Fuse melting engine cuts out - help please

legend, thanks so much.

Wonder why mine has 7 terminals and 6 wires?
when yours has 6 terminals and 5 wires

 

One of those terminals (marked 30) is a double.

 

I've posted a photo of mine above now.

I still don't understand.
I've got an extra red & black wire

 

Have a look at the number next to the terminals.. I think your extra one is a '57' connects to the dash light saying your lights are on. Mine is like this.



So needs a line from the fuse box or piggybacked off the grey

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Found this one..Got most of the wires on..your black and red is your dipped/side light indicator.. prob off that 57 you have..

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Yes that sounds right.

I was going to double check tomorrow if it was connected to the side or full beam.

Years of grime mean I can't see any of the numbers on that lighting switch unit.

Thanks again

 

Early vans had an extra terminal (57) for a warning lamp in the instruments for when the sidelights are on.

 

Yep I was looking at that the other day wondering why the green warning light only comes on with sidelights but goes out when you turn on the mains.

 

Fuel gauge showing fuel when lighting switch turned issue:

So I checked all connections and cleaned earths etc
Fuel gauge earth G connection was firmly on, I almost couldn't remove it.
Unfortunately the entire 'bit' wobbled a bit - which is definitely not helping matters. The one with brown & white wire.
When i fiddled with it it would move the needle.
Removed and cleaned up connections on a a few other wires, changed a indicator warning bulb.
Still more to do but ran out of time.
Put instrument panel back in, but haven't screwed it all back in yet.
Tried the lighting switch and now the fuel gauge doesn't show fuel when i turn it.
I'm pretty sure this is just luck and it will start doing it again

I've read up on here about the fuel gauge issue and this thread was very helpful, as we're other fuel gauge threads.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/to...9&share_fid=5720&share_type=t&link_source=app

I'm pretty sure mine is missing the brown bit, no idea if anyone found a source for them?
I'll probably just tape mine up to stop it moving.

Loads of additional gauges are fed through my 'lighting switch': Oil pressure, temp, rev counter etc
Would replacing any of the bulbs with LED dimmable ones help reduce the load?

I know not to replace the Generator light with an LED. I'll probably leave the Oil light as wel

I'll update this later

 

The brown bits are to insulate the terminals from the housing. Anything non conductive to keep them off will do. If the black wire touches you'll blow a fuse if the browm/white one, which goes to fuel sender , touches the gauge will go weird..

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^ Something else to 3D print

 

Those connectors are what ultimately caused my fuel gauge issues too. Because they were loose and shorting out on the backplate it eventually led to the gauge blowing, but I didn’t find this out before I’d spent a lot of time cutting a deck hole and trying a new sender, and fitting a stabiliser that my bus had never had, none of which fixed the issue and the stabiliser made it even less accurate.
I tried using sleeved spade connectors but the gauge never read correctly after that and eventually failed altogether, maybe due to previous shorting or maybe just all the messing about and attempts to fix it.
I chickened out at taking the panel apart so went with an aftermarket multi gauge in the spare pod as I wanted to add oil pressure, temperature and voltage anyway.

I don’t know why they’d broken and come loose in the first place but the gauge had always been erratic since I got the bus in 2003 so assume it must have been messed with previously in attempts to fix it.

Well done for getting to this point especially for an electrical newbie, and no doubt thanks to all the help you’ve had from other members here. It’s what TLB is all about.


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It's certainly thanks to the help i've had on here!

It's also not 'cured' yet!

I think the fuel gauge has been like this for ages, half of me says its not broke, so don't fix it, the other half says get it sorted now.
Partly because I always seem to cause more issues than I sort!
So far i've nearly driven into the wall of my garage whilst doing this 'electrical' stuff, plus i've managed to break loads of spade terminals that were working perfectly well before. I've managed to replace them & my knowledge and skills are improving.

I've only removed the instrument panel and disconnected the speedo at the moment, i think sorting the fuel gauge will mean removing it from the panel, which scares me!

At least if my electrics go pear shaped whilst im away, id have a much better idea of how everything works which would help me carry on my holiday, even if i had to get someone else to sort it.

I'm now going to look in my 'magic' tins of various spares that have been in the bus for years, in the hope that one of those brown plasticy things is in there!

 

No joy finding the brown fuel gauge insulator thingy.

I think i'm going to try and secure mine from the back of the instrument panel, so i don't have to remove the fuel gauge and needle etc.

It works at the moment i'd hate to 'fix' it and it stop working altogether

 

seeing as your fuel gauge is out can you take a photo of it all for me please?

I understand the back of the instrument panel bit of the gauge where my brown and white wire attaches, I assume something is attached to the smaller prong on the front?

I just want to get a better idea of it all before i try and 'secure' it from the back to stop it moving about.

I've scared myself out of removing the fuel gauge from the panel.

Thanks again.

Hopefully i can return the favour by taking some photos that may benefit you at some point!

 

If it makes you feel better here’s a photo I just took of mine. So it seems there is quite a need for these elusive parts.

 

what is that poking out the end of the tape?

 

Just a bit of insulated wire.

 

Is all the black bit with the terminal on it taped up or do you not have any of that.

Im just missing the brown bit so was planning on taping the black bit to the housing to stop it moving

 

There’s what looks like a bit of plastic tube wrapped with tape.