Technical Fuse and relay panel mounting.

Mounting fuse panels and banks of relays can be awkward, given the small size of many of our vehicles. Is there any reason they can't be mounted horizontally behind the dash, facing down? I doubt mounting position would affect the operation of a relay, could a flasher relay fall out of a panel?
Your thought and experience would be appreciated.

 

the wiring panel in my `28 tudor is under the dash and has been facing down for 22 years, so far it's been fine

 

you just have to stand on your head to see it, is the only problem.

 

Any reason why you don't mount it on hinges (like has been done about a gazillion times) so it's horizontal pointing down normally but can swing down for access?

 

I did exactly that. Not real tricky, a bit more wire involved as you have to run everything in from the top in order for it to still fold.
This panel is as tricky as the mounting system, 23 circuits, 6 relays, turn and emergency flashers all in one little board. Coach Controls.

abracadabra

Stainless steel piano hinge bolted to a threaded bar I welded to the firewall. I also welded a stud to the cowl prior to paint that I bolted a bracket to that holds the panel via a thumb screw when folded up.

 

Thinking about access is something that everyone should do before mounting a fuse/relay panel. When we need panel access, it isn't always in the garage where we have tools, nice pads to lay on, etc.....sometimes we need to fix something on the road and maybe at night. I try to avoid installations where you have to work with your head upside down..... that is why under the seat is a good place for panels. Also, if the panel is under the dash, can you read the fuses and relay identifiers? Regarding a horizontal panel, fuses rarely fall out due to vibration. Relays, having more mass, might come out over the long haul but usually you can use a cable tie to hold them in place.... or a cover-ike retainer. Some relay panels are on a hinge where they can tilt down for access while they can be held up with a wing nut while driving.

 

Did this on my '31 coupe. Cut out a section of teh bottom of the fuel tank, hinged it and made platforms for the fuse and relay blocks so when it folds down they are vertical and easy to work on.

 

two pics...first, the fuse panel in my Chevy II (I must be doing something wrong, it has just a few of them old fuses, and no relays)



and the fuse panel in my wife's Mopar, built in the 1960s. Factory installed, upside down, sticking forward from the lower edge of the dash.

 

I like that idea of the hinged down for access thing. I'd have to agree that all too many times your troubleshooting the electrical system isn't at home in the shop where you may be set up to make it easier to get under the dash. It's usually on the side of road in the dark or sometimes in the dark in the rain.

 

the mopar one is a great example of a pain in the ass fuse location... 67' - 69' a-body?

 

I am also a fan of the drop down panel. It is so much easier to trouble shoot things when you can drop the panel down to see what you are doing. It's tough reading things up side down with bifocals.

This one is held in place with 1 1/4x 20 nut. Works great so far.

 

Up under the dash high left out of the way

 

Thanks guys, some good ideas and nice looking installs here.

I'm going to rethink the project at hand, with an eye to making a swing down panel of some sort.
The car is a shoebox Ford, it's had power windows, solenoid door and trunk releases, and a remote entry/ alarm system added, so it currently has a boatload of cube relays. The cluster's been updated with new gauges, I'm about to replace what remains of the original wiring and install a Ron Francis express fuse panel. It's busy under the dash because it still has all the push-pull cables that control the heater, ventilation, choke, overdrive, parking brake etc. running from the dash to the firewall, so finding a spot for a swing down fuse and relay panel will require some work.

 

As with all hot rodding, there are hideous hidden dangers!! Thurber explained this well:


"My grandmother lived the latter years of her life in the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house. It leaked, she contended, out of empty sockets if the wall switch had been left on. She would go around screwing in bulbs, and if they lighted up, she would fearfully turn off the wall switch and go back to her Pearson's or Everybody's, happy in the satisfaction that she had stopped not only a costly but dangerous leakage. nothing could ever clear this up for her. "

One day you'll open the door and hop in, only to die in a huge flash as your feet submerge in the pool of electricity in front of the brake pedal!!

 

They're still out there.... There's a bunch of 'new agers' living by me that cover unused outlets with aluminum foil to keep those pesky electrons at bay. They're also the reason we still don't have a cell tower or cell service here. Even had a guy who built a new house sheet the entire interior with bonded copper sheeting under the sheetrock to keep out all electrical/radio emanations (he thought he was building a Faraday cage...). I was there when the sheetrockers showed up for cover... the owner walks in, gets a puzzled look on his face. Then realizes that the radio the rockers brought is playing just fine... he had a meltdown.... LOLOL