While working on this 1992 Dodge Full Sized Van I located a blown fusible link at the firewall under the hood. I had already started replacing it when I realized that I should post it. I had already selected the proper sized fusible link wire and had spliced it into the wire that it supplied power to. It is fairly cut and dry so I don’t think it should matter too much that I don’t have pictures of it. I did extend the factory wire by about eight inches in case the fusible link ever blew again it would not be as difficult to replace.
In the following picture you can see that the fusible link is connected to two appropriately sized wire extensions and that one end is already installed to the circuit.
Because Chrysler products for many years used this type of gang connection for the fusible links to the main battery lead I have had to develop this technique for splicing back into the battery cable lead. The temptation would be to simply extend the fusible link wiring with the proper sized standard wire and connect it directly to the positive battery cable with an “eye” or “ring” type connector. Unfortunately I found out early on that this will cause problems with the amp gauge operation . Using a pocket knife I remove about on inch of insulation from the main battery cable.
Once the insulation is removed I insert a small screw driver in between the cable wires and separate the wires into two halves making a slot in the cable.
Next I take the new wire to be spliced in, strip off a few inches of insulation and insert the wire through the slot that I created in the cable. I slide it all of the way in until the insulation stops it from going any further. I wind the excess wire around the main cable.
After it is wound tightly around the main cable I hold the windings in place and pull back firmly on the new wire lead. This draws the assembly into a tight mechanical connection.
Once it is pulled into a tight connection I heat the assembly up with a large soldering gun and continue to hold the heat to it until the solder starts to flow. I will some times use a small torch but is easy to make a mess that way.
The soldering gun below shows the large tip installed and the standard tip below. I like the versatility of this solder gun and have been using this type for about twenty years. Not only does it have the two different tips available but I really like that it only takes about 10 – 20 seconds to be hot enough for normal soldering.
Once the connection is sealed I allow it to cool before sealing with live rubber tape.
I then further wrap the connection with standard electrical tape for abrasion resistance.
After it is all sealed back up, I form the wires back into position with the rest of the harness and tuck it back into the holding straps.
