Sad to say, I don't know what the stock fuse should be in a Spit. I put a
35A circuit breaker and never looked back.
The alternator is wired up so that most of its power goes to the
battery. It will only put out a maximum of 35A under load and more often
less than that. The way things are wired, think of it as the alternator
charges the battery non-stop while the battery supplies power to the car.
The fuse is only pulling what power is needed by the car at the time.
Luckily you can test for shorts pretty easily thanks to the simple fuse
block of the Spitfire.
If you have test light (and you should keep one in your car or toolbox
handy), disconnect one terminal from the battery, such as the negative
(preferred). Hook your test light between the battery cable and the
exposed battery terminal itself. This makes the bulb in your light a
'fuse' essentially. Here's the neat thing about doing this. The MAXIMUM
load this circuit will pull now will be just enough power to light the test
light and no more. What that means is even if you had a dead short
someplace down the line, the fuse won't blow and the light will just come
on. Much safer.
With everything off in the car, does the light go on? If so, it means
something is either still on or is shorted. Pull your main fuse out. Did
the light go out? Okay, you know it's in the main circuit, so you can
eliminate all wiring between the battery and that main fuse.
Pull the next fuse below it out. Did it go out? If so, check what circuit
that is and disconnect any items on it. Do the same for the next and final
fuses. You'll be able to determine very quickly what circuit is the culprit.
So, you've determined it's one of the main fuses. Heck, it's the main fuse
itself that gives you trouble. Now you need to start disconnecting main
body harness connectors to see if the problem is there. A dead short
enough to pop a 35A fuse is pretty significant. Disconnect the alternator
wires. Then starter. Keep watching that test light. Headlight
switch. Keep at it and you will find the short. Then it's a matter of
repair, replace, and rebuild the affected component.
-Vegaman Dan
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