FLU419 SEE

[glcaines]

I have a FLU419, basically a Mercedes Unimog with a front-end loader and a backhoe on the rear. Direct-injected diesel engine. Four wheel drive that you can lock all 4 wheels together if needed. It also has a hydraulic pump with ~30 feet of hydraulic hose that feeds a hydraulic chainsaw, a rock drill and a jack hammer, all rated for under water use. This is a fantastically useful piece of equipment for my 40 acres back in the woods. It was U.S. Army surplus and had been in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times, based on documentation I found under the seat. It is registered and insured for the road. That thing will dig like crazy!
Unfortunately, I'm in the process of replacing the wiring harness after significant mouse damage. I'm also having trouble with the old-type German fuses corroding. New fuses installed in the fuse holder corrode significantly when in contact with the fuse holder terminals.

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Fuse - Corroded 1.jpg

Fuse Holder.jpg

[m3a1]

Looks like you've got yourself a Swiss Army Knife there. Pretty cool.

[rickf]

Good old German technology. Look at an VW going back to the beginning in 1949 and you will see those exact fuses. The thing with them is all you need to do is give them a twist in the holder and they work great. Personally I spray it all down with Deoxit and then smear just a tiny bit of dielectric grease on the ends of the fuses. This prevents corrosion. I have wanted one of those things forever, now the prices are so high I can't afford one. The wiring should not be all that hard, I have no idea what manuals cover that but the military usually had everything covered in their manuals. Including full wiring diagrams.

[glcaines]

The problem I'm having is that all of the wires on the original harness were black. Some of the wire numbers are legible, many are not. Some of the legible wire numbers don't match the schematic. The mice not only chewed through the wires, but took many away to their nest. I was able to locate an NOS replacement wiring harness from Expedition Imports for a lot of money. It is beautiful, the wires are all different colors and all of the connectors are labeled. Unfortunately, the labels don't match anything on the schematic. I have it installed, but many things are non-functional. It does start up and run now, but the compressor doesn't charge the tanks, the tach doesn't work, most of the instrument and indicator lights don't work. I'm slowly going through each problem and correcting it. I'm sure the tach doesn't work, because the alternator isn't charging as well. It ran perfectly and everything worked prior to the mouse invasion.

[rickf]

Didn't those original wires have the metal id tags on the ends with numbers on them? Wish I were closer, I specialized in automotive electrical and I am always up for a challenge. But without physically being there to use test lights and meters it is hard.

[glcaines]

Didn't those original wires have the metal id tags on the ends with numbers on them? Wish I were closer, I specialized in automotive electrical and I am always up for a challenge. But without physically being there to use test lights and meters it is hard.

No, no metal tags. I wish it had the tags. The FLU419 is basically a Mercedes Unimog that the U.S. Military had modified by Freightliner to mount the frontend loader and Case backhoe on. The marked wires have very small white numbers printed near the end of the wires and nowhere else with many worn off. This has been a real challenge, not only because of difficulty in identifying wires, but the area is very tight and hard to get to, and since the FLU419 has been out of commission during this exercise, I couldn't dismount the frontend loader, which is in the way.

[rickf]

Freightliner!!! Now that is a problem I am dealing with right now with my motorhome. They do not want to give up anything in the way of information. Let me check a couple places and I will get back to you.