Topic

this was me this morning, after a 12 hour night shift, 2 miles from work



the background was -

driving along at *cough* mph, and the car suddenly died. all electrics working, just no engine. fearing the cambelt, i knocked it out of gear and cruised to the hard shoulder.

i had a look in the cambelt cover - check.
alternator belt - check
battery connected - check
oil and coolant OK - check.
chassis earths - check
fuses - all looked ok, but it was pitch black on the side of the motorway, so hard to see.......
call the AA - check.

so, the guy turns up, real petrol head. he drag races a chevy Camaro, so i was in good hands

we checked everything, but couldn't find an issue, so he hooks me up on the truck and tows me home.
once there, i get the kettle on, and we proceed to fault find. AA computer says to check for dry solder joints in a 4 relay unit behind the ECU. cue much swearing as we cut the box open to find out if there is a problem. all we found in there was a slightly dodgy looking contact on one of the relays, se we cleaned that up, then manually cycled the contacts. fuel pump worked, starter turned, engine bay overheat light came on, 4th one did nothing.......

at this point, i decided to pull EVERY blade fuse out and check them all.

lo and behold, fuse number 14 (15 amp) had blown. this supplies the engine management system. i replaced it, and guess what?



she lives!!

so, if you suffer any of the symptoms listed above - CHECK FUSE 14 UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL!!!!!!

and if you are the AA dude from today, and you happen to be reading this for some reason - you, sir, are a top bloke. have a good new year mate

so, my next purchase is going to be some of these:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glow+fuses&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dQHeUNqoPJGN0wXa64DgBQ&ved=0CGIQsAQ&biw=1304&bih=662

when they blow, they glow

cheers,

Lee

Good Stuff! I have some spare glow fuses in the new year I'll let you know how many and they will be FREEEEEEEE! for the first round of scavengers.

You going to try and find why it blew, chaffed wiring or something.

Are they known to fail in any particular place. Or can it be a random electrical problem.

Glad you solved the problem.

i have a feeling it was from the fuel pump side of life, given the slightly blackened contacts on that relay, but now we have cleaned them up, i will check it again soon to see if it has deteriorated again. if it has, i might be looking at a new fuel pump

ben - can i camp out at the head of the scavenger line please?

drove to work fine tonight, so hopefully that will be the end of that one.

cheers,

Lee

I like my glowing fuses!

Glad you resolved the problem Lee

I'll remember that fuse now for some while!

How come I have never come across these glowing fuses before - wonderful invention!
I'll be sending off for some of them pronto

Thanks

J

Are you not paying attention, John?

These fuses have been around in industrial applications for years in one form or another. I didn't know they were available automotively though.

It never fails to amaze me of the vile and pernicious ways these seemingly innocent cars can inflict pain and suffering on us!

Well done for getting sorted.

David Aiketgate wrote: wrote:

Are you not paying attention, John?

David - you posted that on the 17th March this year . . . . . . . I joined on the 24th March!!!

So, no I wasn't paying attention at the time!!

Thanks for the link though

John

KentJohn wrote: wrote:

David - you posted that on the 17th March this year . . . . . . . I joined on the 24th March!!!

So, no I wasn't paying attention at the time!!

Thanks for the link though

John

~Sniggers~


Glad you got it all sorted Lee

As for the fuses you just want some fairy lights

KentJohn wrote: wrote:

David Aiketgate wrote: wrote:

Are you not paying attention, John?

David - you posted that on the 17th March this year . . . . . . . I joined on the 24th March!!!

So, no I wasn't paying attention at the time!!

Thanks for the link though

John

That's no excuse, thread was still running on 7th April Anyway, I expect you to cram up on all the information in the files, you'll be telling me next you don't know about the end of year forum exam!

End of year forum exam ? does one get a certificate

PS glad it was only a fuse, no big out lay of cash for you