Fusible links are dead - long live this replacement kit (2 Viewers)

[CruiserTrash]

Would it be possible to post a few more pix of this, please?

I'm a little confused how this works, because in some pictures, it looks like there's a 10(ish) ga red wire out of the F3 spot, to the white Sumitomo connector. In others, there's a 4/6 ga (?) Red cable out of that spot? -- Is this the 'Upgrade' Alternator feed wire you show on the purchase site?

So if one options for the 'Alt feed wire Upgrade' will there be an open hole on the Sumitomo connector ?

Sorry for the confusion, but I may not be the only one with these questions, or maybe I am ?

Congrats Spike, you’re the keenest observer here! I’ll include a free sticker with your order as a reward haha.

So on all kits, there’s a 6awg marine grade wire from the positive battery terminal to feed the fuse panel. The basic kit will have three wires coming out the back end of the fuse panel: 14awg yellow, 14awg blue, and 10awg red. Those go to the connector that snaps into the harness connector:

What you’re noticing is that I’ve installed the upgraded alternator charge cable and have [now] have the 10awg wire capped at the fuse panel end:

In fact that’s an old 6awg cable I installed a few years ago as an alternate charge wire - I reused it for this but already have stock of brand new ones on hand for the kits. I’ve been messing with these ideas for some time now.

Here’s a little Easter egg I found a while back too … the alternator charge wire is actually spliced inside the wiring harness. So when we look here we see three wires entering the factory harness (ignore my “custom job” jumble of wires on the alternator B+ post - I’m one step ahead experimenting with things beyond this kit already):

Now the other end of that same harness has FOUR wires. The stock 10awg alternator charge wire is spliced to another white 10awg wire that feeds the interior fuse panel. The second white wire remains hidden inside the harness and follows the arrow towards the firewall while the original goes back to our green harness connector that was formerly connected to the fusible link and thus the battery - so the alt can charge.

Now, this is my prototype kit I’ve been running while I sussed all this out, so it’s not going to be as tidy as the kits I ship. The kits will have no extra anything dangling around. You’re seeing the process required to figure all that out. It’s not hurting anything (except looking a little unkempt) so I left it in my personal truck. Here’s the rub and why I need to know ahead of time if a customer wants the upgraded charge cable: because the stock 10awg wire on the alternator post feeds the cabin fuse box through the hidden splice, it has to stay in place even if you get the upgraded charge cable. Don’t worry, electricity can operate just fine in parallel wires, and they both feed back to a single fuse that protects both. But if you go with the upgraded charge wire I need NOT wire the red 10awg wire on my mini harness from the fuse panel. That wire would be live with full voltage (as it is in my truck) and having it flapping in the breeze is no good. So I’ll simply leave out the pin in my connector and not install that red wire in my harness - the circuit dead ends where the two round connectors meet, inside of a safely insulated and waterproof enclosure.

The upgraded charge wire completes the battery<-> alternator circuit for charging, and leaving the factory white 10awg wire on the alternator post Carrie’s the circuit from there to the rest of the truck via the splice.

Lost yet? In summary: my prototype has an ugly dangling wire. The kits won’t have any of that. The nature of prototypes and figuring $h1t out I suppose.

 

[CruiserTrash]

@Spike Strip

Here’s a diagram showing the schematic with the upgraded charge cable. You can see how the juice flows between alternator and battery, and you can see how the splice delivers juice to the interior fuse panel.

I would only have two wires coming to the round connector in my mini harness. even though the factory round connector has three wires, the charge cable wire will just dead end inside there.

The upgraded charge cable really only works to your benefit if it goes directly between the fuse panel and the B+ post on the alt. Connecting 6awg back to the factory 10awg white charge cable just chokes things down again (in tech speak you’re going back to a higher resistance wire, so what’s the point in using a larger, lower resistance wire in the first place?).

 

[CruiserTrash]

One of my next experiments is upsizing the wire that feeds the interior fuse panel

I’m not so sure I can make a plug & play product for that. May just have to be a post with DIY instructions.

Anyway, back to tearing down my spare 2F so I can get it off to the machine shop Monday.

 

[87CRUSR]

This is the best plug and play OEM fusible link replacement alternative that I have seen. I have an extra OEM fusible link in the stash box so I don't have an immediate need. But, these options aren't always available so I may be buying sooner than later.

Well done @CruiserTrash.

 

[CruiserTrash]

This is the best plug and play OEM fusible link replacement alternative that I have seen. I have an extra OEM fusible link in the stash box so I don't have an immediate need. But, these options aren't always available so I may be buying sooner than later.

Well done @CruiserTrash.

Thanks man! To be honest I have probably three backups, two of them ones that I’ve rebuilt after frying. The kit is so much cleaner looking though l, and with both the battery cable and alternator charge cable being 6awg, my idle voltage if about 0.7V higher than before. That’s on a real gauge, not the dummy gauge. Your mileage may vary based on your alternator health, how corroded your wiring is, etc, but for me it eliminates the headlights dimming at stoplights.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Couple of updates:

First, I ordered a batch of the fuse panel based on the manufacturers exact part number and was sent a different variation of the panel. Suspiciously they were inside of boxes with the correct part number, so the retailer was up to some monkey business switching products around in boxes. I went with a trustworthy supplier and will figure out the return on the units I can't use. Those have been en route since a week ago today but aren't here yet.

