Ajhsys@aol.com wrote:
> If the wire melts, you will still lose the lights
No, not true, first you get dim lights, them dim lights
and smoke, then really dim lights and lots of smoke, then
maybe finally just smoke, spread out over a few seconds or
more.
A lot better than "BLAM: Darkness"; you have time to
pull over and contemplate your fate.
> but you will also lose the
> wiring harness, and possibly set fire to the engine.
...hehehehe speaking as someone who has a lot of LUCAS wire
in the "fleet", electrical problems are pretty common and dire
consequences are pretty rare. Not saying it doesn't happen, but
there are a lot of people here who have cooked wires but
I suspect NOT a lot of people that lost a whole harness and
many fewer that had a fire.
I wouldn't recommend trying your luck on purpose, but a
shorted wire is a lottery ticket and the grand prize is a
vehicle fire. Most tickets are losers.
And more to the point, a small chance at an engine fire
is better than a small chance at a head on collision with
something, and that's what you might be up against if
you lose your lights suddenly.
> Let's say you have a
> short in the boot, next to the flexible gas filler and all those gas fumes.
> Would you rather it kept on arcing, or blew a fuse?
I think you are really off topic here. We're talking about
headlights, and headlights only. Of course fuel pumps and signal
lights and gauges should be fused, you are unlikely to
face death if they suddenly go.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"The Shuttlecock! Where's the Shuttlecock!" - Alec Baldwin
|