[TR] TR2-3 electrical melt downs

[Michael Porter]

On 6/25/2020 5:35 AM, DAVID MASSEY wrote:
>
>
> But then, I wasn't ham-strung by an accounting department.  My hat's 
> off to the clever designers who did as well as they did given the 
> budget they were given.
>
Cost is always an issue, but reliability should count, especially for 
those driving the cars regularly.  Those desperate to maintain 
originality, well, yeah, I understand that motive, but, really, the 
improvements over the decades for just connectors and terminals is 
dramatic.  Deutsch connectors are advertised as resisting moisture 
intrusion even when submerged in four feet of water for an hour.  One of 
the weak spots in the original harnesses were the bulkhead fittings.  
Eventually those will leak in very wet conditions, but, waterproof 
bulkhead connectors are now available from a variety of manufacturers, 
and make an excellent modification everywhere that the harness passes 
through a panel fitted with a grommet.

Tradition is fine, but old methods encourage old problems.  I still 
recall Jaguar proudly announcing that its pre-prototype XJ220 had been 
completely wired to (older) aircraft standards, only to watch an 
electrical fire burn the car to the ground in the pits.

It doesn't take much for an electrical problem to reduce a vehicle to 
junk.  At the bus company, we contracted someone to make a flasher for 
us that met the specs of the infamous Chicago Transit Authority, and the 
goddamned thing overheated and burned I don't how many buses to the 
ground.  The one I had to strip and repair after an interior fire was 
gutted right down to the floorboards, and the only thing that protected 
the floorboards from catching fire was melted linoleum flooring....


Cheers.


-- 


Michael Porter
Roswell, NM


Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking distance....

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