Shop By Product
Because we work on such a vast array of vehicles here we field requests aplenty for tutorials regarding how to undertake various aspects of installations. In response we've written many a tutorial hitherto for various forums, user groups and the like. However with the online world now moving away from these older community formats and onto newer ones like social media platforms we've also had to change our tack; for social media is extremely dynamic and we've found that any tutorial type posts tend to disappear from sight within minutes of them being posted on social media. Therefore we've started migrating the aforesaid tutorials over to this page to prolong their longevity.
Similar to the component set tutorial above; over the years we've also done many a tutorial pertaining to fuse holders, circuit breakers and their installation. Which designs are best, where to mount them, how to mount them and so forth. Given they're such an important element of your vehicles safety net it's baffling how many installers pay them so little attention, installing them either in the wrong location or very poorly. Therefore read on as we run you through how we install these devices here at Fhrx Studios. Because simply whacking a few self-drilling screws into a wheel arch a few meters away from the battery like this might work initially; it's not healthy for your car or your safety in the long run.
VIEW TUTORIALS
Look for a threaded bolt or hole. An M6 will suffice if need be, but our preference is for something more robust like an M8 or M10. Ensure the location is under half a meter from the battery positive and check clearances with both bonnet and other moving parts, lest the moving elements foul upon either the fuse holder or power cables once installed. Also be mindful of heat, especially with circuit breakers. Don’t install your equipment too close to a manifold or extractor.
Though we sometimes depart from the norm, welding up either 4130 mild steel or 304 / 321 stainless brackets; 99% of the time our brackets are made from off the shelf 3mm x 20mm 6061 aluminium strip which you can pick up from your local hardware store. Put a larger hole in the end that’s mounting to the car and then you simply bend the bracket to where you’d like your mounting plate to sit. Cut it to length, clean it up and sand it back to give it that brushed alloy finish.
Whilst you could just attach your fuse holder directly to the alloy strip, we prefer to make a mounting plate. For aside from looking superior the mounting plate also allows for a fair amount of personalisation, either via a badge insert or by painting the plate the same colour as the vehicle.
Drill two holes for the mounting bolts, preferably directly under where the fuse holder itself will sit so they’re hidden. Remember these holes are countersunk and are slightly larger than the through bolts, thus allowing them to freely spin as they screw into the threaded alloy below.
Once you’ve drilled the holes in your mounting plate, mark them out on the alloy bracket and drill the holes in the alloy. Now remember the holes in the alloy will be tapped, so pick yourself up a drill & tap kit from the hardware; that’ll ensure you get the right sized drill for your tap. We recommend something like tapping M4 threads for these holes. Drill them, tap them and then bolt the whole affair together using stainless bolts and nyloc washers. What you do not do is just drill a pair of holes and jam a pair of wood screws in them.
Next up drill slightly smaller through holes in the mounting plate, we usually recommend M3.5 or thereabouts. This will allow you to use M3 bolts to secure your fuse holder to the mounting plate. Once again ensure you use washers and nyloc nuts.
With all the machining done you now assemble the whole affair. You should have your perspex mounting plate bolted to the alloy bracket with M4 bolts, washers and nyloc nuts. You’ll then have your fuse holder bolted to the mounting plate with M3 bolts, washers and nyloc nuts.
Bolt the fuse holder assembly into the vehicle. You’ll then tin or ferrule the end of your cables to avoid possible fraying and to give the fuse holder grub screws something to bite down on. Run all cables with the factory electrical looms, being careful to stay well away from anything heat or liquid related. So don’t tie power wires to fuel lines, water liners or even air-con lines. Only tie them with factory electrical looms and then cable tie them about every one-hundred millimetres.
If you want to see many more fuse holders in situ, including all the various designs we’ve come up with hitherto; then click here. Alternatively if you’d like to see what the entire battery, fuse holder and the whole shebang looks like when it’s all done click here.