I have a 1950 Ford F5 1.5 ton. And I have yet to find anything
that looks like a fuse on the wiring harness. (Something I hope to fix
this weekend, if I can find a small fuse box I can stash somewhere out
of site). Originally, the system had a 6 volt system with a generator and
a voltage regulator. But the system is now 12 volt with an alternator.
<Shrug>, DPO's.
Maybe those 6volt systems are so good they didn't need fuses.
-Terry Thompson
'76 Spitfire
'50 Ford F-5 (rated for 14k pounds. does that mean I can haul 7 spitfires
at one time?)
On Mon, 15 Jun 1998, William Elliott wrote:
>
> John:
>
> This thread (and your posts in particular) have
> been most entertaining!
>
> I especially liked the one about "putting the steering
> wheel on the wrong side" making it unsafe to "overtake" .
> I've found that as long as you're driving on the right (meanings
> both intended) side of the road, overtaking with the wheel on
> the left is no problem! ;-)
>
> Anglia? That's no Ford! That's just what ol' Henry pawned
> off on you guys. Kept the good stuff over here. Real Fords
> are big and have V-8's! You know: Mustangs, Thunderbirds,
> Fairlanes, etc. Most of the Anglia's I've seen over here now have
> Chevy 350's in 'em! Ain't no substitute for cube's! ;-)
>
> Actually, just kidding! (I'm such an Anglophile that I used to
> have a bumpersticker that read "Paul Revere was a Snitch!")
>
> Compared to American electrical systems (which in the given
> period tended to be over-engineered and pretty forgiving), Lucas
> does present a bit more of a challenge. But not nearly the challenge
> of other major electrical systems. For example, Bosch stuff
> tends to be much more mysterious than any Lucas system
> I've torn into! Forget about anything from Italy!
>
> While I'll stop short of saying I'm a Lucas fan, I have found that
> the systems are fairly simple and straightforward, with parts
> availability being the big problem. (We used to say that the US
> Navy should give our Trident subs a Lucas part number....
> that would make SURE they're never found!) Where Ford and
> GM used the same basic switches from their economy cars
> to their luxury cars and even trucks (of course, it seems they
> tended to also use the same engines, gearboxes, and suspensions
> as well!), Lucas seems to have supplied electricals specific to the
> given car... and the day of the week!
>
> Most of my electrical issues with LBC's have been: (1) Rust,
> (2) DPO's, (3) Rust, and (4) internal contact failures. My only complaints
> are the questionable design of the switchgear contacts and the
> fact that some of the systems appear to be over-rated
> for their application. (More likely the fault of beancounters and
> marketers at Corporate vice the engineers at Lucas.)
>
> Currently on my TR6, only the 4-way flashers tend to be "iffy".
> Everything else pretty much works as designed. Still
> rather baffled...
>
> On my American stuff, everything that doesn't work... I know
> _why_ it doesn't work and simply haven't gotten around to it.
>
> However, my Audi and SAAB both have several things that
> don't work and simply the troubleshooting requires massive
> disassembly! Then you find EVERYTHING's a OEM part,
> available only from the sadistic dealer. Bosch switchgear
> appears to have the same "contact" problems Lucas does,
> just at a much dearer price.
>
> Gimme Lucas any day!
>
> Bill Elliott
> Lake Mills, WI
>
>
|