Are fuseable links nessesary at starter?

[sponsoredbydad]

And just why are they there.There are 2, 1 going to alt, 1 to fuse block. Seems odd that something that can blow like that is so hidden way down on the solenoid. Can those be removed or do they really serve a purpose. On along the same route, what is a good heat shielding for the wires or better yet maybe pictures of what any of you guys made or just used. Would running them thru electrical conduit be ok? Between my block and the headers there is a ton of heat and my wires have been compromised several times. Via melted connectors and burnt insulation. I already use those heat shields for spark plug boots to run the wires thru but it seems it's not enough.

 

[Jessie James]

Keep them. A fuseable link is less prone to blowing during a surge or voltage spike in the electrical circuit. That's why they use them for your starter and alternator.

It seems reasonable to wrap them with wire loom.

 

[Fordum]

You put a fuse as close as practical to the power source so that any short that is likely to develop is on the other side of the fuse.
A short between the fuse and the power source can cause damage or start a fire, which is what the fuse is designed to prevent.
Remember, a truck battery can deliver many hundreds of amps of current. Much more than is necessary to melt the copper wires in the various circuits and start fires.

Fuse links are not likely to blow. They are the last resort devices. So they are put where they are because its closest to the power source.

Of course, most of the trucks worked on around here are way beyond their designed lifespan, so you see corrosion and problems with the links that never occurred during its normal life.

Links were used because fuses heavy enough to handle that current were much more expensive than a piece of wire with high temperature insulation.
Lots of people have swapped them out for fuses mounted in a more convenient location.

Just be sure that the wire feeding them is able to withstand more current than the fuse it feeds.

 

[ryoken]

or breakers... fock fusable links...

 

[imiceman44]

And just why are they there.There are 2, 1 going to alt, 1 to fuse block. Seems odd that something that can blow like that is so hidden way down on the solenoid. Can those be removed or do they really serve a purpose. On along the same route, what is a good heat shielding for the wires or better yet maybe pictures of what any of you guys made or just used. Would running them thru electrical conduit be ok? Between my block and the headers there is a ton of heat and my wires have been compromised several times. Via melted connectors and burnt insulation. I already use those heat shields for spark plug boots to run the wires thru but it seems it's not enough.

the reason they have them there is that the battery cable somes straight to the starter, and then the ignition wires go from there to the key, and since those wires run really close to the engine and could melt and short on the block, they put the fusible link right there so they protect the whole truck.
Unfortunately, they do not protect the battery cable which is what happened with me, and the cable got cloe to the exhaust manifold and the insulation melted, and the cable was welding itself to the frame, fortunately I was able to get to it before it caught fire.

 

[Blue85]

Well you could fuse the starter, but you could probably develop a short that bled no more current the starter motor does under normal operation. A breaker would be better, as you would rely on the idea the starter sees only intermittent operation and anything going on longer than mabye 10s is a short. Plus a 600A fuse is hard to package. You really don't want extra resistance between the Batt and the starter.

 

[diesel4me]

What I've done on many GM trucks I owned,was to ditch the stupid metal pipe GM uses to route the wires containing the fusible links that is way too close to the red hot exhaust manifolds,remove those wires from the starter terminal where the positive cable is attached,and instead,run them right to the positive battery terminal,and route them away from any heat or places they may be damaged,up on the inner fender..that plastic flexible conduit stuff for house wiring works well to protect the wires...if they are too short to reach the battery,I just cut the ring connectors off and splice some more 8 gauge wire onto them to allow them to reach......and bolt them to the battery cable bolt...................................................................................................................................................................................................This way,the only wires left going to the starter are the positive battery cable,and the thick purple wire that makes it crank when you turn the key to start....GM used to run the wires like that up until 1969 or so on all their trucks,I dont know why they thought running them in metal conduit an inch away from the exhaust manifold wouldn't bake them,and lead to troubles...not to mention being a big pain to FIX the fusible links...I swear the "engineers" must have a vendetta against the mechanics and people like us who insist on doing their own repairs sometimes...like it was done on purpose!..."lets take something that works FINE,and make it "problematic"...to increase profits!..

 

[sponsoredbydad]

HA! I must of hit a small nerve on this and am not the only one who has dealt with this. So what I'm hearing is keep the fuseable links and only run the wires necessary to make the starter work(Primary + and purple to make it click) and anything else that may be on the primary lug can be routed direct to the battery. Thanks for all the responses

 

[bp71k5]

I got rid of the fusible links and replaced with fuses. A fusible link is just a replacement for a hi-amp fuse.

 

[diesel4me]

And one you can replace easily in a matter of seconds,instead of hours!...just make sure you always have some spares on hand...One of my old GMC's had glass fuses,and they often corroded and would pop for no apparent reason sometimes...I replaced the ones that liked to blow ,the tail lamp one did it most often,with a 15 amp circuit braker that snaps in just like the fuses did...I think it tripped maybe twice in the 3 years after I did that ,and it would re-set itself ...never could pin down any bad wires or any reason for the fuses to pop on that truck....I think it liked seeing me getting pulled over for having no license plate lamp and tail lights..