Problem, solution and question

[Brtuffli]

Greetings all,
I was driving my 1978 SC today and had just fueled it up. Drove 1 mile on the highway. All was good. Took the next exit and was waiting for a green light when the engine died.

Checked for spark at the coil/distributor and got a bit of a shock. I guess i have spark. I thought i hear the fuel pump whirring so i was at the end of what i could check in a parking lot with limited tools. I had it towed home and hooked up the fuel pressure gauges and pulled an injector. Checked for fuel. No dice. I swapped the relay. No dice. I then went to check to see if the fuel pump had 12 volts. It didn’t.

[Brtuffli]

I then checked the fuses. All looked ok until i touched the metal part of the fuel pump fuse. The metal part of the fuse dropped to the frunk carpet
I pulled out the fuse and here is what it looked like

I had to use a pick to get the bottom part of the (I’m guessing) original fuse out. I then swapped in the 25amp AC fuse. Fuel pump worked and i hade 72psi of pressure. Car started and ran as it should. Yeah.

If you’ve read this far, you have learned of the problem and the solution. Now for the question: My dad and i are thinking that if there was an electrical problem, the metal part of the fuse would have melted as designed. If the fuse was just old, it may have corroded and that is the reason for the failure. I have already replace all the 25 amp fuses and am planning on replacing the rest with the proper amperage but wondering if i can safely chalk up this problem to a 44 year old fuse.

Thoughts?

[LIRS6]

Those looky like they might be the crappy plastic bodied fuses. If so, suggest to replace them all with ceramic fuses - if you can find them.

[Michael7810]

Also check/ tighten the screws that hold the wires and clean the fuse contacts.

[emac]

Check the wire that goes to the top and bottom of that fuse block. Very good chance you have a burnt wire feeding that fuse.
Ask me how I know!
Ernie 81sc

[bugstrider]

We too have a 78 SC. One of my upgrades in all of my updates is that I swapped out all of the old fuses with an updated custom ATO fuse block.

With the cover on, you can’t tell the difference between stock and the new set up. I even went as far as installing the ATO fuses that light up when blown.

I did a complete write up on the install if you want to give it a read. No, I have no affiliation with the owner of the company. He is based in the Bay Area and he is a retired engineer. Nice guy too

Cheers
Trevor


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