Subject: RE: Fuse Block Melt Down
Author: Ross
Date: Jan 7, 2004, 7:52 AM
Post ID: 1715678575
My two cents on 33 year old wiring:
Fuse box: All connections should be cleaned of corrosion then lightly
coated with an anti-oxidant conductive grease. Check the females to make
sure they haven't loosened with age and use, tighten as needed. Use
orthodontic bands to keep the fuses tight in their holders, which have
also been cleaned and lightly coated.
Get a new gasket for the headlight, period.
In general: do the above with every connection on the bike. Inspect
wiring over time to make sure the insulation isn't worn, if so replace
with same gauge or next larger, using fine strand copper. If you are
putting on new connectors, use a professional crimper (expensive, but so
is being stranded, or worse, healing) and solder all connectors. Make
sure that you haven't left any wire exposed at the connector, only the
spade or bullet should be exposed. Heat-shrink works well here. Get
"Tips for Guzzis, Vol. 1" and "Guzziology".
I know we all bitch about the way Guzzi set up one thing or another in
the electrical system, but, really, it is far better than most of that
era.
Think British. My Norton has a fuse called "Main Fuse" which should have
just been called "The Fuse". Not to mention old Japanese plastic
multi-pin connectors that snapped together then and shatter when coming
apart now.
Regards,
Ross
---
K. Ross Raymond
Arizona, USA
1971 Moto Guzzi Ambassador LAPD
1969 Triumph T100S
1975 Norton Interstate MkIII
1998 Ariel (my daughter, named after the sq4 not the mermaid)