Engine fuse ?

[gman 82 aquasport]

I have a 1992 Johnson 150.. On the engine are a couple of fuses(glass), is there any problem in changing them to spade type fuses in waterproof holders with water tight wire connectors...Wondering if there might be a vibration issue or anything else as to not change them..Really trying to only have to carry 1 type of spares and everything else on the boat uses spade fuses or is on breakers.. :pirat:

[wingtime]

I would think as long as the fuse holders are of good quality and the connectors are nice and tight you should be fine.  I believe the spade type fuses are more resistant to vibration than the old glass type.  Just look at how much longer the filament is in the glass type vs the spade type.

[flounderpounder225]

Thats what I would do Gary, definitely more reliable, just make sure your splice connections are soldered or use the Heat Shrink butt connectors, and I would even go as far as putting some liquid electric tape on the splices...

[gman 82 aquasport]

Thanks guys, all the wiring on my boat was heat shrink connectors, on these I will also put heat shrink over the heat shrink connectors for double protection The small 20 amp glass fuses that are 1/2 inch long aren't as easy to find sometimes..

[Georgie]

Gary,

Are your glass fuses in the OMC stock rubberized boots?  If so, I'd leave them and deal with carrying a small batch of the backup fuses simply b/c I've never heard of one having vibration issues, and I personally HATE hacking up a factory wiring harness if not absolutely necessary.  They're small and can easily be bound together with a rubber band and stuck inside a black plastic camera film cannister or something similar.  Got a photo? Just my two cents, but I'm sure SB or Fitz will have an opinion on this one.

[wingtime]

One thing about the old glass type is you can always wrap them in tin foil in a pinch!  

[gman 82 aquasport]

Everything is OEM, I haven't changed them yet..Yeah the foil trick is nice, but I am trying to get the harness back to good condition again, I have some wires and connectors that have seen better days.. :o

[fitz73222]

Hey Gary,

If your going to hack up the harness anyway, change them out. Otherwise I'd leave well enough alone. I think I've blown 1 fuse in 40 years of being on the water and up until 10 years ago were all the glass buss fuses and never had a problem in salt water.

[seabob4]

Just my 2 pennies...

I personally hate glass fuses ans fuse holders.  What I see on countless older boats is corrosion of the ends, corrosion of the holders, to the extent that not only do the fuses break (the glass) when you try to remove them, but the ends (the metal contacts) get either stuck in the holder so bad or that the corrosion has basically welded them together, that the holder is just trash.

Keep in mind the fuses on the powerhead are not part of your engine harness that feeds the helm, they are just part of the engine electrical...so I would swap them out for blade type (ATC/ATO).  And I would use a holder like this one...http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=333199  I like the mounting tab, allows you to either mount to a b/head (off engine use) or to tie-wrap it to a convenient point on the powerhead.

Remember, just my 2 pennies...

[GoneFission]

Everything is OEM, I haven't changed them yet..Yeah the foil trick is nice, but I am trying to get the harness back to good condition again, I have some wires and connectors that have seen better days.. :o

If it ain't broke...      Then again, if it IS broke, update it!!  

[John Jones]

What Seabob said.  I have had glass fuses look fine and finally figure out that they were corroded on the INSIDE with no visible sign.  

Oh, and put a dab of dielectric grease in the fuseholder before you insert the fuse.  If it quits, it won't be because of corrosion or vibration.

[gman 82 aquasport]

The main one that I intend to change is not on wiring harness,it's on the engine, port side right by the starter, and the wires on it are flakey(insulation coming apart) :o  that's the main one that will be changed..and the fuse holder that seabob linked to is the kind I have used elsewhere on the boat so it wouild be what I use there