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electrical disappointment

To: "spitfires@autox.team.net" <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Subject: electrical disappointment
From: Douglas Frank <frank@zk3.dec.com>
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 09:54:53 -0400
Pardon me while I vent a little.  After sitting on
jackstands for two years, I thought I'd have the GT6 back on
the road this month.  Now I fear that ain't gonna happen. 
The dashboard's together, the interior reinstalled, and last
night I charged up the battery and started testing circuits.

headlights, taillights, side markers: joy
hi beams: joy
horn: joy
4-way hazard: joy
heater fan: no joy
turn signals: no joy
starter: no joy.

OK, at the solenoid, gloves on, touch battery hot lead to
starter cable (plugs removed of course).  Joy, she spins.

Hmm, re-check connections on the ignition switch.  It, quite
literally, falls apart in my hands as I disconnect the
harness from it.  Crap, little springs everywhere, brass
bits fall out.  Boot laptop, log in, order replacement from
Spitbits.  Is our hero done for tonight?  No...

Why not, for the hell of it, and with nothing really else to
do, put the VOM in series with the battery ground lead and
look for current flow with everything turned off and the
ignition switch wires haning loose.  No joy: about 1/2 amp.

Pull all three fuses, still 1/2 amp.  Start disconnecting
things from starter solenoid, remove connector with two
brown wires (one thick and the other thicker), current flow
disappears.  OK, Bentley says this pair leads to ignition
switch and fuse box.  But the fuses are alll pulled and the
switch disconnected.  Put solenoid back together and measure
current flow from disconnected end of brown (hot) wire at
ignition switch, to ground: 1/2 amp.  What the hey?  OK
wait, battery hot to one end of brown, other end of brown to
ground through VOM, yeah that's a circuit so I guess there
oughta be current.  But why is there current when the hot
wire is connected to nothing?

Well, hell, I'm stumped.  Off to Lime Rock for
depressurization.  Back Sunday.  Thanks for your time. 
Sigh.
--
Douglas Frank    DigitalWhoopsCompaqImeanHP Corp.
ZKO              110 Spit Brook Rd.            The older I
get,
603-884-0501     Nashua, NH USA 03062            the better
I was.

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