[slikside]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Correct on all counts. The item circled in red contains the 4A fuse for the ammeter. You can pull it apart to verify. The solid section at the end of the fusible link contains the splice point, as you said. Cut the red wire where shown. Rather than hard soldering the fusible link to that red wire, consider a butt splice so you can make up a spare. That makes it much easier to replace if it blows again.

Originally Posted by harrydunn

Thank you, Mike. I appreciate you taking the time. Glad I'm on the right page.

Oh, okay. Butt splice is fine by me if there are no issues with that for longevity. Curious if a 16-gauge fusible link and the thick red harness wire will both fit in the same diameter butt connector on both sides.

See pic below

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Safety First Fusible link

You are most likely familiar with how a fuse works in an automobile, but here’s a quick reminder. A fuse serves as a link in your vehicle’s electrical system that can be broken under certain circumstances in order to protect various components and systems from damage. Typically, a fuse burns out when a circuit attempts to transmit too much current, severing the connection before the electrical charge can have any ill effects.

A fusible link acts much like a fuse, only it’s designed to handle a different type of potentially hazardous scenario. These links are actually strands of wire wrapped in a fireproof covering, and are thinner than the wiring harnesses they’re connected to. They are placed in-line between delicate harnesses and large sources of electrical current in your car—between the battery and alternator, for example. These links must transmit high-current electricity, but also protect the rest of the electrical system from dangerous spikes that could cause a fire. If there’s a surge, the link actually melts, as its resistance to heat is lower than that of the circuits it’s protecting. This cuts off power while protecting the engine bay from a conflagration, thanks to its fireproof wrapping.

Well, I’ve been educated here, for sure. Time to fess up…

About 3 months ago my 8 year old battery gave up. When I was pulling it out, I noticed the red wire from the radiator support loom had a butt connection that was severely corroded. It was so bad that the yellow insulation on the connector was cracked and swollen. See pic below. “No problem”, I thought. “I’ve got all the materials here to cut that out and solder in a new section of wire to reach the block on the fender.”

I’m now understanding that I have eliminated the fusible link! No wonder the wires on either side of the old connector looked different! Doh!! I just thought some PO made a kind of shabby job replacing that piece of wire for some reason, but now I know I have no protection in the charging circuit. It’s certainly better to find that out through discussion on the board here than in some post conflagration investigation trying to figure out what happened! Saved by the board!

So, next project is to redo with a proper fusible link. I’ll be soldering and shrink wrapping mine though. I figure as long as the other one lasted, I hopefully won’t be needing to do another anytime soon…