Home   Forum   Classifieds   Tech/DIY   News   Articles   Chat   Contact Us

W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Forum rules
Welcome to the Tech/DIY information archive. This area of the board is for reference purposes, please direct general tech discussion to the G Wagen Technical Forum.
Suppatime
Posts: 1215
Contact:

W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#1 » Sat Apr 06, 2013 1:28 pm

Hey guys:

I've been searching around for a fuse box upgrade for the W460 chassis to allow blade type fuses.

The only hits I've gotten are here:

http://www.gwoa.co.uk/forum/460-fuse-board-upgrade

http://forum.pointedthree.com/disc/foru ... &mid=58024


Has anyone done this upgrade? I found one of the Porsche 914 upgrade panels on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-West-Porsch ... 564fb92da1

...but I'm curious as to the fit.

I'd be more interested in a W461 fuse relay (as I think it'll likely fit perfectly) but can't for the life of me find one anywhere.

I'm still having some interesting ground issues after tapping a new chassis mount for my battery ground -- namely, fluctuating engine temp (mostly when turn signals are going) and headlight issues (low beam on one, high beam on the other).

Vince (Volvo) stopped by months ago and helped me sort out some of the issues, but corrosion isn't much of an issue anymore.

User avatar
vadimivanovich
Posts: 8643

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#2 » Sat Apr 06, 2013 2:09 pm

Sounds like you have a grounding issue behind the instrument cluster. Look for the bundle of brown wires all coming together at one bolt on the body. Or just run a new ground to the instrument you're having trouble with!

Suppatime
Posts: 1215
Contact:

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#3 » Sat Apr 06, 2013 6:08 pm

vadimivanovich wrote:Sounds like you have a grounding issue behind the instrument cluster. Look for the bundle of brown wires all coming together at one bolt on the body. Or just run a new ground to the instrument you're having trouble with!


I'm having all sorts of electrical frustrations. I think the majority of the system is dirty, which is especially bad for the various grounds. I have big hands so I'll have to disassemble the entire dash to get back there. Changing the multigauge ground from one earth pin to another on the body only made my issue worse, and for more confusion, when I switched it back, the problem I created persisted.

I understand the basics of electricity on a 12V system. I know how things 'should' work in an electrical system, regardless of the age of the wiring. But there's so many little things going wrong that I'm just about ready to toss in the towel and get a whole new harness custom made, being sure it will be backwards-compatable for an OM606 with the 603 injection pump. With blade fuses, because screw the bullet style.

I keep reminding myself this was a GE series harness, and that things were re-appropriated for the GD motor. But still, I'd really like to punch the guy who did the diesel install, because of all of the crappy DIY work he's done under the dash. There's half-assed stab ins wrapped in duct tape, theres dozens of cut wires that have either been spliced, soldiered or left loose. It'd be a lot easier to understand a wiring diagram if it hadn't been so badly botched.

I turn on my headlights -- only one of my low beams work and only the other one's high beam works -- and my temp gauge and fuel gauge spike. Neither city light work. When I flip the turn signal, the radio shuts off for a second. I flick on the dome light and I blew 25A fuse #8.


There's another headache -- I ended up shattering one of my Hella domes on reinstall. How are you supposed to get it back in the metal holder in the headliner when there's 3 grounds (brown) connected together and nowhere for them to go to get out of the way?

In better news, I have 4 new ABS fender flares on the way, 2 Canadian Army tail lights, front windscreen deflectors and both sets of rocker panels. And I'm saving up for all the body work.

But damn this electrical system.

User avatar
bratwurst
Posts: 300
Contact:

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#4 » Sat Apr 06, 2013 6:29 pm

Yeah the electrics can be a bugger on these trucks especially after 25 years...

Just be thankful you don't have a 2001 C Class, though. I went through computer units at roughly the rate I went though oil filters (at $800 a pop). Why the heck do you need a computer to open the trunk? That's another story though...

There is some weird and wonderful stuff that can go on with ground problems. For example, voltage going backwards through things and so on. At one point the passenger side headlight on my truck would go on when I hit the brakes.

Not much advice I can give you, other than trying to isolate circuits by pulling fuses and seeing if the overall system works better. Regarding a fusebox change, that could help make buying fuses easier for sure, but you might want to consider a new harness as you mentioned at that point.

