88 limited electrical question

Hey,
I have an 88 cherokee limited and was having problems with my starter relay. Was going to replace relay but they wanted way to much money for it so I bought a different relay with the same amp ratings and a socket for it so it will be easier to diagnose in the future, my question is has anybody put in an aftermarket load center to get rid of all those fusible links since they use the starter relay for a junction point and it really looks ugly. I want to upgrade the system and put fuses in place of all those fusible links, I know kinda stupid but hey I need something to do this weekend. Anybody done this or thinking about it? I just think it would be easier to troubleshoot with fuses in there and I could make it much neater instead of that hodgepodge from the factory. Napa sells one with 10 fuse holders but no cover and it looks kind of cheesy so any suggestions?

not a good idea. besides being a huge pain in the ass to wire up, you are just asking for electrical problems in the future.

lonecountryboy said:

Hey,
I have an 88 cherokee limited and was having problems with my starter relay. Was going to replace relay but they wanted way to much money for it so I bought a different relay with the same amp ratings and a socket for it so it will be easier to diagnose in the future, my question is has anybody put in an aftermarket load center to get rid of all those fusible links since they use the starter relay for a junction point and it really looks ugly. I want to upgrade the system and put fuses in place of all those fusible links, I know kinda stupid but hey I need something to do this weekend. Anybody done this or thinking about it? I just think it would be easier to troubleshoot with fuses in there and I could make it much neater instead of that hodgepodge from the factory. Napa sells one with 10 fuse holders but no cover and it looks kind of cheesy so any suggestions?

Click to expand...

It's on my list of things to do - I've finally found ampacity ratings for fuse link wire. Most of it needs to be done with MAXI fuses, and they're not usually "fuse centre" items (single holders are a good deal more common than gang holders,) but I don't like fuse link wire. It's a pain to deal with in the field!

The common ATO/ATC fuses are usually a bit undersized for the application, and they would blow out a bit quicker than the MAXI fuses would. While not normally at issue, fuse link wire is used in many cases to provide a "lag" (simliar to a "slow-blow" glass fuse) to allow for startup currents or for a circuit to stabilise before it decides there's a problem. ATC/ATO fuses have a smaller fuse element, which would heat up faster than a MAXI. However, the application also (typically) isn't quite large enough for ANL fuses, and they can be difficult to find in 60-80A (the two bottom) ratings.