6 replies to this topic

[Aussiedave]

Hi i have a 1976 leyland mini clubman s and it wont start! Here's what happened...a while ago when it was raining one of teh fuses blew but since it was poaring down and i desperately needed the wipers instead of using a fuse(since i had none on me) i joined the two ends of the fust box(where the fuse would normally be) together with fuse wire. this lasted for about 2 days then the fuse wire itself blew but im guessing it was because the wire wants a high wnough Amp so i managed to find a fuse BUT it was a 30 Amp instead of a 35 Amp that used to be in it...that lasted for a week till it blew again and i used teh same fuse wire again but that blew too so in the end i got angry and used fuse wire wrapped aroud 5 times and as soon as i started it i smelt a burning smell and i saw that the lights etc werent working so i turned teh engine off and checked teh fuse box and the wire had completely blown and it was so hot it had slightly drformed the fuse bix but there was no visible damage........


anyways now the car wont start or turn over at all...i fully charged teh battery but that wasnt it and i checked to see there is still 12v+ coming from the fuse box..

any advice with whats wrong? ive got no idea

regards david

[Jammy]

I'd check your whole loom. Sounds like you've really melted something by not using the correct fuse.

Never use the incorrect fuse.

[Bounce]

It sounds like you have a sort in the wiper wiring or even the motor itself. If you had found it after the first bit of fuze wire going it would of been easily repairable and cheap.

But as you kept on replaceing fuzes and not looking into what was making them blow, youll now probably have to replace i large part, if not all off the loom!


A rule with fuzes is:-

If it blows once, replace it
If it blows twice, investigate it!

[Aussiedave]

So far i bought the correct fuses both 35 Amp and i managed to fix the problem with my engine not starting it was the starter motor wiring had melted and stopped working so i made up my own sweet little starter morot button with a missle switch as the ignition and i still have my engine imobilizer in it....anyways even though ive fixed it all the correct fuse is still blowing but only on the fuse which is connected to the indicators and wipers etc and i have no idea where its shorting. should i just replace the entire loom or individually go through each wire and see whats happening? any ideas what to do?

[Jammy]

Have you got a multimeter?

Firstly I'd check the earths, etc. Does it blow as soon as you turn the indicators or wipers on, or just it just blow randomly?

[Aussiedave]

it used to blos as soon as i turned the key. Surprisingly the fuses have stopped blowing now though :S. i think it may have been a live wire behind the dash that kept on touching the metal edge but im not sure if that would effect the fuse?

[minislapper]

Had a similar problem years back where the car cut out completely in the dark on the motorway....scary stuff !

On cars running one type of coil (can't remember which off the top of my head)...there are 2 wires, one of which isn't used. (White/pink trace rings a bell?) The problem on mine turned out to be this spare wire dangling in the engine bay which then shorted off the block and consequently, melting part of the loom. I had to replace a couple of wires in the loom and tape off the end of the wire not being used.

You really need to do something similar and unravel the loom from the bulkhead to the front end and check for damage on any of the wires. There could be any number of problems inside the tape.