My accessories are beginning to pile up so I have been looking into getting a Blue Sea fuse Block to help clean up some of the wiring. My main question is: Do you need some sort of a breaker/larger fuse between the battery and the fuse block? I have done some research and browsed through some threads and some guys used them and some didn't so I didn't find a definitive answer.

I am going to go with either this 6 circuit block:
OTRATTW
OR this 12 circuit block:
OTRATTW

For reference, here are the accessories that I either have or am planning to have running through the fuse block:
4 - PIAA 520 ATPs (85W each, 2 relays wired together)
2 - PIAA 510 Crystal Ion Fogs (55W each, 1 relay)
2 - Hella Rallye 4000 (100W each, 1 relay)
1 - Viair 400C Air Compressor (Power from battery to on/off switch)

Finally, does anyone have any pictures of a Blue Sea fuse block mounted in a 3rd gen?

That depends on where you are mounting the fuse block. If it is a short run, say less than 6", I don't think you need a fuse/breaker inline. The only reason to run a fuse/breaker inline is if there is a possibility the wire could become cut and contact metal, which would cause a short to ground and could possibly start a fire.

not mine but will be soon, my 6 fuse blue sea arrives tomorrow, going to use that with thier 120 amp acr and trying to decide if i'm going to use their switch, i doubt it on the switch due to size constraints, i'm really running out of room under the hood at this point....





thread for pics above
dual battery set up

and mine is in my build thread in sig.

I am planning on mounting the fuse block on top of the stock fuse box (or close to it) which would require about 12-18" of wire.

I am under the impression that each terminal can only handle a maximum of 30A and the fuse block can only handle a max of 100A. So, some guys have run either a 100A or 125A fuse or circuit breaker to ensure that the block doesn't get overloaded.

That's certainly a good idea. A circuit breaker would be ideal, but it adds a bit to the cost of the setup.
Balmar 125A Circuit Breaker Surface Mount Manual Reset

That setup is sweet! I really like the hinged mounting location, but I think I am simply going to mount the fuse block directly on the factory fuse cover. I know it would cover the factory fuse names/locations, but I will just make a diagram that I can reference if needed.

Yeah I'm sure that circuit breaker is nice but I don't want to pay more for the circuit breaker than I do for the actual fuse box...

So, as an alternative, I'm looking at this fuse holder with a 125A fuse: OTRATTW. That way I have some extra protection that doesn't break the bank.

Just make sure you carry a few extra fuses!

Have a 150 amp circuit breaker along the main line, 4 gauge wire is a good supply line, also make sure to loom all wiring, i treat these like i would install extra amps and accessories, either have it close 18 or less to a fused distoblock from battery, or make fused line and extend the wire to where ever you want that fuse box at.

Hey guys, I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these fuse boxes. I've read a bunch of threads on this but I need the actual function put in laymans terms. Sorry i get confused pretty easily.

If i understand it right, this is something i can wire all my aux things to instead of having them wired to my battery? For example, my HID's, my PIAA's, my 700 watt inverter, my Amp for my stereo, etc... Am i right? Does this thing just come with some heavy duty wires that I just hard-wire to the battery with a POS and a NEG?

I thinking on getting this 6 circuit box l Amazon.com: Blue Sea Systems Fuse Block Ato 6 Circuit with Ground: Sports & Outdoors and that would mean i could have 6 different accessories right?

I know this thread says that a breaker isn't really necessarily but i might get one just to be safe. What other things do I need with this? Thanks guys!

Here's how I mounted mine in my old 4runner and I ran fuse between the battery and the battery block.

See responses in bold above. I hope this helps!

wow thanks guys this I didn't even see this in my search. Smallfry are you running 2 blocks then or did you just relocate it?

I was just running 1 block.

Using the info and advice from everyone who posted on the thread, I went ahead and ordered and began installing a Blue Sea fuse block. I ordered a Blue Sea 12 position positive and negative fuse block from OTRATTW.

I decided to use/steal the Lexan idea to mount my fuse block. I was able to find some at my local Home Depot. I bought an 8” X 10” sheet for about $4 and some hardware to mount everything. When I was thinking about how to mount the fuse block to the Lexan and how to mount the Laxan to the factory fuse box cover, one of the main issues that I was concerned about what having access to the factory fuse box. Read more below to see what I ended up doing.

First I test fit and cut the Lexan sheet down to size. An added benefit of the Lexan is that even though it’s pretty strong, it is still really easy to cut. I marked off the area that I wanted to cut and used a level and a razor blade to repeatedly score the Lexan. After the Lexan is scored sufficiently the pieces break off with a little force.

Test fitting the trimmed Lexan over the factory fuse box.


I determined where I wanted the fuse block and drilled the mounting holes in the Lexan


I lined up the factory fuse cover and the Lexan and drilled the mounting holes in the factory fuse cover. The two large holes in the middle are where bolts for mounting the Blue Sea to the Lexan will sit.


I used #8 hardware to secure everything. I used nylon lock nuts to secure the Blue Sea to the Lexan. To ensure that I have access to the factory fuse box when I need to, I used wing nuts to secure the Lexan sheet to the factory fuse box cover. That way I can simply remove the four wing nuts and pull the entire Lexan sheet off and move it out of the way.



Then I started wiring up my accessories.



Lastly, I used my Microsoft Excel skills to create a label so I can tell which wires go to which accessory.


I ordered some 4 gauge power wire, 4 gauge terminals, and a 100 AMP circuit breaker on Amazon so I am just waiting on those parts to complete the install.