In message <Pine.3.89.9404130848.A13784-0100000@jove.acs.unt.edu> Eubank Lynn
Alan writes:
> Would anybody like to come down here and sort thru some fried wiring?
> Please?
>
> The story begins like that of nearly every one of us: The PO mucked about,
> thereby causing the later owner untold hours of mystery. In my case, the
> mysteries began to appear less often - it was those fist couple of years
> that were miserable, or so I thought. One little mystery didni't make
> itself apparent until now. The PO had mucked with the wiring and had,
> among other things, replaced the plastic-covered clips on the wires that
> lead into one of the solinoids. The replacement clip wasn't insulated.
> And, of course, the damend clip was a lousy one - it simply fell off a
> couple of nights ago ... and nicely grounded itself against metal. Engine
> dies. Bonnet opened. Burned-electric smell. Dread.
>
> The burned wire is, on the MGB, the white-with-green (blue? can't
> remember) that leads from the one side of the coil, into the loom, and out
> to connect to the starter solinoid down below. I knew the news wasn't good
> when I saw that the blue plastic wrapping on the loom had split wide open
> - turns out to be exactly where the fateful wire is close to surface. And
> so now, I'm doing what I PROMISED MYSELF NEVER TO DO: Unwrap that part of
> the loom that contains the wire, inspect for lateral damage (melt-down),
> replace the wire, do something about rewrapping. And, in the meantime,
> rely on the goodwill of my wife and her Mazda to get to and from work.
>
> Back to the grind ...
> Lynnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnindenton
>
Your job shouldn't be too bad as long as the meltdown didn't go through the
bulkhead. You described the process you should be doing. Just cut the
insulationless wires at each end where the insulation in still good, and solder
in new lengths. Not having a heat shrink gun and not being happy with solder
iron shrunk tubing, I have been using RTV lately. Cover the solder joint with a
thin layer of RTV & rewrap the harness next day after all is said & cured. I
also stager my solder connections so that if they were not insulated from one
another, they could not short out againtst each other. Do yourself a
favour..Try to match each wire as best you can. You may have to do wiring work
in the future.
If the damage does not reach under the instrument panel, I would be happy to
accept an all expense paid weekend vacation to repair your wiring harness.
Unless you live in the LA area.
If the insulation is bruned under the instrument panel of a MGB, it would be
considerably easier to sell it as a restoration project and purchase another
MGB.
Take care,
TeriAnn Wakeman One of these days, I'll be old enough that
twakeman@apple.com people will stop calling me crazy and start
LINK: TWAKEMAN calling me eccentric.
408-974-2344 TR3A - TS75519L, MGBGT - GHD4U149572G, 109 - 164000561
|