Blue Sea Aux panel Fuse Tech Tip

[Mosa]

I recently installed the blue sea aux panel on my 06, and all went well, relayed main, etc... until I went to install the fuses into the individual circuits I was wiring up....

I am using the ST kind of fuses with the little bump on the top that lights up when the fuse blows... pretty neat idea... except when I put in the fuse, the bump kept the clear cover plate for the fuse panel from sitting down and laching correcly... just a liiiiitle too tall were the fuses... I mentioned this to my hotrod buddy and he said he had same problem and was able to fix it simply...

First mark with a grease pencil the fuse location when the cover is installed... mark the point where the fuse contacts the panel. Take the panel off and place inside facing up on a flat table, wiht a piece of scrap cardboard box underneath panel....( allows for bending later on.. read further)...make sure you do this in good lighting so you can see clearly where you are going to do the mod...

Next, get an old hex wrench ( I got zillions of em lying around... since it seems every part I buy comes with a hex wrench to install the part)... thats just a little larger diameter than the fuse bump... Hold the hex wrench in a pair of vicegrips...

Then I got my blowtorch ( propane jobby that I got at Home Depot) Heat the free end of the hex wrench hot enuf to where it will just slightly melt the plastic... this is a subjective heat, some may want hotter, some not.... anyway..

Next take the heated tip and from the INSIDE of the panel, place tip vertically and line up with mark U made with grease pencil... BE SURE the cover is FLAT contact with the cardboard you placed underneath earlier ( U may have to roll over the cover slightly to ensure its flat).. the heat from the hex wrench will deform the cover just the right size for the bump and the cardboard underneath will bend a little bit to allow the cover to deform slightly... (Caution, dont leave on too long as it might melt thru completely the cover and leave a hole, although not a problem, just is a hole that otherwise woulnt be there... sloppy sloppy ( grin).... uh, dont ask me how I know this....lol).

I did this on my cover, and reinstalled.. everythign fits perfectly and latches firmly now... woo hoo... cheap fix! ( will try to get some pics for U guys in a bit to help show what I was writing......)

Mosa

 

[FJRocket]

I just take a hand file and grind off the number tab. Heck, they're color coded. Who needs to read the numbers? Takes 5 seconds. Don't need to take it down very far and can still keep the LED sealed.

Those SmartGlow fuses ARE pretty nice.

 

[Mosa]

well there ya go... always someone smarter than me... :blink: lol... wish I woulda thought of that before I went and modified my cover...lol

Mosa

 

[FJRocket]

well there ya go... always someone smarter than me... :blink: lol... wish I woulda thought of that before I went and modified my cover...lol
Mosa

Well, my mod took me a long time to figure out. My first thought was to contact Blue Sea. They refused to make the lid stick out any farther to accommodate the SmartGlow. My second thought was to just drill holes in the lid directly over the tabs.

Now my only problem is that if I'm out in the sticks and toast a fuse, I have to drag the new fuse top down on the asphalt to grind off the tab. It'll look kinda silly... but I tried it already. It works.