Fuse Block Mounting Suggestions?

So I replaced the many times repaired, decrepit, horrible, no-good, very bad stock fuse panel with a shiny modern fuse block:

650 Fuse Block

The problem is that while this fuse block has mounting holes that work nicely with the 650's stock airbox, my 650 has pod filters. Airbox doesn't exist. So the fuse block just dangles in the air, which means every bounce is flexing all those wires unnecessarily.

I'd like to mount that sucker to something. Am I just going to have to fabricate something, or are there any bright ideas from the crowd?

 

Geez, what a great looking fusebox! And a way-2-cool decal!

Whoops, sorry...........

Maybe you should put the stock air box back in, that would solve everything!

Or maybe cut/fabricate a flat piece of plastic (not metal!) that the box screws down to, and then get some "u-clamps" at the local hardware store, and "u-clamp" the plastic base to a frame tube in two spots.........

If you still have the stock air box filter LID, you could just use that, but it may not be wide enough to securely attach to any conevnient frame tubes or what-not......or maybe it could be attached to the backside of the TCI/Regulator bridge plate.......

And if you promise to be vewy, Vewy Careful, you could remove the battery and then use screws from the inside of the battery box side wall to mount the fusebox on the "backside" of the battery box wall (in the area where the sad, neglected, and now forgotten little airbox used to live.......).

 

I was thinking about using velcro and attaching the fuse panel to the back of the battery box. Then you can pull the fuse block loose to easily double check your fuses when needed.

 

That Velcro trick sounds like a good idea. I second that motion. Keep it from flapping 'round in the breeze.

 

The bottom of the fusebox is not a closed surface, it is "hollow" or "open" with no real supporting structure besides the metal terminal connectors themselves.....so the only place to apply velcro securely would be to the very small end tabs of the fusebox, which might not be roadworthy enough for the bigger bumps and higher G-forces that an enthusiast like Rhys would perhaps encounter.............

And with the semi-exposed terminals on these boxes, if it ever does break free and start swinging around, it could easily come into contact with some metal objects, with predictable and unfortunate results.

Velcro would be cheap, for sure. I was thinking more along the lines of safety and security, and that's why I would still suggest mechnical fasteners of some kind. Self-biting screws designed for either plastic or sheetmetal would do the trick, if sized and placed properly. Would probably cost all of 50-cents.

 

OK, Well I guess u'll know better than anyone else. Since u sell 'em n all... :wink:

But, he could always "close" the back of the fuse panel. With some plastic or whateva. N then use the "Valcro" 2 attach it with!?!

Just wondering...

 

Well, you could, but now you're almost getting into a "more trouble than it's worth" type of situation. These fuseboxes have a removable cover, so you don't ever really need to pull the entire fusebox to check the fuses, just the cover. Just like with the stock fusebox, once it's mounted, there's no real need to move the base around, just the cover.

I'm still voting for a battery box or bridge plate mounting!

 

Instead of U-Clamps, I suggest EMT or PVC 1-hole clamps (think electrical conduit). Make your bridge plate long enough to extend under the side tubes of the frame then pinch the bridge plate into place with the 1-hole clamps on either side. You'll have to measure the tubes to get the correct size, though.

 

It's a series of tubes!

I'm warming up to the idea of mounting it to the back of the battery box, since that involves the least amount of fabrication. The rubber flap that comes with the fuse block should mostly seal it up, and if I put the *heads* of the bolts on the battery side, there will be the least chance of puncturing the battery or some similar horrible thing.

I need to see how much flex is in the wiring harness there. If the wiring can't make that 90 degree bend without a struggle, I could be back to creating a mounting plate.

 

Do you have enough slack to reach that piece of frame to the left in the pic?
You could drill a hole , tap it and mount using the same tap that's holding it in the pic, maybe use an old piece of an inner tube as an anti-vibration gasket

 

FINALLY got a chance to look at this again. It turns out that there is plenty of slack in the wires to mount the panel snugly against the back of the battery box. My plan is to drill and chamfer the holes on the battery side so I can get the machine screws to be close to flush with the battery box. I don't need bolts punturing the !*!&%#! battery.

Thanks for the suggestions, all!

 

It's finished! Here are the pics:

Fuse Panel 1
Fuse Panel 2
Inside the Battery Box

I used M5 stainless allen head machine screws, since they have the beveled heads. I drilled the holes with a slightly smaller drill bit (7/32"? I forget), and then countersunk the holes so the heads would be as flush as possible inside the battery box.

Countersinking into plastic isn't easy, and my countersink bit is not exactly brand-new, so the top one isn't very flush, but it's better than no countersink at all, and I wanted to lessen the chances of the batteries wearing on or puncturing the battery as much as possible.

Getting the holes lined up wasn't as easy as you would think either, since they aren't in line with each other on the fuse block. The lower one is offset to the right a bit. So if you try to just hold the block inside the battery box and use the actual holes as guides, the bottom hole is offset in the wrong direction when you go to mount it on the back. Suffice it to say, I did get the holes right, but there is an extra hole just below the bottom hole (I adjusted correctly horizontally, only to screw up vertically).

The nuts are plain old M5s (use 8mm wrench) with split washers to retain them and the rubber gasket that comes with the panel to give it a good seal in the back.

The wires ended up fairly tight, since I mounted it too far forward. It isn't bad, though, and now that the thing is *mounted*, things should be under less stress in general anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions all, and for the parts, chacal! I need to find a replacement set of guages for the 750, and then I'll be back for another fuse block for that one as well!

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Looks good! 8)