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Video Overview:

Before we get to installing a new wiring harness in our 1971 Super Beetle we’re going to cover how we mounted a modern ATC fuse box to mount to our original fuse box and relay deck. Most importantly, we cover how we converted to the ATC fuse box to wire up like the original fuse box. Follow along as our tech shows what he did to make the conversion possible.

Video Transcript:

ATC fuses? A modern fuse box? Vintage Volkswagen wiring? We can combine the two—I’ll show you how.

Hi, Sam here with JBugs.com. With all the switches for our 1971 Super Beetle now tested, we’re just about ready to start installing all of the electrical components. Before we do that, though, we want to show you a small modification we made to upgrade and modernize our stock fuse box.

There was nothing wrong with the original fuse box. It could have been cleaned up and reinstalled without any issues. But, in keeping with the theme of mildly modernizing our classic VW, we adapted a universal 10-circuit ATC fuse box to work with the original setup.

We do offer a modern wiring harness with an integrated fuse box, but the integration is overly complicated and nothing like factory Volkswagen wiring. I prefer using factory-style VW wiring harnesses because they’re generally much simpler and are designed specifically for different models and the switches they used.

This is our original fuse box. I pried out all of the metal contacts from the terminals that were used to connect the fuses and wires. Then I filled the holes in the fuse box base with two-part plastic epoxy and drilled two new holes so I could mount the new fuse box in place.

Now the fuses are accessible in the trunk instead of from underneath the dashboard.

This aftermarket fuse box also needed to be modified so it matched the original fuse box configuration. We installed numerous jumper terminals so we would have the same number of inputs and outputs as the original.

All three of the battery circuits are connected internally, and those three inputs have six outputs on the opposite side. The same applies to the ignition circuits, with three inputs connected and six outputs on the other side.

For the high beams, the jumper terminal allows us to bring power in from the headlight relay and send it out to the high-beam dash indicator. A jumper terminal on the opposite side connects the left and right high-beam headlights.

The next circuit over is for the low beams. We have a single input on one side and a jumper terminal on the other to supply both the left and right low beams.

Like the original running light circuit, we have a single input joining two circuits together, and on the opposite side a single output for the front lights, along with a jumper terminal providing two outputs on the other circuit.

With these modifications, this fuse box is now a direct replacement for the original. It still mounts in the factory location, but the fuses are no longer underneath the dash—they’re up in the trunk where they’re much easier to access.

The real trick to making this fuse box function like a VW fuse box involved internal modifications. It wasn’t difficult, and we actually reused some of the fuse contacts from the original box.

The metal tangs that originally held the fuses in place are now used as bridges inside the base of the fuse box. When we mentioned earlier that the circuits were connected internally, this is what we meant. These small bridges connect the terminals inside the fuse box.

Our three battery circuits are tied together with two bridges. The contacts were bent into a U-shape, cut to length, and pressed into place to join the circuits.

With a little American ingenuity, we now have a modern fuse box that fits perfectly into our vintage, German-engineered Volkswagen.