At 10:37 AM 6/29/01 -0400, Jim Dwyer wrote:
>Hi:
>
>I am having an electrical problem with my 76 Spitfire. The middle fuse in
>the fuse box on the front of the engine bulkhead is blowing. The rear
>lights, side lights, the number plate lights and instrument lights do not
>work. When I replace the fuse and turn on the headlights the fuse blows so
>I know there is a short. Anyone have any idea where I should look to find
>the short?
Jim,
Dan Canaan wrote describing the front part of the harness. I think you
problem with the wiring for the rear part of your car. If you pull the
drivers seat and lift the carpet, you will see a harness that comes from
the back of the car. I believe that it connectors to the main harness
in the left kick panel under the dash.
The way I trouble shoot something like this is very close to what Dan
said. I go to Radio Shack and purchase a package of alligator clips,
all 3 sizes and a 3 to 5 Amp circuit breaker. (The ones I use do not
fit in the fuse holder like Dan suggested - but that is just as good
if not better.)
I remove the fuse and clip lead in the circuit breaker. Then with the
rear harness disconnected turn on your lights and see if the circuit
breaker trips. If not then the problem is in the rear wiring someplace.
To try and find out where, connect one end of a clip lead to 1 of the
pins in the connector on the main harness. With the lights on, touch
the other end of the clip lead to the corresponding connector on the rear
harness connector. If the breaker doesn't trip, move the clip lead to
the next connector. Repeat until you find the bad wire.
With that knowledge you should be able to isolate which circuit the short
is in. Disconnect that wires in that circuit at the back of the car and
try again. If the breaker still blows, you have a short (probably a cut
wire) somewhere in the run from the dash to the rear of the car. The
wires run down on the floor board, under the reinforcement brace in front
of the drivers seat, then into a hole in the rear quarter panel, up over
the rear fender well and into the trunk. You may have to pull that section
of the harness out and look for someplace where the insulation has been
either chafed or melted off, exposing the wires. If you find such a place,
you can cut the wires in half, strip back about 1/4" of insulation on both
pieces of wire, clean the wire with phosophoric acid so the wire is nice
and shiny, solder back together and reinsulate with either a piece of
heat shrink tubing or some electrical tape.
Hope this helps.
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire 71 Saab Sonett III
65 Rambler Classic
Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan
Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
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