Fuse box panel deckboard removal

[Boxbot]

New owner here. It's embarrassing, but I cannot figure out how to remove my wooden rear deckboard to access the fuse box. I don't see a write-up or details anywhere, so I figure I'm just missing something - but it seems to be wedged in tight and will not budge in any direction.

[Michael]

There should be a finger cutout at the rear(closest to the engine). It just sets in place but kind of seats under the seat partition so the top has to come up first.

[CFI]

New owner here. It's embarrassing, but I cannot figure out how to remove my wooden rear deckboard to access the fuse box. I don't see a write-up or details anywhere, so I figure I'm just missing something - but it seems to be wedged in tight and will not budge in any direction.

I had the same problem. Look towards the back of the board. You should see a small section that’s been cut out. Put your fingers in there, pull towards the front of the car. The panel will slide forward half an inch or so. Now lift the rear of that panel.

These panels are wedged in pretty good so it will take some force.

[Boxbot]

I had the same problem. Look towards the back of the board. You should see a small section that’s been cut out. Put your fingers in there, pull towards the front of the car. The panel will slide forward half an inch or so. Now lift the rear of that panel.

These panels are wedged in pretty good so it will take some force.

Thank you! Holy hell, that took a lot of force to get the rear part of the board out that is on the right of the cutout notch out. I may trim a tiny bit of the board on that side.

My first day of trying to work on the car didn't go too well. I thought I would start with some small projects. I took off the bottom of the cracked steering wheel canopy and repaired it as best I could with some correct sized screws and crazy glue. Then I attempted to install the Gowesty lighter. I didn't disconnect the battery first and must have shorted something out. Both the lighter and my clock stopped working and my Craig radio's display is now wonky. The PO installed an aux input and tied into the lighter wiring harness. One 20A fuse is blown. I will have to go buy a fuse tomorrow and hope that fixes it. If I fried my radio and/or my clock I'm going to be extraordinarily pissed.

Sigh. And this was supposed to be the simplest job on my list.

[CFI]

Thank you! Holy hell, that took a lot of force to get the rear part of the board out that is on the right of the cutout notch out. I may trim a tiny bit of the board on that side.

Trimming the board is not a bad idea. Mine was so difficult to remove that I didn’t bother to fully push it back into place. The back end of my board now sits at a slight angle just above the area where it “locks in”.

While that board is out you may consider taping a fuse/relay reference chart to the top of it. This may prove useful to yourself or your local mechanic. You’ll find a copy of the chart on this forum. I’ve added notes to mine to indicate fuses/relays that I’ve purposely removed or disabled (like my door light fuse or door lock module).






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[Jonathan]

I would suggest looking around to see if something else is interfering before cutting that board. Measure twice and cut once? Once you cut it, you can't go back and uncut it.

The vertical backboard that the rear edge of those corner covers need to get past might be sticking out more than it is supposed to. They have some foam on the back of them and can be pushed around a little to get it out of the way, or better positioned.

Backboard here: http://store.delorean.com/p-10037-re...-insl-pad.aspx

And there are also four bizarrely shaped clips along the top of that backboard that do two things: first, they secure the top of that board into place, and second, they are what you clip the cargo net to. (And third, I suppose, they hold that horizontally mounted trim piece under the rear glass in place).

Those clips are here: http://store.delorean.com/p-10086-lu...uter-clip.aspx

And apparently there is an inner clip and an outer clip, with some sort of difference I'm not aware of: http://store.delorean.com/p-10085-lu...nner-clip.aspx

If the clips on your car aren't in correctly, it could be adding to the interference issues.

...I feel for you on a "simple" job gone bad. I've had my car for over 11 years and it seems like I still have not found a single job that should be simple and actually was simple. Most things get much easier or simpler once you've done them before or at least opened up various areas and sorta know how to get in and get back out again.

One piece of advice I heard from Dave at Midwest that I thought was really valuable was that if you're working on something plastic (or metal in some cases too) and it won't quite snap in to place or it seems like you have to add extra force to get it to go, then stop. Because things like that are usually telling you something isn't right or it's misaligned somewhat and you need to figure that out first and then try again. Forcing things, especially plastic, and ESPECIALLY if working on the car when it's cold (and plastic doesn't bend or forgive nearly as well) tends to end up with you breaking it and having yet another part needing replacement.

