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Dear friends
On the subject of dont let this happen to you, I have a doosey! As some of you know, we recently sold our home to move to the beach full time. Well, we sold the house faster than I thought we would and that put me under the gun to finish Eliza Jane and get her off the blocks since she wasnt included with the house.
I had a bit of electrical work to do and decided to do just enough to get her mobile so I could relocate her. After relocating the ignition switch on the dash I tried to turn her over for the first time in about a year, she turned but wouldnt start. I remembered what Jay Leno said about what ethenol does to our cars and yes, I stored her with the gas in the system. Well, sure enough, the fuel pump was shot. In goes a new pump.
I tried to start her and the same problem, no start! Then checked the fuse panel and sure enough the 15 amp fuse to the coil was fried. I replaced the fuse and sill no start and that fuse poped. After a few choice words I decided to do the next stupid thing and call a beer buddy. His advice??? Wait for it… “Try a 30 amp fuse.” You know when youre so frustrated youll try anything?… I was soaking in it.
With my new 30 amp nuclear bomb in hand, I just knew that I was just moments away from the sweet smell of success.
I imagine I must have looked like Curious George looking at a box of Altoids to my neighbors as I installed the fuse. I then attempted to start her for what I believed was the last time. Thats when had my Bill Murrey-Gohst Busters moment…I think the quote went something like “Shh…Do you hear that? Whats that smell!?!!!
The terrible smell was coming from the rear and for once it wasnt me! When I looked back I found smoke billowing out of the engine compartment. Now the choice words were really flowing. I put out the fire and was amazed how much time and pee it takes to put out an electrical fire. Fortunately, no permanant damage.
At that point, the new owners were scheduled to move in the following day so I said F-IT and decided to tow her to the mechanic.
After $225.00, a new coil, a new distributor, and a tune-up the verdict was that I was guilty of putting the positive wire on the negative post of the coil.
Well I learned a few things in all of this:
1. I shouldnt try out for Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader.
2. When I start a project dont take time for granted.
3. When working on auto electric drink more beer just in case of an emergency…Electrical fires take a lot of pee! And yes, my stick shift now glows in the dark. 😆What brand of beer? I’ll put a six-pack next to the fire extinguisher.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"While you may consider your actions stupid I prefer to view your post as a learning experience for those of us who carry out our own repairs.
One, when dealing with electrical components,polarity of connections can be critical so if unsure take pic before you start the replacement and then compare to the finished work paying attention to placement of coloured or numbered wires
Two, if a fuse blows, unless it was proceeded with visible sparks that you have seen when you touched the positive connection on the starter (fill in your own choice) and a grounded casing or wire and melted your wrench and sustained at least first degree burns and lacerations when you jerked your hand away cutting it on some sharp edge always look for the root cause of the fuse failure. They do not wear out with age. This is where you can use the Muir custom timing light or volt-ohm meter to trace a short circuit. Blowers and wiper motors can blow a fuse if bearings are going and due to increased friction draw more amps than normal which can cause the fuse to fail. However bad bearings can be accompanied by high pitched squealing before the fuse blows so good hearing can help diagnose a problem before it happens
Thirdly, and this is open for debate, consumption of sufficient quantities of adult beverages prior to commencing any electrical repairs may assist in dealing with any small fires. However once the gas or fibreglass starts to burn even with beverages readily on hand your personal filtration system can not produce sufficient volumes of fluid to extinguish the conflagration of the car, garage and houseThanks for sharing, I going out to install the new Bosch coil this morning and will definitely be checking twice
David B Dixon
Port Perry ON CA
SabineWhew! That could have been much worse!
Very happy the damage was minimal and easily repaired.
And thanks for the reminder to all of us!
Like the old carpenter’s adage to measure twice, cut once…there is nothing wrong with double and triple checking everything you do!
PMOSSBERG2016-02-19 10:55:57
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Glad you saved her, Rick. We’ve all–and I mean all–done something like this at least 73 times. The smart among us don’t do the same bonehead thing twice though!
Or, at least, not twice in a row.
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