I want to share with the list a technical tip I wrote for our club
newsletter. I have always thought our cars to be woefully under-fused,
and this scenario just occurred to me last month... For your
information.
Tech Tip
I recently rebuilt the rear wiring harness in my MGB. As I replaced the
wire bundle next to the battery cable and fuel line under the car, it
occurred to me that a somewhat dangerous situation exists with respect
to the fuel pump wire. The lighting wires (tail lamp, turn-signal and
back-up wires in the bundle are fused, but the fuel pump wire is not.
Should the wire short and burn, it could cause damage to the battery
cable, which could damage the fuel line which could be bad! When I
considered the termination of the fuel pump wire is near a somewhat
exposed area (passenger side wheel well) my imagination started to run
wild... Especially when I further considered how easy it would be to put
an in-line fuse in-between the white wire in the rear wiring harness and
the mating wire from the main harness.
This fuse will also protect the main wiring harness (under the dash)
from shorts in the rear harness. I believe the fuel pump wire is white
in most models of the MGB and the MGA.
I measured the current draw of my solid-state fuel pump to be less than
1 amp (I used a 10 amp fuse). You may check your pump or ask advice of
your favorite mechanic, but I think a 10 or 15 amp should work reliably
for most fuel pumps.
Dave Tietz
|