Patience on any job, simple or otherwise, is a valuable commodity while working on these cars.

[Boxbot]

Patience on any job, simple or otherwise, is a valuable commodity while working on these cars.

What a difference a day makes. Felt behind vertical wall and there is thick soft foam there. It doesn't feel like old stuff. Maybe PO did some sound deadening? The board is stuck pretty far under that rear ledge, but all plastic and hooks for net appear to be in the right spot.

Replaced clock/lighter 20A fuse. Everything works 100%. Put car back together and now I have a lighter that works for my 120v accessories and the green ring lights up when the headlights are on! A little thing that made a big difference.

Also, this looks like an original (non-melted) fuse box. The PO replaced the interior, door, and rear lights with LEDs and upgraded the door solenoids. Does it still need to be replaced if original? What causes these to melt?

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[Jonathan]

Those fuse boxes melting is not generally an issue with the box itself, but poor or corroded connections that create a lot of heat because they're sending all that current through a much smaller amount of metal. The metal getting very hot right next to plastic means they melt. A good habit to get into is to regularly (once or twice per year, maybe the start and end to the season?) take out each fuse, inspect, and then either replace old worn looking ones or clean them up and reinstall. Even just removing fuses or relays once or twice each will scuff off some of that corrosion and improve the connections. And the wires connecting underneath need inspecting too as they can push out the back without you realizing it.

And nice to hear about the new day being entirely different than the last. Taking a break and coming back later is a great approach much of the time. Clear your head, sleep on it, go have lunch, whatever, and then come back and you'll be surprised how often it suddenly starts to go well.

I replaced a pile of my interior a few years ago and one of those things was the seatbelt assemblies. The receptacle on the passenger side was all goobered up thanks to water, battery acid, rust, carpet, washers, gaskets, whatever... and that bolt just would not come out. It took a million or so Dremel cut-off wheels to finally get it. But to get to that point, it took taking a lot of stress breaks to make sure the frustration didn't cause me to do something unfortunate (to the car, lol). Often the same advice on sending back an ugly or angry reply email to someone. Write it, read it over, then sleep on it before sending. You'll probably end up deleting it in the morning instead of sending since you've calmed down and thought of a better way to handle it.

[David T]

There is actually a Service Bulletin ST-23-10/81, that deals with trimming those boards. The plastic screw head is a lock that must be turned 90 degrees to unlock (if it is actually locked). A PO could have installed sound control and that can interfere with the boards. If you blew a fuse it should not have caused any damage except to the fuse. Get some spares. Leave the cover off the fuse block. Commonly the #7 fuse for the fuel pump melts the fuse block. You can check and make sure the correct size fuse in is each spot. Refer to M:07:03 in your Workshop Manual.

[Rich]

There is actually a Service Bulletin ST-23-10/81, that deals with trimming those boards.

Yes, good call from David T. on this.

It's a simple and useful update for Ds built in the initial months. There is a VIN reference for it you will see below. The "top edge" is the rear edge of the panel.

It applies to both of the boards.

To get the stock/untrimmed panels out it helps to push the bulkhead panel rearward at the rear tip of the access panel so it can clear the bulkhead panel when you lift the rear edge up. Remove the access panel and cut the rear edge of it back 25mm. Optionally finish the cut edge by sanding it before putting it back in.

Here is the text from ST-23-1-81. It includes a diagram showing where to cut back the 25mm (1in.) section - if you know which edge is the rear then you don't need to see it. Diagram is not posted here.

CATEGORY: TECHNICAL
ATTENTION: ALL DMC DEALERS/SERVICE MANAGERS
SUBJECT: REAR PARCEL SHELF BOARDS RH AND LH
From V.I.N. 2309, to facilitate removal of the rear parcel shelf
boards, 25mm has been cut from the top edge of both boards.
See the diagram below.
This modification may also be made on earlier vehicles.