Miss Elizabeth popping her fuse !

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by tbirdtbird

#2 has a novel way to trouble shoot....create a dead short and wait for something to smoke or catch fire.
Many of us are running a 30 amp fuse. Cannot tell from your response just what fuse size you have... "31 -20 amp fuse"

with a test light or a VOM you can find your problem pretty quickly. As was mentioned, the headlight circuit is known for problems

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

The year I taught Auto Mechanics at the Vo Tec there was another instructor who told the students to do exactly that.
I told the students to use a bulb or resistor and flasher in series connected to the fuse terminals. Then Move an inductive ammeter (or even an ordinary compass) along the suspect wiring harness and watch the needle move each time the flasher passes current. When the needle stops moving then they have just passed the short.

It doesn't get easier. Thanks Tom.,. Wayne

[old31]

Mitch do you have a photo of the circuit breaker and a inductive meter that you are using?

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by old31

Mitch do you have a photo of the circuit breaker and a inductive meter that you are using?

The first pic is my fancy snap on circuit breakers with the inductive meter ...the needle on the meter points towards the short... If you pass by the short it will point the other way.. This has to be against the harness / circuit that your checking


Second pic is my fancy power probe short finder... This powers the circuit then you use the receiver to run along the harness till you find the short.. The beauty of this is you don't have to remove things to locate as the receiver can hear through rugs, moldings etc.....

[31 Model A]

I've been following this thread waiting for someone else with a female Model A like Elizabeth and Sarah............

Just give her a slap or two...............

Cheers,

Male chauvinist pig!!!!!

[tbirdtbird]

Mitch you are having waaay too much fun with real tools while the rest of us limp along with stuff whittled from old wood fenceposts

[Mitch//pa]

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Ha Dave I just did a toe in set with a fence post hehe

[katy]

Cannot tell from your response just what fuse size you have... "31 -20 amp fuse"

I read it as a '31 Model A w/a 20 amp fuse.

[tbirdtbird]

20 prolly won't work

[pgerhardt]

If anyone want one, I can sell you a box of 30 amp fuses for $5. PM me if interested,

[Rancho Deluxe]

Here’s my short circuit story. Just a few days ago my 1930 fordor stopped dead on the highway. It has 2K miles on a complete restoration and has been owned by me since 1956. Lots of trips with “adventures” but never before has this car left me totally disabled on the road. It happened after passing thru a brief but intense rain squall. After numerous roadside checks I could not find the short so with darkness near I used my auto club towing service for the first time ever. No fun, but the operator acted like he towed 80+ year old cars every day.
I needed two days to sleuth out the problem with a multimeter, wiring diagrams, and expert interstate advice. Just about everything got checked. The flaw turned out to be in what you’d least expect – the one part intended to protect all the rest from short circuits. My fuse holder is a recent item from a parts house (can’t remember which one). It has a badly flawed design and differs from others I have seen. The car wiring end, not the battery connection end, has a bolt fastened thru the sheet metal bracket and the actual fuse holder. See the photo. Three small plastic washers insulate the bolt and first nut from the sheet metal. Less than 1/32 inch clearance is there between the bolt head and the nut sides and the bracket. Somehow moisture, a small amount of corrosion, dirty engine compartment dust or crud, or something shorted this fastener to the bracket and thus the car. When wiring was disassembled for checks the short was not observed. Upon reassembly the fuse would blow. This bolt and insulator design is just a temptation to Murphy’s law.
All of us using a fuse device should check for this flaw. It’s easy to fix. Just cut off part of the bracket with the bolt mounting hole and fasten the bolt and car wiring only to the actual fuse holder, itself.
Good Luck, Rancho

[ItsA31]

Originally Posted by tbirdtbird

20 prolly won't work

My '31 is running 20A, and so is Miss Elizabeth. No Problem.