joined: Oct 11, 2007
    Posts: 853

    TexasDart
    Member

    I think the disappearing fuse box has been found...he just didn't know where to look for it.
     
  18. :rolleyes:So we have an inexperienced guy. Doesn't know how to solder. Tells us up front that his knowledge is limited. ( No offence to the poster, everyone has to start somewhere.) His car has some electrical problems, and most of you guys tell him to rip everything out and rewire the car. Reminds me of my first Falcon. My uncle had the motor rebuilt because it ran rough. Still ran the same after. He sold it to me. I then replaced both sets of points and it ran just fine. Ever since I've had a tendency to actually find out the problem before I "fixed" it................
     
  19. 62rebel
    Joined: Sep 1, 2008
    Posts: 3,232

    62rebel
    Member

    i've had an assload of old Fords and with a lot of them being Falcons. there's no damn reason to rip out an original harness unless it's been burned or chopped all to shit. i'd bet a steak dinner that this car's issues lie in corroded terminals and bulb sockets, not a hack job. Ford put that damn fusebox on top of the lightswitch for reasons known only to themselves.... but it's not a disaster waiting to happen. IMHO the Falcon harness is about the simplest "modern" era design there is... why fuck with perfection?
     
  20. leon renaud
    Joined: Nov 12, 2005
    Posts: 1,937

    leon renaud
    Member
    from N.E. Ct.

    Bought my first of many Falcons for 10$ because it would only start intermittently and with all new bulbs none of the lights would work. Pulled the light switch out of the dash and changed the blown fuse on the top of the switch and suddenly all the those new lights worked just fine!That harness in the picture doesn't look messed with get a manual and check out the fuses as pointed out there are Falcon parts suppliers out there now but a lot of stuff for early Mustang will bolt right into the falcon, The Mustang after all started life as a reskinned Falcon!
     
  21. davidbistolas
    Joined: May 21, 2010
    Posts: 960

    davidbistolas
    Member

    We're dealing with a... what 50 something year old car? I've seen the crap that goes into 5 year old cars... and while I have no problem with "Doing It Yourself" - in fact, I'm wiring my '51 from scratch - it's important to keep in mind the OP's admitted technical abilities. A full rewire will be just as satisfying as the patchwork troubleshooting some folks are suggesting, with the happy knowledge that it's all new, well marked wiring.
     
  22. gasolinescream
    Joined: Sep 7, 2010
    Posts: 614

    gasolinescream
    Member

    There's no better way to get to know your car than rewire it. Not a small job as alot of stripping down of trim etc but not a hard job. If the cars a keeper then rewire it. After 40/50/60 years wire gets old and looms get that hacked about it's impossible to find faults.
    I'd rather know everything is 100% and for the price of a kit and 2/3 weekends work for me its a no-brainer and an investment. Just take your time, get a mate to help, take pictures of everything you do for reference and make notes about anything that may hamper the install. Also plan the wiring and allow for extra wiring to rear of car, dash and engine bay for any stuff that may come later. Makes life so much easier in the future.

    Good luck:cool:
     
  23. davidbistolas
    Joined: May 21, 2010
    Posts: 960

    davidbistolas
    Member

    ^^ That. Is what I mean.
     
  24. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,603

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    Question here, have you looked at the link the OP provided as to how his Falcon looks under his dash. It's clean and untouched. I wish I had such beginning's. And the disappering fuse box, it's there. Just as other poster/posters have said.

    PS, just went back and read the other replies that are prier to my writing the above before I'm told I didn't read everything. I'm still going to leave it up just the same. Because I'm on board with those that say it's corrosion.
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2012
  25. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,603

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    Crash, slide, ok good there. My soap box is in place ;). Everyone saying rewire kit. How many threads have we/I seen where people got one. It's not all plug and play. They ask ten thousand questions and still are in a daze as what to do. Let this person learn a thing or two first. And I don't mean let him watch his car burn down. You have to get into things first and understand them. I seen new wire kit cars burn up as well. It's all about knowing what your doing.
     
  26. mashed
    Joined: Oct 15, 2011
    Posts: 1,473

    mashed
    Member
    from 4077th

    Welcome to the HAMB. I hope the brakes work fine.
     
  27. I think everyone should have a Falcon to learn on. Minor wiring fixits, he can use solderless connections, but do invest in good terminals and the crimp tool for them.

    Bob
     
  28. Sounds like some are overdoing the "it's gonna catch on fire" bit.

    Don't you put a paper clip in a little hole to release the headlight switch to get to the fuses?
     
  29. ronotron
    Joined: Feb 19, 2011
    Posts: 93

    ronotron
    Member

    I OWN a falcon and am intimately aware of their wiring issues. I had the exact same issues as you do, and was pointed to the fuse panel by someone with much more knowledge than me. The fuse panel is attached to the headlight switch by two clips. These often come loose and allow the fuse panel to make and break contact. Jiggling the wires in this area will usually move the fuse panel and allow in to make contact again. This was my issue.

    If you put your hand up behind the dash u will find a button on the side of the light switch assembly, push this in whilst pulling out the light switch knob, the knob will come right out. The take a large flat screwdriver And unscrew the dash bezel. This will unscrew right out and the lightswitch/fuse panel will now be free from the dash. There isn't a lot of play in the harness but enough for it to fall down a little, and with your head under the dash you will be able to see the fuse panel and how it is connected to the headlight switch. The panel may just need to be pushed back onto the headlight switch and the two clips secured. This fixed my issue.

    If it doesn't fix your issues you now at least have access to the fuse panel and can now check for corrosion, loose connections etc. I am fairly confident this is where your issue will be. The wiring in your photo looks to be original and in pretty good condition.

    Ps. Long replies like this are an absolute punish from an iPhone

    Cheers

    Ron

    Let me know if I can be of any more assistance
     
  30. gearsforguts
    Joined: Sep 18, 2005
    Posts: 436

    gearsforguts
    Member
    from temple,pa

    As most have posted before ,the fuse box is mounted on the headlight switch.Which is hard to access .There is a button on the headlight switch to release the headlight knob to pull it out,then unscrew the headlight switch retaining nut and gently lower the switch from behind the dash.Now you should be able to to see the fuse box in all its glory.

    I had this same issue with my 61 falcon,just needed the fuse contacts cleaned.

    damn,ronotron beat me too it haha
     

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