Good Morning Sixers....
Thought I was going to loose my car last Friday night. I was driving home from
the
theater at 10 PM when my radio failed after turning a corner. In the millisecond
it took me to begin mentally troubleshhoting this problem, I realised the whole
car had shut off and the headlights were out. Next thing, the radio is back on
and
I resatart the engine - all while coasting. Then I smelled burning insulation
and
knew I had BIG trouble under the hood. I quickly pulled over and popped the hood
to discover plumes of smoke rising from the area where the brown wires plug into
the positive battrery terminal. I knew I had to disconnect the battery but had
no
tools with me. I also did not have my fire extinguisher in the car yet. In
desparertion I grabbed the negative cable and managed to twist it off the
battery.
I monitored the engine bay for a few minutes then opened the cockpit to get a
flashlight - the cockpit was filled with smoke!
Long story short. The wiring for the headlights burned all the way from the
battery, across the width of the dash, and up the steering column to the
headlight
dip switch. I disconnected those wires and am able to drive the car, however,
the
degree of colateral damage is unknow and I can't risk a fire in another circuit,
so it time to put in a new main harness.
Any one care to share time saving tips? The BL operations time manual says its
a 5
hour job, so I'm planning 10+.
How 'bout sources? I'm guessing TRF's harnesses come from British Wire in
Illinois.
Needles to say, my car will be sporting its fir extinguisher again real soon
and a
battery cut-off switch may be in its immediate future. I'm just thanbk-ful Anne
wasn't driving the car at the time as she would not have known to disconnect the
battery and eliminte the source. A new wiring harness is a small price to pay.
Kerry
Editor, 6-PACK
P.S. The Spring issue is going out any day now, if it didn't last Friday.
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