Hello all:
I got Lucased again today.
I have been chasing a pernicious electrical demon that had me only able to
start my TR6 by using a bolt to short the starter lead to the solenoid. I
have a keypad anti-start system which seemed to be either intermittently
dead or without power. I was convinced I had a bad connection in the harness
until I stood back and added up all the odd things that weren't working and
realized they all came from the same fuse in the block. A fuse that I had
tested 50 times.
So once again I wiggled the wires plugged into that silly 4-fuse panel and
Lo! this time under very strong sunlight, I could see that the end cap of
the fuse was able to wiggle slightly without moving the wire in the glass
tube. The fuse link had a ball of solder on the end stuck in a cavity in the
solder in the end cap of the fuse. Just another dead fuse. As long as there
was tension on the fuse the connection was good enough to keep the
accessories running. I replace it and all was well. For now...
The problem is the fuse block allows the wiring harness to put mechanical
stress right on the fuses. As the car hits road bumps, the harness wiggles
the connectors which pushes and pulls on the fuse endcaps. Eventually the
fuses fail. It is an abominable weak point that has cheesed me off for the
last time.
So I am going to put in a decent wiring block. I will take great care not to
make the work irreversible, but enough is enough!
I will separate the cables into separate fuses and put my aftermarket
accessories (radio fog lamps etc...) on separate feeds. I should be able to
use short cable runs to the other junction points and avoid altering the
harness.
My question is, has anybody got a preference for a good panel?
I found the following link that seems promising:
http://www.calrewire.com/Catalog/Fuse_Panels/fuse_panels.html
I thought of boating breaker panels, but they are usually made for mounting
in bulkheads or cabinets, so I would have to build some sort of box. Would
possibly look weird.
If anybody knows where I can get a superior product, or has a better idea,
please sing out.
Mark Hooper
72 TR6
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