Ron_H

Well, now I have a thoroughly protected fuse panel, courtesy of Sharkskin. We took apart the bugger and Stabilant-ized it and then replaced it. This was a first time for me, but it really didn't seem too mystifying. Just be methodical and think about the process. It helped that Dave took several photos as we progressed so we didn't need to draw the correct location of the relays and connectors. All the lower connectors were color coded for easy re-installation, but be careful when removing them to not break the upper tab on the sockets that hold them in place. They all release at the bottom of the board by pulling out a red plastic tab that actuates a sliding locking bar along the bottom of the board. Then once the ground wires are released and the upper red wires are also released, the board may be unscrewed and removed. Then it is panic time as you view the tangled mess in the rear. Dave advised removing just one lead at a time to keep track and away we went. Lots of Stabilant and the female spade connectors Dave conquered by using a modified nail file to file inside of them before coating with Stabilant. Then all the male spades were cleaned and coated. Only one broken relay socket was found and Dave found a way to borrow a good unused one from another place on the board, replacing the broken one. I watched scratching my head. All of this mess went back together and the board was re-installed, just in time for Dave to eat dinner. Since I had to return to jail, I had to wait for dinner. The car started up and all functions functioned correctly, even my Bear Tracker. I sat there listening to the Sunnyvale Police yakking away, thinking how neat it will be to know as I am crossing the desert that one less potential trouble area is now under control.

Let's all give a cheer for Sharkskin and his experienced assistance in this otherwise messy project !!

SharkSkin

You're welcome, and thanks for the nice words Ron! Actually, I think you did most of the work, I think my role was more "coach" and "weird-problem-figure-outer". I'm just disappointed we didn't encounter something we could point to and say, "That's your gremlin".

MGW-Fla

I've read your fantastic "how to" on this job numerous times Dave & have a couple copies printed out too. The photos are great. Even got a spare fuse panel on the way for an '85 that I bought for $79 on ebay last week including the relays & fuses. One pair of my relay sockets are loose & not wanting to stay in place. Just have to have a 1/2 day & some courage built up to tackle mine. I guess even if I dont find an "Ah HA!" in my quest to solve some of my gremlins, at least I can say I've done most of what I can do towards that goal. Great work Dave, Its greatly appreciated!

SharkSkin

Thanks Mel! the job was a bit more complex than on my OB, we spent about 8 hours on it, working at a casual pace with a lot of conversation. The biggest difference to note(for this job) between old & new panels is that the later relay sockets have an additional set of plastic retaining tabs in the rear holding the terminals in the relay sockets. Also the relay sockets are a two-piece design with a faceplate that has to be removed before you can get the socket out of the panel. You'll need a sturdy set of tweezers to get the terminals released from the sockets: