Fusible links ratings?

[Limnos]

The quarter of a century old fusible links and connections to the neighoring wiring connected to the positive terminal of my battery in my 1981 Corolla wagon are starting to corrode. I think I may need to replace part of the wiring there, including the links. My factory service manual has no specifications for these, and the Haynes manual says to replace them with some of similar specifications but doesn't say what. So, what are the ratings for these? The one that's really starting to go is the one that connects to the ignition and main accessories for the car (left me dead in a parking lot until I hauled out my roadside repair kit and cut some new wire ends). Remember this is an old car so I suspect that the ratings are probably less than those for a new car where you have to factor in the heated seats, cell phone charger, espresso maker, TV set, etc.

Thanks.

[thespud]

Check the colour of the body of the Link. Go to an Auto repair shop, match the colour, and take down the Amperage...

[cuzman]

???q. are you talking about fuses or relays? and if so which ones...if ya talking a bout the batt temanals just get new ones or and give the wire and terminals a good clean with some sand paper and boiling water..you can also use vasaline after its clean to stop build up of grim and corrosion...or just oil them ....use a spay or light grease ..

Hope this helps if i get more info i can maby advise more..

[Limnos]

I'm talking about fusible links. About 4" along the wire leading away from the positive terminal of the battery there is a special piece of wire that is spliced into the cable. It is a couple of inches long and is a bit fatter than the wires leading to and away from it. This "fusible link" acts as an extra fuse. I'm not sure why it's there since there's also the fuses in the main fuse box but it kind of acts like the main trip switch for the wiring going into your house, in addition to all the individual fuses. I guess maybe in case your main wiring harness from the battery contacts the body of the car somehow. Anyway, it acts like a fuse but looks like a bit of wire. The problem is, the places where it splices to the main wire is corroded. I'm not sure if cutting off half an inch will impair the functioning of this so I'd rather just get a replacement. The wire is already pretty tight in there so I need to redo that section of the wiring anyway.

Another poster suggested going by color. I'll try but I just don't trust this color coding to be universal. Also I seem to recall seeing an inline fusebox for sale in a place (before I needed this) that was to replace the fusible link. If I were to get one of those then I need to know the rating of the fuse to use.

There's actually 3 wires leading from positive terminal. One is dedicated to the hazard flashers alone, another is for the starter, and the third (the one that is causing problems) is the one toat does everything else electrical on the car. They all have these fusible links according to the factory service manual schematics, though I suspect thy have different ratings.