Fuse box cover made of aluminum

[Bitsyncmaster]

I'm having a few customers dealing with my fan fail unit running above 85 C and triggering my over heat warning (three flashes).

The problem is the fuse box is pretty well insulated for heat generation. Some owners in the past have installed a little CPU fan to vent the fuse box but I just had another idea. Make a cover of aluminum. Probably 1/8 inch thick or maybe 3/32 inch would work and you need some spacers around the edges to hold it up to the OEM thickness of the plywood cover. It may even save some weight. The top carpet still insulates heat transfer a little but I wonder how well this would help.

[WHO1DMC]

Sounds like a neat idea and maybe some vented slots could be added to match the engine cover. Just a thought mind you.


Dave B.

[David T]

Or don't put any cover on the fuse block. Some owners have also drilled holes in the board under the carpet for some airflow. It can get really hot there.

[DMC-81]

I found that by using my car in the Florida heat meant that I couldn't cover the fuse box, nor keep the wooden relay compartment cover in place covered by the carpet.

My solution was to make a Relay Compartment cooler. As you mention, it uses 3 mini computer fans that force cool air directly over the 3 main areas that typically generate the most heat (the fan fail/fan relay/lambda relay area, the fuse box area, and the RPM relay area). It uses a screened grate that exhausts the warm area out of the compartment. I figured that this design forces the air conditioned cabin air over these areas and the compartment in general. This way, I don't have to leave the compartment completely uncovered (and risking a conductive foreign object getting in there). Plus using this device gives me added peace of mind while using the car.

The computer fans run on 24 volts so I made a converter box with an adjustable voltage converter inside and integrated on/off switch. I calculated that the 3 fans only generate .08 amps in total. The operation is nearly silent, and the total cost in materials was less than $30.

I also remove the plastic fuse box cover and leave the carpet peeled back while it's in use.





After almost a year in testing, everything remains cool as a cucumber between this and your awesome solid state products.