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Re: Electrical Woes

To: Edward Hamilton <hamilton@ptd.net>,
Subject: Re: Electrical Woes
From: Atwell Haines <carbuff@nac.net>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 09:00:06 -0400
At 10:48 PM 8/16/98 -0400, Edward Hamilton wrote:
>The kids are with my brother for a few days.  So, I talk my wife into
>taking a nice long ride in my mistress that sleeps in the garage.

Isn't that how President Clinton got tripped up?   <vbg>

>  After
>great assurance that the spit is perfect (almost) in every way,

Bad luck to even think like this!

>we set
>out upon our journey.  Great tour of the country side and I notice my
>wife has the same big grin on her face as I.  We then take in "Saving
>Private Ryan" (which was excellent) and hop into the spit for the ride
>home.  Of course its now dark -- Hmmm, no panel lights.  "No problem
>dear, I must have bumped something around the rheostat while hooking up
>the wiring for the electric fuel pump", he said with confidence.  The
>mistress is bedded in the garage, my wife pads into the house and I
>begin a cursory examination.
>Blown fuse at the fuse block.  Slap in a replacement and turn the lights
>on -- another blown fuse.  

Which fuse?   Just so we are not "ASS-SUMING" anything, did you use the
proper 35A rated Brit fuse?   There is also a 10A in the fuseblock, so
swapping isn't the answer.


> Before I start tracing everything, would
>anyone have a suggestion as to the likely area for the offending short?
>Remember, the kids are visiting their uncle & aunt in NYC for a few
>days.  Just me and the wife in the house -- a once a year occurrence.

>If I don't sort out this distracting problem with my mistress, I'll miss
>this once-a-year window with my wife. :-(

Hmm... sounds as if you should mail-order enough fuses to properly
troubleshoot the problem, then turn your attention to the "window".
(heh-heh-heh, wink-wink)

Did you power the electric pump through that blown fuse? If so maybe you
should run a dedicated fused line from a different convenient power source
(the starter solenoid terminal comes to mind).

Another area I would look at is the wiring behind the light switch (the
"service panel").  Has anyone ever had the headlight switch fall apart
internally?

I won't expect an answer for at least three days.  :)



Atwell Haines
'79 Spitfire  FM96062 UO
(53 HP)

Succasunna, NJ USA

The One Immutable Rule of Automotive Satisfaction:
"It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow"
- Cory Farley in Autoweek, 8/17/98


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