Older cars are often wonderful cars given a little extra TLC. One thing you can do to improve the performance of your older cars is to check and clean the fuse box. Corrosion can build up in the joints and reduce the efficiency of your car’s electrical system. I have a 1984 Volvo Wagon and recently experienced this problem.
In some cases, corrosion builds up due to moisture in the area of the fuse box. I noticed that the car was having trouble starting. At first, I thought it was either the battery or the alternator that was the problem. I brought the case to my parts shop and was surprised at the response. He asked if the fuse box had been checked for corrosion! My problem was probably solved if I cleaned the fuse box.
Before cleaning your fuse box, disconnect the battery, especially if you use a wire brush to clean the corrosion. (Note: some cars require the radio to be in place to avoid radio shorting before disconnecting the battery. This is true of older Volvos with the original radio.
Make sure the icon is the size of your shot. If you don’t have the board, you may be able to look it up online or in your auto manual. Some cars are colored fuses. If your car uses colored fuses, you can also include a picture of the fuse order. It is important that the fuses are returned in their order.
One way is to clean the connections in your brown box with a small wire brush. With all the fuses removed and the battery disconnected, use a wire brush to clean each connection. If you don’t disconnect the battery, the brush wire will likely spark every time you touch more than one connector. After you have cleaned each connection in the fuse box, look at your fuses. Most likely some work needs to be cleaned or replaced. With a very clean brush you can clean otherwise good fuses with gentle strokes of the brush wire.
Another way to clean corrosion from a brown box is with rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. But the smile is stuck to the joint and will have to be removed before replacing the fuses. Swab connections with wet alcohol until corrosion is no longer visible.
I use it both ways. Remove the worst of the corrosion with a wire brush and then clean it with alcohol. Be sure to twist the fuses in the correct order, and use only good fuses.
If you have an older car, having the fuse box injected is just part of your maintenance checks. When you check the oil, water and tire pressure tire-pressure, also peek at the condition take your shots.
