American Autowire Megafuse Location

[bikertim]

Doing a complete rebuild on my 70 C10 short bed step side -- LS 6.0, Holley Terminator X Max, 4w disc with hydrostatic boost, Vintage Air AC, American Autowire wire harness, Dakota RTX gauges, etc. Mocking everything up prior to disassembly for paint. Struggling with where to mount the Megafuse which comes with the American Autowire harness. Any good ideas out there? Pictures would be awesome! Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help!

[LS short box]

Not American but Painless. I'm guessing they are similar. Pic of my 68. The maxi fuse is just below the heater box.

[bikertim]

Thanks for the response! Trying to hide everything as much as I can..

[HalfBrit]

Located mine on the radiator support, behind the battery.

[LS short box]

Since you have the Autowire harness its fairly easy to hide all the wires. I removed the stock fuse block. Then I filled the hole. I moved the Painless fuse block back a bit from the firewall. Then I made a new small hole for the front wiring harness. Ran all the front wiring harness wires down the frame up to the radiator support. And then ran the rear harness out the same hole back along the frame rail. The engine harness I ran down the back of the engine and thru the fire wall. Mounted the ECM and fuse block behind the glove box.

[MikeB]

I didn't do the wiring like AAW wants you to. I thought 6 gauge wire was overkill for my system, and it's virtually useless to have 175 amp fuses protecting 6 gauge and 10 gauge wire. I just used one 60 amp fuse protecting 8 gauge wire between battery and alternator, and no separate fuse on the 10 gauge fuse panel feed wire.

I used 8 gauge wire between battery and alternator because the highest current draw I've ever measured from battery to rest-of-world is around 40 amps. And my stock system used 12 gauge wire and and a fusible link, neither of which looked overheated after 54 years.

So, 8 gauge wire from battery to mega-fuse, and then across the core support to a distribution block. The circuit breaker on the top right of the picture powers a Vintage Air A/C system through a relay.

[bikertim]

Originally Posted by MikeB

I didn't do the wiring like AAW wants you to. I thought 6 gauge wire was overkill for my system, and it's virtually useless to have 175 amp fuses protecting 6 gauge and 10 gauge wire. I just used one 60 amp fuse protecting 8 gauge wire between battery and alternator, and no separate fuse on the 10 gauge fuse panel feed wire.

I used 8 gauge wire between battery and alternator because the highest current draw I've ever measured from battery to rest-of-world is around 40 amps. And my stock system used 12 gauge wire and and a fusible link, neither of which looked overheated after 54 years.

So, 8 gauge wire from battery to mega-fuse, and then across the core support to a distribution block. The circuit breaker on the top right of the picture powers a Vintage Air A/C system through a relay.

Nice clean looking wire setup -- thanks for the advice!

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Originally Posted by MikeB

I didn't do the wiring like AAW wants you to. I thought 6 gauge wire was overkill for my system, and it's virtually useless to have 175 amp fuses protecting 6 gauge and 10 gauge wire. I just used one 60 amp fuse protecting 8 gauge wire between battery and alternator, and no separate fuse on the 10 gauge fuse panel feed wire.

I used 8 gauge wire between battery and alternator because the highest current draw I've ever measured from battery to rest-of-world is around 40 amps. And my stock system used 12 gauge wire and and a fusible link, neither of which looked overheated after 54 years.

So, 8 gauge wire from battery to mega-fuse, and then across the core support to a distribution block. The circuit breaker on the top right of the picture powers a Vintage Air A/C system through a relay.

That looks good.

[Spf79]

I'm in process of wiring my project & ended up changing the 100 amp fuses to automotive breakers. I hid mine below my battery box... I thought to myself that if that fuse ever went out and stranded me on the side of the road I would be so frustrated with trying to change it out that I would rather see it burn & collect the insurance money. Lol. Not sure if the breakers are a good idea or not, but they look clean.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Spf79

I'm in process of wiring my project & ended up changing the 100 amp fuses to automotive breakers. I hid mine below my battery box... I thought to myself that if that fuse ever went out and stranded me on the side of the road I would be so frustrated with trying to change it out that I would rather see it burn & collect the insurance money. Lol. Not sure if the breakers are a good idea or not, but they look clean.

I have a spare fuse and wench in my glove box, but I think a proper circuit breaker might be best. I mean, they seem to work well in headlight switches. What brand/type breakers did you use?

Then again, a fusible link served the truck well for 54 years. I did replace it in the mid-90s. It wasn't blown but was looking a bit ragged.

The Internet is full of pros and cons about fuses, breakers, and fusible links. There's also a post on The H.A.M.B message board by an American Autowire employee defending their use of 175 amp fuses, saying they worked with Littlefuse to come up with the best solution.

[derotoreut]

I hid my AAW megafuse upfront near the bottom of my radiator on the crossmember. It fit up there well, and I drilled and tapped the holes with either #8 or #10 button head capscrews. Then cut of the screws after they stuck through and dabbed them with black paint. It worked well because all wires were down low and tied in nicely with my AAW kit. I wanted everything in my swap hidden. Take a look at my 70 K10 build if you want. Link is in my signature.

Sorry for the picture, but I don't have a good one. If you want I can take a better picture over the weekend.

[RodnRudy]

Originally Posted by HalfBrit

Located mine on the radiator support, behind the battery.

A friend of mine did the same on his 67. Clean, simple and close to the battery.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by derotoreut

I hid my AAW megafuse upfront near the bottom of my radiator on the crossmember.

Well that's not something you see everyday. It's certainly out of the way, though. I just hope you don't drive that K10 in the mud!

On another note, the AAW 6-gauge charging circuit would be much easier to locate on a vehicle like a square body, with the alternator on the passenger side near the battery. The 6 gauge wire is tough to route from one side of the engine compartment to the other.

[1971Stepside]

I made this panel for the mega fuse and fan relays to mount to the core support. All the wires run from the drivers side vent up through the fender.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I made this panel for the mega fuse and fan relays to mount to the core support. All the wires run from the drivers side vent up through the fender.

Very nice work.

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I made this panel for the mega fuse and fan relays to mount to the core support. All the wires run from the drivers side vent up through the fender.

Looks clean... nice work.

[bikertim]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I made this panel for the mega fuse and fan relays to mount to the core support. All the wires run from the drivers side vent up through the fender.

Wow that looks like a work of art! Great job!

[Accelo]

This is where I installed mine.