Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications General Mods Add-A-Circuit Piggyback Fuse

Hey Guys,

I know a few of you have used those Add-A-Circuit Fuses for wiring up various electronics. I'm trying to hardwire my radar detector using one of these. However, I cannot close the Fuse Panel with the Add-A-Circuit connected to the radio fuse.

Has anyone else had this problem? What was your solution?

Thanks in Advance.

Just find a switched 12V wire, somewhere under the dash, use a 3M tap (or strip, solder, and tape) and use an in-line fuse (usually provided with the detector). The radar only draws milliamps, there is usually never a problem. I usually use the one for the radio.

Good luck

The 3M connectors are so easy to use, even I can do it.

Sometimes it's not the best idea to rob power from just any 12V switched line...depending on what the line goes to, it can cause problems.

To be safe i would reccomend using a switched line+ relay+ power from battery.

Relays and relay wiring directions can be found on www.partsexpress.com


And, of course, when tapping any power from the battery, add a fuse as close as possible to the terminal, and protect the wire...

Yeah that is always the best thing to do, but does a radar detector use much power? As long as the power consumption is low, I don't think it would be a problem.

Yeah i used the add-a-circuit things and they work great real simple just the damn fusebox thing. so i just taped it shut lol do ne of you guys know of a fuse that i can get constant power from for the memory in my radio

I got fuse taps from Radio Shack and bent it over so it would fit inside the fuse box when I closed it. The plugs that fit onto the tap are insulated so there's no need to worry about electrical shorts. I've done this on several cars without any problems. If you do these, you'll have to open up the "slot" the blade fuse fits into. When you put the tap on fuse, the blade on the fuse is too big to go into the slot, therefore the slot needs to be enlarged abit. Just make sure you get the right size tap--I think it's the smaller one of the 2 sizes but I don't remember. I think taps are the best way to go (within reason) since you don't have to worry about maybe cutting or weakening the wire you want to tap into. Course, I've used plenty of wire taps too, I just try to use fuse taps whenever possible. It obviously helps to have a volt meter so you know you have power and ground.

I used the piggyback and its still in there. In my case, it wouldn't close but just BARELY. So I took a piece of sandpaper and trimmed a mm or two off the top of the piggybacked fuse. Closed up A1.

Brian
99 SVT