Started today with the rat's nest of wires behind the dash. It's apparent that some of the 'special' Lucas smoke had been allowed to escape in the past, wish 'RJ' could talk because I'll bet there was some real excitement when this happened. The results were that a lot of the wires had been 'repaired' with vinyl electrical tape that was coming loose and several wires that were incorrect. The fuse holders were very dirty and somewhat corroded. With this in mind I pulled the fuse blocks out one at a time and cleaned all the contacts with cleaner and a brass wire brush, then cleaned the wire ends too. Like a lot of old LBC's someone had just stuck in fuses haphazardly with no regards for the correct amp rating. One thing that some don't realize is that Buss (US) fuses are different ratings from the English rating. If I recall correctly English fuses are rated at the amperage they blow whereas US fuses are rated at what they can carry. What this means is that an English fuse rated at 30 amps is roughly equivalent to a 20 Buss fuse, and that using a Buss fuse in place of the English fuse may result in a wire melting before the fuse blows-not good.
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| just a picture of the mess |
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| I like the new battery and it's hold down bracket, might get one for my car too. |
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| One of the fuse blocks removed and ready for cleaning |
After some gnashing of teeth, I finally gave up on the in-tank fuel pump and bought a NAPA in-line pump, so now 'RJ's' got gas...coming to the carbs. Could be trying to start the engine early next week?
Cheers
Days off well deserved!
ReplyDeleteAt Images they have a sandblasting unit, and this works very well for cleaning up the fuse blocks. FWIW!
ReplyDeleteNeat little fuel pump, from the expert at fuel pump replacement!