Claude needs them.

Where does one get them?

I tried Minisport. Where else as they don't have them.

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1964 Cooper UK 970 S 'CZ 4289'

Jaycar?

DOH!

Thanks DavidE, much appreciated.

I just bought a supply and will be back out sorting Claude in a day or two...Melbourne weather permitting.

cheers, bam.

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1964 Cooper UK 970 S 'CZ 4289'

If you using fuses to find shorts and going through them. Buy a circuit breaker instead and keep testing, it'll trip if there's a short. I replaced all the fuses in mine with them, as a permanent fixture. No more buying fuses.

For tracing Shorts I use a 12 Volt 21 Watt bulb in a holder and connect the two leads from Bulb one to each end of the blown fuse. When a short is present the bulb will burn bright. as soon as short is removed the bulb will either go out or it will just glow a little depending on what current is flowing through that circuit. Minis as standard do not need 35 Amp fuses as they have nothing that draws that much current in either of the circuits. The lower the fuse the safer the system. The using of 35 Amp Fuses on Lucas systems came for the days when systems were running on Six Volts where Current was double of what it is on a 12 Systems. MR LUCAS never changed his stock of Fuses!
Every one has his opinion about things. From my personal experience I do not like to use the Bimetallic self resetting type of Circuit breakers as they keep switching on and off feeding current to the offending circuit till the wiring warms up and eventually burns. I have seen it happen too many times especially on american trucks.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

yeah, i fogot to mention about the CB's. Use the one with the little red button to reset it.

Re: Lucas Fuse ratings
Lucas fuses are rated as the instantaneous current that blows the fuse. The actual continuous rating is about half the instantaneous rating.
There is an exponential curve of amps vs time involved here.
If you replace a Lucas 35 Amp fuse with a non Lucas type then use one of about half the rating.

This site explains the difference between Lucas fuses and other types of glass tube fuses. The two fuse ratings are completely different.
http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/nen ... 20BUSS.pdf

RonR

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68 build Mk1 Cooper S
72 Clubman GT project. Total restoration required

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Your recommendations for a safe wiring loom are

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"Show me the Mini!"

I would rather use a fuse that blows instantly when there is a short present. A fuse that can feed a short for 10 seconds before it blows can cause a lot of damage. Any delays in blow and Heat will happen which is not very good for expensive wiring. A fast blowing fuse is so much cheaper. I am sure many people who paid money for wiring harnesses and electrical work on their cars will agree. A standard 15 amp fuse is ample for a standard Mini system.
Another explanation for not liking automatic re setting Bimetallic circuit breakers is that some people connect them in reverse. they are clearly marked which terminal is which usually the Battery stud is shorter. If you know how these things work or have ever opened one up you will never know this. They have a bimetallic strip with an end fixed to the insulated base market Acc and a contact at the other end which is constantly in contact with the other fixed contact at the other end marked Batt. The Bi metallic contact bends with heat (when high current is flowing through it) and pulls away from the other contact. The strip curls upwards. I have seen them when Battery is connected to the wrong terminal (ie the ACC terminal) when there is a short the strip heats up and curls up and welds itself to the metal housing and makes thing worse as you have battery feed going straight to earth. Then there is no protection from battery supply to circuit breaker and up it goes and lets the smoke out. I also like to add Fusible links to cars as it is always best to have a fuse at the beginning of the power source. I know that people say but that is not original. Burnt wiring is not original either.

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DID I MENTION THAT I AM THE BEST SUPPLIER FOR MINI ELECTRICAL PARTS AND REPAIRS?
"Let us remove your "SHORTS"

Thanks...what about the gauge of wire used e.g. to the headlights, starting circuit...and should the battery cable be beefed up?

I seem to remember those two fuse holders getting hot and the spring clips losing their grip on the fuses and the body insulation breaking down...

Types of connectors used?

Any general advice appreciated

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"Show me the Mini!"

You shouldn't use a fuse to try and find out where a short is. (ideally never)

You use an ohmmeter and disconnect the connectors checking each against earth until you determine where it is. e.g. headlamp, disconnect the lamp itself and check the wire to it and the headlamp itself for a short to earth. if headlamp is ok go back to the next connector etc...

I had a mate that showed me this trick some years ago on my car , i had a dead short somewhere , it had burnt the white wire to the ignition ,( thank god for the Battery Isolator )but not being the best with auto electrical i asked him what his thoughts were , he came around with a headlight bulb and proceeded to connect it to the fuse box and each time we turned the key on , the the bulb would take all the current , didn't take long, and we found that the elec fuel pump wire had rubbed through at the front subframe , saved me a lot of arseing about for sure .

OK. So now I am a bit confused. Should I use 35 amp fuses or lower? If lower, what would folks recommend?
I am assuming that Claude being a positive earthing car is not relevant to fuse ampage....is that right?

Thanks again for any advice.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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1964 Cooper UK 970 S 'CZ 4289'

35 Amp if you are using the old lucas type. 20 Amp if you are using the new type found in GJ kits etc.

The original fuses were Lucas 17/35, designed to run at 17 amps continuous and will go up to 35 amps before blowing in 1 second. The 20 amp AGC will run at 20 amps and blow at 40 amps in 1 second. Either one will be fine.