With the shortage of fusible links...

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Dave 2000 said:
Apologies in advance to vendors.

First let's look at the mechanics of the fusible links, they move and they weaken and break, they were perfect in the day but they are now 'old hat'. If you are about keeping your 80 'original' then they will do the job and of course you keep a spare set. The most often cause I have seen is a battery not clamped down properly for whatever reason, the wrong battery fitted, the clamp goes missing (trust me a bungy cord is not a good substitute!) so the fusible links become the battery 'anchor' and they break.

Now lets look at the electrical side of things, they do the job, if there is a short they burn out, and being right next to the battery they are correctly placed, so this would seem that Mr T had your cars arse covered.

So you are driving down the tarmac and your cars electrics die, easy enough to sort, you get out your multimeter (because you always carry one right, and of course know how to use it right?) And you find the fusible link has burnt out (because you saw it on the forum or internet) so you check what section does what by looking at the workshop manual, wow you are good for keeping that in the car as well! And you start looking through the wiring diagram. "How long are you going to be John the kids are hungry!" "Not long Janet will you please stop the kids crying?" "They are bored honey, how long is this going to fix?" "I will have it sorted soon darling, I have a spare fusible link in the tool box." (Impressed huh?) So you fit the new set and it blows again. "Susan need a diaper change and I don't have a spare with me, I thought we were only going the store and you decided we would 'go for a short drive'?" "It's OK but I can't concentrate on the wiring diagram with the kids screaming, can't you take them for a walk?" "No I fuc*king can't it's a 100 degrees are you crazy?" "OK...OK I think I have found it........well I think I have.....er...I have no more fusible links....it's OK I will call the breakdown truck." "Well they had better hurry up, Steven's got a tummy ache......oh too late he has crapped his pant's where is the toilet roll so I can get him cleaned up?" "Jeez! There are some tissues in the glove box." "Oh yeh a whole two of them...fu*king great" "Well if you had let me get the shop to change out the fu*king fusible links (Saw that on the forum right?) I could have kept a whole bunch of fu*king fuses in the tool box!" "Well perhaps if you did not spend all that money getting the shop to fit that fu*king big bumper and spotlights, and of course those stupid big wheels which make it so sodding difficult for me to climb in and out of the car, perhaps you could have had them change out the f..ff.....link...whatever the fu*k is that's broke, oh damn I am covered in sh*t"

I know it is a bit of fun but it does happens in real life, and unless you have had an old car that may be getting tired (which the 80 is) and you have a baby and a toddler (which I did) and of course you are a mechanic (but your not) then get the FL's sorted and you can carry a bunch of fuses that mimic the FL ratings, then it would be easier to just pull the blown fuse (which you can see has blown) and then pull circuits and perhaps carry half a dozen fuses which are cheap, you might just get back on the road and go home.........and of course you don't take the family when you go 'off road' and go camping.....do you?

Regards

Dave
Click to expand...
It's called life.

Cheers
 
When fusible links break I'm not replacing them with the same 1980s crap. Fuses are easier to fit and have less battery terminal clutter. The links look like an afterthought anyway, weird from Toyota, something I'd expect from Nissan (who loves fusible links)
 
almost a useful post, got highjacked into a s***e show. Well maybe it was somewhat useful. I'm planning on switching to AMG type also. Perhaps we can get a cool AMG conversion post in the future and omit the "fusible link shortage" debate.
 
Fullscale said:
Question for those that know fuses well:
Midi fuses have been mentioned on this post as good alternative to the fusible links, but can someone clarify specifically which ones? I'm assuming the slow-blow/time delay versions but just want to be clear.

Also, what about MRBF fuses? they appear to have surge characteristics from their graph charts, but I'm not an expert and am considering them. Thinking about a terminal block setup (at, or very close to the battery) with 3 separate MRBF fuses (30a,80a,100a) may be a tidy solution, but only if they have the proper surge properties, which I'm unclear on.
Would something like these (below) work well?

View attachment 2932740

View attachment 2932745 View attachment 2932746
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I fitted these cube fuses direct to my battery terminals years ago, they were available in slow blow and instant blow, I did mine to suit a specific modification to my 80.

Regards


Dave
 
mudgudgeon said:
You forgot the bit about it being dark, and starting to rain
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Yeh I know, I was putting up a hyperthetical situation in a good light. :rofl:

In my younger days it was a 40 mile trip to the coast in an old Cortina, and getting home it was just a dynamo, a flat battery and puncture, of course with the wife, a baby and a toddler.....ah those were the days. :)

I have always said your car never breaks down on a sunny Sunday outside a dealer that's open with the part you need in stock!

Regards

Dave
 
jonheld said:
I added the colors and amp ratings of the fusible links to my diagram. Fusible links are rated by the color of the flameproof insulator and is a standard in the industry.
A US spec 80 Series has 3 fusible links. PINK, BLACK, and BLUE.

PINK is 30 amp (FL AM2)
BLACK is 80 amp (FL AM1)
BLUE is 100 amp (FL MAIN)
Click to expand...
Awesome! I learn something new every day. Is there a length limit or restriction on these?
 
With the additional information provided by @jonheld provided, I went to this site. Nice quick read that should help answer some questions on the topic. And, replacement (as I feared) is not as simple as replacing with a "like" size fuse. Anyone have SAE standard J156 laying about? :rofl:

www.wiringdepot.com

Fusible Link Wire FAQs

We get many questions about fusible link wire. Below are some that we get most frequently. What is a Fusible Link? A fusible link is a short piece of insulated low-voltage cable within an automotive wiring harness that is designed to protect the...
www.wiringdepot.com www.wiringdepot.com
 
I did a little digging and found the fixtures to buy directly for the DIY people. I am very happy to see this posted as I have been looking for a replacement to the fusible links. They work but are also archaic. As much as I love the dedication Toyota has put into their design, engineering, and production there have still been a lot of advances in technology that just work better than what was thought up decades ago. Below are the links to the product info and purchasing.

Littelfuse MDB 3 Pole MIDI Distribution Box

Waytek Wire catalog purchase. - Box with the fixins for just over $30

Cole Hersee 04980933.X MIDI PDM Fuse Holder | Waytek

Cole Hersee 04980933.X MIDI PDM Fuse Holder 3 Pole Sealed MDB Series is in stock ready to ship. Order today!
www.waytekwire.com www.waytekwire.com

Waytek Wire Catalog page. Great resource
catalog.waytekwire.com

Waytek Wire

Check out our interactive digital publication, powered by Dirxion
catalog.waytekwire.com catalog.waytekwire.com
 
Sorry for bumping this thread but the day has come, the fusible link seems to have fallen in the NLA side per the Toyota Website

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Also look at Partsouq.com
 
We go through this every few weeks it seems. @OGBeno Just curious, you had the thread of NLA parts, but it went south after it became a discussion, etc. It seems there would be some benefit to have a thread that had a semi-current listing of 80 parts that were truly NLA. Any thoughts? :worms:
:popcorn:
 
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