Second, the brackets needed a slight tweak, one hole needed to move by 2mm. Those brackets were supposed to ship from the fabrication shop last Friday but haven't. I reached out to them today for an ETA but haven't heard back.

More Yazaki wire and Sumitomo connectors were shipped out from Japan early last week and should land here in a couple days.

I'm hoping the stars align and I have everything in my hands this week so I can get the first four kits shipped as promised. Whatever time I have left before Solid Axle Summit will be spent ripping out the remaining orders that I promised to ship week of 8/7.

I am also working on checking out a local HJ60 at some point in the next month or so, and will be checking out 62s at SAS, all with the intention of porting the design over to work in those trucks. Perhaps I should look at 40s as well, although the 40s had so many variations I may have to supply a more generic drill-it-yourself bracket. I want the brackets for all 60 Series iterations to be direct fit. I'd love photos from a BJ60 as well if there's anyone out there...

 

[Spook50]

Congrats Spike, you’re the keenest observer here! I’ll include a free sticker with your order as a reward haha.

So on all kits, there’s a 6awg marine grade wire from the positive battery terminal to feed the fuse panel. The basic kit will have three wires coming out the back end of the fuse panel: 14awg yellow, 14awg blue, and 10awg red. Those go to the connector that snaps into the harness connector:

View attachment 3368993

What you’re noticing is that I’ve installed the upgraded alternator charge cable and have [now] have the 10awg wire capped at the fuse panel end:

View attachment 3368995

In fact that’s an old 6awg cable I installed a few years ago as an alternate charge wire - I reused it for this but already have stock of brand new ones on hand for the kits. I’ve been messing with these ideas for some time now.

Here’s a little Easter egg I found a while back too … the alternator charge wire is actually spliced inside the wiring harness. So when we look here we see three wires entering the factory harness (ignore my “custom job” jumble of wires on the alternator B+ post - I’m one step ahead experimenting with things beyond this kit already):

View attachment 3368997

Now the other end of that same harness has FOUR wires. The stock 10awg alternator charge wire is spliced to another white 10awg wire that feeds the interior fuse panel. The second white wire remains hidden inside the harness and follows the arrow towards the firewall while the original goes back to our green harness connector that was formerly connected to the fusible link and thus the battery - so the alt can charge.

View attachment 3368999

Now, this is my prototype kit I’ve been running while I sussed all this out, so it’s not going to be as tidy as the kits I ship. The kits will have no extra anything dangling around. You’re seeing the process required to figure all that out. It’s not hurting anything (except looking a little unkempt) so I left it in my personal truck. Here’s the rub and why I need to know ahead of time if a customer wants the upgraded charge cable: because the stock 10awg wire on the alternator post feeds the cabin fuse box through the hidden splice, it has to stay in place even if you get the upgraded charge cable. Don’t worry, electricity can operate just fine in parallel wires, and they both feed back to a single fuse that protects both. But if you go with the upgraded charge wire I need NOT wire the red 10awg wire on my mini harness from the fuse panel. That wire would be live with full voltage (as it is in my truck) and having it flapping in the breeze is no good. So I’ll simply leave out the pin in my connector and not install that red wire in my harness - the circuit dead ends where the two round connectors meet, inside of a safely insulated and waterproof enclosure.

The upgraded charge wire completes the battery<-> alternator circuit for charging, and leaving the factory white 10awg wire on the alternator post Carrie’s the circuit from there to the rest of the truck via the splice.

Lost yet? In summary: my prototype has an ugly dangling wire. The kits won’t have any of that. The nature of prototypes and figuring $h1t out I suppose.

Have you yet been able to put eyes on the splice itself? I'm curious if it's just crimped like other factory splices I've encountered. If it is, I'll bet simply getting some flux on there and soldering it will help electrical continuity quite a bit over that old of a crimped splice. It made a big difference in my front door windows as a band-aid until I can do my "end-all" relay conversion for each door.

 

[OGBeno]

Couple of updates:

First, I ordered a batch of the fuse panel based on the manufacturers exact part number and was sent a different variation of the panel. Suspiciously they were inside of boxes with the correct part number, so the retailer was up to some monkey business switching products around in boxes. I went with a trustworthy supplier and will figure out the return on the units I can't use. Those have been en route since a week ago today but aren't here yet.

Second, the brackets needed a slight tweak, one hole needed to move by 2mm. Those brackets were supposed to ship from the fabrication shop last Friday but haven't. I reached out to them today for an ETA but haven't heard back.

More Yazaki wire and Sumitomo connectors were shipped out from Japan early last week and should land here in a couple days.

I'm hoping the stars align and I have everything in my hands this week so I can get the first four kits shipped as promised. Whatever time I have left before Solid Axle Summit will be spent ripping out the remaining orders that I promised to ship week of 8/7.

