[TR] does sparking indicate a short?

[wbeech at flash.net]

Paul,
Sparking indicates that the circuit is drawing current, whether it is a
short or just the current needed to light your lights or run the heater fan
you will have to determine.  IF everything is turned off and you are seeing
a significant spark or heating of the wires, you have a problem that needs
to be resolved before you continue.

I would suggest strongly before you go about testing/touching your
connections that you use a fused test lead so that if you do run into a
direct short you will not smoke your wiring harness and the labor and $$$
that go along with it. 

The A4 terminal should be hot when the key is on, put your test light
between the A4 term and ground, it should only come on when the ignition is
on.

The brake light switch is just a simple on-off switch and only gets power
when the ignition is on.  Yes, if you run a test lead to it and depress the
brakes it should light your brake lights.

Hope this helps, please be careful when touching some of those wires as it
could all go up in smoke pretty quick.

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net
[mailto:triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Paul Dorsey
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 8:56 PM
To: triumph LIST LIST
Subject: [TR] does sparking indicate a short?

List,
I have just now begun to check some of the electricals.  Please bare with my
'basics understanding.'  Although I might convert the car's positive-ground
wiring in the future, I am ok with it for now.
     With the positive pole of the battery hooked up to the correct cable, I
have begun to test isolated components with a wire from the battery's
negative post.  Touching one of the brake-pressure unit's wires does light
up the brake lights.  So far, so good.  Touching the other wire (without
disconnecting it's original wiring should, I think, light up the brake
lights only if the brake pedal is activated.  If it does not, the brake
pressure unit must be bad, ...correct?

I bought a colored wiring diagram at ebay, although I've been told there's
proably a half dozen versions.  It resemble's the one in the manual.

If I take the previously mentioned 'hot wire' from the battery's neg. post
and touch it to the fuse terminal known as 'A4', and when I touch this
terminal it then sparks (with no corresponding brakelight's coming on) then
I know something is wrong.  I guess, it wouldn't be sparking unless
something is shorted... right?

Thanks, Paul Dorsey  60 TR3  76314 i think

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