Recently I started a couple of threads about who has done what with addressing the stock interior fuse panel and the fact that if you look at them wrong, they can crumble especially when you remove them. So, I got some good feedback from some people here and settled on Dill Blox modular fuse and relay blocks. I think this is an interior item and not rated for exterior (under the hood), but the do have some options for sealed covers on one or maybe two of their modules. And they may offer more, but since I was looking for interior I didn't really pay attention to what all they offer.
I plan to keep track of part numbers used, pricing that I have found and vendor information in case anyone wants to go this route. I will also keep track of how I install this and where it will go since I'm pretty sure from the fitments I've done so far that it isn't going to just fit where the stock unit went. The footprint of what I ordered is a tad larger, but I will confirm sizing when I have the other fuse block disassembled. Now for the goods.
Obviously very modular and well built. I thought the were going to be 3D printed or something, but I believe they are injection molded, but IF printed, they are of outstanding quality. Pieces fit really well together and interlock by keyed sides and then secured with wedges that effectively link two pieces together. These pictures show the design where the key is on the side and then on the bottom is where you insert the lock.
The locks are probably my only complaint. They work GREAT...until you have to remove them. The little tab is fine, but if you don't have 3-4 hands to hold the piece, pull the little catch tab back and then push REALLY HARD to knock it out, you won't be able to do it. I think it would be a better design to have a more easily accessible catch or have the catch on the bottom with a hole on the top to push it out. And the place to push on the top is so small, special tools really are needed to remove it. BUT I only damaged one out of 9 I removed and realistically you probably won't be moving things around very often.
Pictured in the row above, last shot is where the little tab is to pry it back and then you push the piece down next to this. Not the best design, hopefully they will make improvements on this. More pictures of the pieces and the order I purchased. It will more than likely be built and mounted as shown, no reason to change this footprint. I also need to keep in mind where the dash will be and interference if I try to make it rectangular or something other than what is being replaced.
I think the value with the product is that it is modular, you can add whatever, whenever and not be constrained by what you have already purchased. Pieces are replaceable instead of the entire unit if something happens, terminals use the Metri-pack series, so commonality helps with sourcing them and pricing is fairly good. Below is some pricing for what I purchased and what I plan to purchase for the terminals. I have yet to test anything out, i.e., I have not terminated a wire, inserted it and removed it to see how good the fitment is. I'm guessing all fitments will be fine, but I now always do a test before I get into anything.
Dill Blox Parts
PT-059011-B DILL BLOX WEDGE RED - Used to connect the pieces together
PT-059027-B DILL BLOX, FLASHER - Flasher module for our cars, optional if you don't need this for anything
PT-059224-B 8W MINI FUSE MOD - Mini fuse block, holds 8 fuses and I'm getting 3
PT-059239-B 2" MOUNTING LEG - Legs to mount to the vehicle, figuring 4 for my order
PT-059189-B DILL BLOX, 3X MICRO RELAY - Adding a relay option, holds 3 relays
PT-059215-B DILL BLOX, BLANK - Blank to make it rectangular
Pricing for what I ordered
13 PT-59011-B DILL BLOX WEDGE RED 0.90 $10.80
2 PT-059027-B DILL BLOX, FLASHER 3.80 $7.60
4 PT-059224-B 8W MINI FUSE MOD 7.70 $30.80
4 PT-059239-B 2" MOUNTING LEG 3.00 $12.00
1 PT-059189-B DILL BLOX, 3X MICRO RELAY 4.90 $4.90
1 PT-059215-B DILL BLOX, BLANK 3.60 $3.60
$87 with shipping
Terminals (UPDATED)
Terminal# Gauge Code Cnt1 Cost Cnt2 Cost Cnt 3 Cost Count Order Total Vendor Order
12015869 18-20 62 1 0.52 25 0.405 50 0.331 4 $2.08 Mouser 6
12015870 14-16 62 1 0.55 25 0.456 50 0.423 4 $2.20 Mouser 6
12084590 10-12 62 1 0.55 25 0.44 50 0.42 4 $2.20 Mouser 6
144432-1 12 220 1 0.216 30 $6.48 DigiKey 100
12065894 16-18 260 1 0.68 25 0.54 50 0.45 3 $2.04 Mouser 5
12065892 12-14 260 1 0.99 25 0.77 50 0.63 3 $2.97 Mouser 5
12103948 16-18(2) 260 1 0.44 25 0.341 50 0.28 3 $1.32 Mouser 5
12084596 12 (2) 62 1 0.48 25 0.445 50 0.423 4 $1.92 Mouser 5
927775-3 16-20 220 1 0.333 30 $9.99 onlinecomponents.com 30
927773-3 14 220 1 0.608 25 0.498 100 0.445 30 $18.24 onlinecomponents.com 30
$63
The terminals I am sourcing this way because TTI, INC. only sells them in bulk and it was going to be over $1000 for the part numbers I needed and obviously, I would only need a few depending on the terminal and they sell like minimum 1000 in some cases. My only other gripe about this product is that NO one sells every piece. One or two vendors sell a few of the catalog numbers, but only TTI sells anything Dill Blox makes. While it wasn't hard to get the parts, I did have to place an order online that was handled by a rep instead of being able to purchase these through an online shopping cart.
$150 may seem steep for this, but the only thing I saw that was remotely close to this was the Painless piece that really is a snip and wire screw-down solution that I feel for that kind of money, it should have terminated wires and not something you could get at a local parts store. And again, this one is expandable. This configuration gives me 32 micro fuses, two flasher relays and 3 micro relays, which basically are the standard relays just smaller. While I don't NEED relays inside, I can afford to have a place for them if I need to add one for any reason. And if I need more, I just order another module!
More to come when I get started on this, which hopefully will be next week.
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