I am also working on checking out a local HJ60 at some point in the next month or so, and will be checking out 62s at SAS, all with the intention of porting the design over to work in those trucks. Perhaps I should look at 40s as well, although the 40s had so many variations I may have to supply a more generic drill-it-yourself bracket. I want the brackets for all 60 Series iterations to be direct fit. I'd love photos from a BJ60 as well if there's anyone out there...

Start off with the 62. 60 fusible links are still available from any Toyota dealership.

62 is where the real need is.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Have you yet been able to put eyes on the splice itself? I'm curious if it's just crimped like other factory splices I've encountered. If it is, I'll bet simply getting some flux on there and soldering it will help electrical continuity quite a bit over that old of a crimped splice. It made a big difference in my front door windows as a band-aid until I can do my "end-all" relay conversion for each door.

I have seen the splice and it’s a crimped connector. I didn’t have my iron with me at the shop, but putting some solder in there is a good idea.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Start off with the 62. 60 fusible links are still available from any Toyota dealership.

62 is where the real need is.

Thanks for chiming in Onur! That’s great feedback and it’s in the works. My understanding on the 60 links is that they’re gone. My Toyota guy says they’re discontinued and I can’t find retailers outside eBay who have them in stock. You always seem to have a little deeper access to Toyota’s parts software system so I’ll let you set the record straight on that. Hopefully they are available - I hate to see old parts discontinued!

All of my parts start with 60s and radiate out from there. I daily drive one so I have easy access to a test bed. I wish there was a local 62 I had access to for getting measurements and such. I’m sure with my fusible link replacement kit the air intake box will be in the way, and even if there was space I’m not sure if the inner fender has the same threaded hole arrangement for the bracket I designed. Plus there are 5 link wires versus 3. I’m hoping to lay eyes on a 62 at Solid Axle Summit and take some measurements.

 

[Spook50]

I have seen the splice and it’s a crimped connector. I didn’t have my iron with me at the shop, but putting some solder in there is a good idea.

Cool! I'll be digging into mine at the first opportunity. I'm curious to see how you accomplish your overall upgrade for the path to the fuse panel.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Cool! I'll be digging into mine at the first opportunity. I'm curious to see how you accomplish your overall upgrade for the path to the fuse panel.

Yeah, that’ll be an interesting problem to work out. You’d have to either cut and cap the wire on both ends, let it run in parallel to a new wire, or extract it from the harness if you wanted to get tweaky about it. I think the B+ post on the alternator is as good a spot as any to feed in there - it’s protected by my fuse kit or by the original link wire… but that post can get crowded in a hurry because it’s small. I also run a second fuse panel in the engine bay for accessories so I could use that for distro and fusing. I’ll have to think on that.

 

[Spook50]

Yeah, that’ll be an interesting problem to work out. You’d have to either cut and cap the wire on both ends, let it run in parallel to a new wire, or extract it from the harness if you wanted to get tweaky about it. I think the B+ post on the alternator is as good a spot as any to feed in there - it’s protected by my fuse kit or by the original link wire… but that post can get crowded in a hurry because it’s small. I also run a second fuse panel in the engine bay for accessories so I could use that for distro and fusing. I’ll have to think on that.

I think given the different location of alternators between the 60 and 62, the best option would be to have the upgraded cabin lead connected to the alt/B+ post in your fusible link conversion kit. If someone does the cabin and charge upgrade without a kit, they could pull the cabin lead directly from the alternator's B+ with a second ring terminal. You're right that there isn't much space on that post for multiple ring terminals, but two ring terminals shouldn't be an issue.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Update:

Brackets mysteriously appeared in the mail. Still waiting on fuse boxes.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Working on pigtail assembly for a bit tonight

 

[Cruiser Cult]

Clean electrical work is always so satisfying to see.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Batch building several of these today before I leave for Solid Axle Summit tomorrow. Several are promised to pre-orders and two will be coming with me for entry into the Wednesday night raffle at SAS. @Spike Strip this should give you a better idea of how they go together with the upgraded alternator charge wire, and it should give everybody a better sense of general construction.

What comes in the box?
The Fuse panel & harness assembly, with the pertinent word being assembly (remember this is plug & play)
A bag with the bracket and hardware
Detailed instructions

The zip ties are simply for ease of packaging:

As you can see I have not crimped the eyelets onto the smaller wires here yet, that's kind of the final step left to go.

I've been using an Iwiss crimper for the 6awg large cables and this wonderful Hozan unit for crimping the smaller wires. The Iwiss works great but the Hozan is a really nice piece of kit. Glad I bought it.

 

[88Retired62]

Nice work…I mean REALLY,REALLY nice work! I wish you well in your pursuit of the FJ62 application at SOLID AXLE SUMMIT #7.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Nice work…I mean REALLY,REALLY nice work! I wish you well in your pursuit of the FJ62 application at SOLID AXLE SUMMIT #7.

Thank you! I will certainly be eyeballing some other trucks for fitment.

 

[Spook50]

Excellent looking work. Are you only crimping the terminals onto the wires or are you soldering too?