On my truck, I purchased two marine fuse blocks for all my accessories - that way I could get rid of the wire taps the PO's had installed all over the place. Helped keep a handle a bit on the mess.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... WDZ5X11Z2M

Cheers,

Michael

Suppatime
Posts: 1215
Contact:

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#5 » Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:25 pm

bratwurst wrote:There is some weird and wonderful stuff that can go on with ground problems. For example, voltage going backwards through things and so on. At one point the passenger side headlight on my truck would go on when I hit the brakes.


That happened to me too!

bratwurst wrote:Not much advice I can give you, other than trying to isolate circuits by pulling fuses and seeing if the overall system works better. Regarding a fusebox change, that could help make buying fuses easier for sure, but you might want to consider a new harness as you mentioned at that point.


Luckily, one of my close friends is an electrical engineer. I'm just waiting until he has some time...

bratwurst wrote:On my truck, I purchased two marine fuse blocks for all my accessories - that way I could get rid of the wire taps the PO's had installed all over the place. Helped keep a handle a bit on the mess.


How did you get them to fit? Mind snapping a picture? I was looking at them for quite a while, but I'd much rather have a plug-and-play setup.

Guido... where are you with your 461 part numbers??

User avatar
vadimivanovich
Posts: 8643

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#6 » Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:22 pm

Actually Drew, I'm planning on doing something similar to that too. My electrics are okay for now but I just don't like the way the fuse box is - seems like it's in harms way... plus my cover is missing. I bought all new circuit breakers and will be fabricating a bracket to hold them. I could make a few extra if there's interest. The breakers were cheap - about $3 a piece I think, and they match the original amp ratings for the most part. Why would you go to so much trouble to change the fuse block for more fuses?! Breakers are the way to go. Plus you can add as many extras as you like.

On the other hand, I have to say that the Mercedes fuse blocks have been extremely reliable. I've had dozens of old mercedes from 1955 through 2002 and they all used the same fuses. It's hard to argue with that. Maybe our Gs are at the age where the fuse blocks might be less reliable, but so far I can't claim that.

Suppatime
Posts: 1215
Contact:

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#7 » Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:37 pm

vadimivanovich wrote:Actually Drew, I'm planning on doing something similar to that too. My electrics are okay for now but I just don't like the way the fuse box is - seems like it's in harms way... plus my cover is missing.


My cover is broken.

vadimivanovich wrote:I bought all new circuit breakers and will be fabricating a bracket to hold them. I could make a few extra if there's interest. The breakers were cheap - about $3 a piece I think, and they match the original amp ratings for the most part. Why would you go to so much trouble to change the fuse block for more fuses?! Breakers are the way to go. Plus you can add as many extras as you like.


I'd never thought about breakers. My only thought was for an OM606 with 603 injection pump swap... as it supposedly won't need the computer.

vadimivanovich wrote:On the other hand, I have to say that the Mercedes fuse blocks have been extremely reliable. I've had dozens of old mercedes from 1955 through 2002 and they all used the same fuses. It's hard to argue with that. Maybe our Gs are at the age where the fuse blocks might be less reliable, but so far I can't claim that.


To be honest, the fuses aren't my issue. It's the rewiring of the 280GE harness that has left me confused and annoyed with problem after problem.

User avatar
vadimivanovich
Posts: 8643

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#8 » Sun Apr 07, 2013 10:00 pm

The 603/606 transplant will not affect your electrical supply from the fuse block so no worries there. The other electrical gremlins are non-fuse related so maybe visit this project when everything else is fixed and you're bored.

Suppatime
Posts: 1215
Contact:

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#9 » Sun Apr 07, 2013 10:56 pm

vadimivanovich wrote:The 603/606 transplant will not affect your electrical supply from the fuse block so no worries there. The other electrical gremlins are non-fuse related so maybe visit this project when everything else is fixed and you're bored.


I have a feeling that's going to be a while.

User avatar
Flanker525
Posts: 1519

Re: W460 Fuse Box Upgrade

Post#10 » Mon Apr 08, 2013 2:58 pm

Take a close look at your fuse box with a tester and see if you're getting the correct voltage across all the fuses.

I had a lot of the same problems that you're describing (Along with also having an incompetent previous owner....) Replacing the entire fuse box solved most of the problems and it took me less then an hour to do.

viewtopic.php?t=2598

Return to “DIY: Electrical Troubleshooting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 158 guests