47-59 Fuse box location?

[Phungki]

Where did you guys put your fuse boxes and where/how did you come thru the firewall with your wires? Pictures appreciated

Thank you
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[mr48chev]

Most of us would put the fuse block on the inside. Usually but not always up on the inside of the drivers side of the firewall.

I've got a buddy who made a hinged panel that drops down from the dash when you release the latch. You look up under the dash and you just see a panel between the column and the kick panel but release the latch and the panel swings down and your fuse block is right there where it is easy to reach. That was on a street rod and not a truck but it's actual simplicity and ease of access to the fuses was nice.

As far as the hole in the firewall to run the wires though that is where your comfort zone lets you put it, Either where it naturally routes the wires inside or where you decide to hide it.

[_Ogre]

The hinged panel is a great idea. Mine isn't to bad, but I rarely have to access it.
My ezwire fuse panel is on a bracket that uses one of the hinge bolts
I came through the firewall three times: ramjet350 has a one inch flex on the back of the motor, all hidden in the center console. rear lights and fuel pump drop out below the panel to keep it out of sight. The front lights, fan, AC are in the grey flex next to the heater hose to the core support



You can see the panel and the rear lights flex heading down. I can easily pull my column cover for better access



I like the clean firewall look

[Phungki]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

The hinged panel is a great idea. Mine isn't to bad, but I rarely have to access it.
My ezwire fuse panel is on a bracket that uses one of the hinge bolts
I came through the firewall three times: ramjet350 has a one inch flex on the back of the motor, all hidden in the center console. rear lights and fuel pump drop out below the panel to keep it out of sight. The front lights, fan, AC are in the grey flex next to the heater hose to the core support



You can see the panel and the rear lights flex heading down. I can easily pull my column cover for better access



I like the clean firewall look

I like the firewall a little less busy as well. I’ll be relocating the battery before its said and done but the master cylinder is staying.
I am hoping to keep as much as I can out if view.
The swing down fuse panel is something to think about
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[leegreen]

I made a bracket under the dash that an aluminum plate slides down from, fuses, relay, PWM for heater fan, outlets and auxiliary switches all mount to that. Angled it to leave room for stereo head unit in original speaker grill area.

fuse panel stowed


things get a little tight under AD dash even without AC



this is maintenance mode


wire bundle is wrapped since pictures taken

Sitting on the floor to wire it up beat lying on my back, it is still a pain to snake wires to it though. I used stock firewall wiring hole near drivers side hood hinge, relocated battery to firewall and ran what wires traverse the engine bay along firewall above engine and along driver side inner fender. Not going for a clean firewall look, but I used enough of wire management and cable covers to keep it tidy.

I left a long enough service loop on the wire bundle under dash that I can remount the plate on firewall or in a console if I get tired of this setup.
My second choice location was behind seats, but that would have made for longer wire runs, more complicated to wire switches/relays and the sierra seats I am using do not tip forward.

If I switch up the 250 6 cylinder to EFI at some point, the computer will be under hood, probably under battery tray.

[MiraclePieCo]

Upper left inside firewall is standard, but to avoid clutter I usually put mine in the center on any type of vehicle I'm wiring:

[dsraven]

however and wherever you install the fuse panel and/or relay panel just think about access to work on it when the vehicle is finished. you usually don't need to do this often but when you do you will be cussing yourself under you breath (or really loudly) if you have to bend up like a pretzel just to test and replace a fuse. the hinged panel idea is great, some cars came thay way from factory, and the location on the driver's side is usually good so you have access to the key without un-pretzelling yourself each time. it could be mounted up high but with some slack wire to enable it to be hinged down for maintenance etc. it can get pretty tight up there if you have a clutch pedal so the next easily accessible spot would be behind the seat or in the middle of the truck-console area. what will you run for seats and console will also factor in as well as if you plan to drop/extend the lower edge of the dash like a lot of guys do. a removeable panel will hide the wire cluster but I advise to make the opening big enough to get your mitts in there to work on anything. as a heavy duty mechanic I worked on a lot of semi trucks back when they had really narrow cabs. a lot of them had a circuit breaker strip (their version of a fuse panel) in the area above the windshield and a relay panel in the middle of the truck cab below the dash behind a huge removeable panel. the relay panel, if you go that way, can be placed wherever, it doesn't need to be next to the fuse box. somewhere out of sight, like behind the seat, would work well if the seat is foldable or can be slid ahead enough to do maintenance. look at any newer vehicle, they have several locations for these things. some of the 4x4 sites may help with water tight methods of getting the wiring through the firewall or wherever you decide to do that. there is a reason the manufacturers use a sealed bulhead there. a repurposed bulkhead can be rewired if desired. placement is up to you but remember a hole next to a hole is a weal spot in the firewall, if you run a firewall mounted brake booster. there are household sealed (compression style fittings) connectors available that could be used to run wires through into the cab but they are far from pretty. you could run the wiring along the frame and up through the cab floor behind the seats but that is a lot of extra wire to get to the dash area.

[dsraven]

I seem to remember a fella on here that used a drawer under the driver's seat for his fuse/relay panel. it pulled out from the side of the seat so accessed when the door is open. it could be made from platsic sheet welded together with a simple slide system since it wouldn't be used a lot. I would suggest to put it inside a non conductive box or install a protector on top of it in case somebody tries to stuff something under the seat. if you are using the jumbo fuses they should be close to the battery if possible.

[dsraven]

there are lots of different sized mega fuse holders onine for a decent price. some are waterproof etc. here is a link to one that holds many fuses for multiple systems. a little overboard but you get the idea. personally I like this style because the connections can be easily cleaned


https://bluebarindustries.com.au/sho...0-150a-linked/

[duramax55]

Originally Posted by Phungki

Where did you guys put your fuse boxes and where/how did you come thru the firewall with your wires? Pictures appreciated

Thank you
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a good place to come in the cab if you want to hide your wires is at the bottom of the cab where the bottom hinge is . Simply drill a hole in that pocket in front of the hinge and run wires up to the dash. this will be hidden by the kick panel. I put my fuse box on a magnet(made small bracket that the box bolted to and the magnet is one with a hole in it so you bolt to the bracket) then you can put the fuse box up high and pull it down to check fuses. hope this helps Denis

[dsraven]

another idea, if you want a fused power block inside the truck that can handle big draw, is a mega fuse near te battery that feeds a power stud inside the cab. I have used this idea before a few times.
https://www.amazon.ca/Fastronix-Sing...01LM01CNA?th=1

I like the magnet idea but remember some electronics may not unless they are shielded

[dsraven]

just spitballing here, but another idea is to install a weatherpack plug inline to the cab feed so if the cab needs to come off it cab be simply unplugged. not that we take our cabs on and off a lot, lol.