Blew the fusible link on my 1973 Dodge based Winnebago RV. It’s based off a Dodge sportsman van, is a dually, and has the 360ci. I cant find a new one in town, I need to use this tomorrow, So I am going to make one. I just dont know what amperage fuse I should use, or is it just a certain gauge of wire? Any advice is appreciated.
No, a fusible link is just that: A fuse. Replacing it with regular wire of almost any gauge will defeat the whole purpose of the link.
The question you should be asking is why did it fail? Something pulled too much juice, and caused it to fail.
Not sure if this will apply, but try this link
I blew it by tightening the battery cables with a long wrench which grounded to the van, lots of sparks. There isn’t much room where the battery sits.
Fair enough.
Make one using an appropriate fuse. Just don’t use plain wire. There are fuse holders at various electronics places (like Radio Shack), and sometimes even Lowe’s or Home Depot have something you can use.
If that link doesn’t apply to you, just Google it.
I found this comment on one site, though:
On fusible link protected vehicles the fusible link can serve at least 2 purposes: protecting the circuit and adding a calculated amount of resistance into the circuit. Simply changing to a fuse removes this proper resistance from the circuit and may cause some problems or glitches in computer controlled devices. That's one of the reasons fusible links are a precise length and gauge of wire so that they can perform all needed functions simultaneously. You would have to be pretty good at electronics to duplicate the resistance factor....
I cannot testify to it’s validity, but I doubt your 73 has too many computer controlled devices in it.
no clue what amperage the fuse should be?
The rule of thumb on making a fusible link is the wire gauge should be two sizes smaller than the largest wire gauge used in the circuit. So for example if the largest wire used in the circuit is 10 gauge, the fusible link should be 14 gauge wire. Also, keep the new fusible link wire length the same length as the original fusible link.
Tester
The fusible link should have a gauge number on it, like 14 ga. or 16 ga., on a plastic flag. Get the same size fusible link at most auto parts stores, cut to the same length as the original, then use crimp connectors (not solder) to replace the link portion. Here’s and example of a fusible link replacement kit at Autozone.