Oh Lord How I Hate Electrical Problems

FA-18C · 11-02-2002, 03:07 PM

So after some help from board members, I wrap up my fuel pump install and head out for a drive. Everything works great. thanks again guys. As I pull into my garage I notice my right front light is out. No problem, I have one of those bulbs right here. Hmmm, no such luck, NOW what.... After lots of wiggling and poking etc...put the bulb in and voila, put everything back together, start to back out for an operational check and the wifey points at my lights. Damn....so, back under the hood. Well, when I put pressure against the lower fuse block aft, the light comes on and stay, though a bit dimmer that the left front. If I keep pressure on it, she stays bright, another jiggle and its out. Please, somebody tell me this is not going to be a pull out the fuse blockand rewire it...
Where to from here, gave up for the night, should I pull all the fuses, quick wire brushing of contactors and hit it with electrical contact cleaner?

theporchevman · 11-02-2002, 03:29 PM

That would help and maybe a new fuse! Or invest in the relay kit that will help out alot. Here's the link:
http://members.rennlist.com/msucro1/relaykit.htm

Wil Ferch · 11-03-2002, 12:41 PM

Another possible issue...
The "suppository" fuses that Porsche uses require clean contacts. You might want to bend the holding tabs a bit to regain clamping force. If all the fuses are old, replace all fuses ( say, if you first bought an old car and found this problem) and put some dielectric grease on the tips. Some fuses are "ganged" with a buss bar on the backside of the fuse block. You will then have one entry point, but as many as three or more fuses powered from this entry point. After a number of electrical cycles, the rivets that hold these in-place may loosen...so the drill is to remove the box and re-rivet or back-solder these. As an alternative, you may want to put a redundant jumper wire between the main entry point and the other fuses that are fed from this same point by the bus -bars . CAREFULL ! ...make sure the jumper you're putting in actually mimics the buss...otherwise you might end up double-feeding the circuits by mistake.

Aren't these cars great !?

FA-18C · 11-03-2002, 02:30 PM

thanks, still working the issue, frustrating to say the least. I have it isolated the fault to the lower fuse block. The right parking light is the main symptom, it is either inop, very dim, or normal. When I push on the block (apply pressure) everything works fine. I am also getting the multiple turnsignal indications from that turnsignal in the cockpit. Man I realllyyyyyy do not like working with electricity, the only engineering classes that I did really crappy in!

Jdub · 11-04-2002, 07:56 AM

Wil:

Good points all, esp. about the rearside bars that let you use one fuse for two blocks. I suppose it is false economy to put a fuse in where a fuse is not needed? That is, given a pair of open fuse locations that use the 'bar and thus need only one fuse, it would be a bad idea to put a pair in (same amp of course?). I remember this so well from setting up my relays for the hi/lo beams.

John

Wil Ferch · 11-04-2002, 11:58 AM

Jdub:
I'm not sure I follow you exactly, although I think I know what you're driving at. Let me try a different way.

At some locations ( and I'm making up fuse location numbers here...please note...for discussion purposes ONLY !)....

let's say that fuses 2, 3 and 4 are "fed" from the input side of fuse location number 2. If so, there is an incoming power wire to location number 2, and a "bus bar" or copper strip that inter-connects the input side of fuse locations 2, 3 and 4. So...in this hypothetical example, all the fuse locations are used up. It's just that there is one power feeder. Well...if you know that is the case, and if you suspect a bus/ rivet problem among these three locations, you either fix / re-rivet / solder the connections... OR..you simply add another jumper wire between the input sides of 2 and 3...and another from 3 to 4 ( or 2 to 4). In my original post I was simply warning that if you do use a jumper, make absolutely certain that you're duplicating the original bus bar, and not mistakenly cross-connecting the wrong fuse location numbers.

---Wil Ferch