New fuse block melting!! Fuse #7

[Mike C.]

Sigh... took the car out yesterday and smelled a burning smell. Decided to fire the car up again today, took it around the block, and smelled it again. Pulled the lid to the relay compartment, and sure as hell, fuse #7 didn't pop... it's freaking smoking. The top of my nice, new fuse box is melted.

Soooo, start throwing ideas. Any ideas. Noted last week FV is NOT buzzing anymore (started checking why i was getting such crappy fuel economy... ), have a spare here that I was going to plug in to check the part.


A little more background: Noticed #7 was starting to melt last year when the fuel pump died. Since then it's been replaced with a new unit.


*updated with pics. Sorry about the quality, it's pouring rain and im rushing to get the damn thing to focus.*

[denis45700]

Specialty auto sells these

Fuse extenders. #7 is the
*main one that melts in the
*fuse block.* $4.50 ea.
Add to Basket
Save the fuse block,
*Made*to length, but I would
*keep the wire*as long as
*possible makes a good*heat
*sink. Black wire holder
*10*amps or less, orange wire *holder 10*amps up. crimped, *soldered and*shrink tubing,

[David T]

Stating the obvious, you have to find out why you are drawing so much current in that circuit. Usually a sign of a fuel pump going bad. Could also be a problem in the Control Pressure Regulator. Make sure all connections are clean and tight in the fuel pump circuit. There is a plug in the harness up inside where the bucket is for the W/W reservoir. Make sure you have an Inertia switch with a white splotch of paint and it is on the side of the footwell, not on the Lamnda counter. Try disconnecting the CPR and you can also look inside and see if it is burnt up.
David Teitelbaum

[Delorean Industries]

Almost as bad as installing a hot start relay. This is just masking the underlying problem. Definitely get to the bottom of why the number 7 circuit is being excessively overloaded. Check out the fuel pump circuit here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?40...ing-Schematics on the diagrams. That is where I would start looking for issues.

Specialty auto sells these

Fuse extenders. #7 is the
*main one that melts in the
*fuse block.* $4.50 ea.
Add to Basket
Save the fuse block,
*Made*to length, but I would
*keep the wire*as long as
*possible makes a good*heat
*sink. Black wire holder
*10*amps or less, orange wire *holder 10*amps up. crimped, *soldered and*shrink tubing,

[Totally 80s]

Seems like number 7 has poor engineering problems. Even specialt's site says this is the one that melts.
Perhaps we need a real fix to this engineering problem rather than just "clean the grounds" approach is in order.

[denis45700]

Almost as bad as installing a hot start relay. This is just masking the underlying problem. Definitely get to the bottom of why the number 7 circuit is being excessively overloaded. Check out the fuel pump circuit here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?40...ing-Schematics on the diagrams. That is where I would start looking for issues.

Obviously this is not a permanent solution. But it will keep the fuse box from melting while you figure out the high amp draw.

[Delorean Industries]

Obviously this is not a permanent solution. But it will keep the fuse box from melting while you figure out the high amp draw.

Exactly. But it is marketed to be permanent.

[Mike C.]

Dropped the washer bottle, and went for that harness location first since I hadn't been in there. Surprisingly, connectors were in amazing condition and look brand new.





No sign of corrosion or burns at all. Leaving bottle out for now because i need to replace the washer motor.





One thing though, anyone ever seen this before? Tied into black/purple and white/purple with red vamp clips.





Heading into engine bay now. When checking cpr, noticed corrosion on one of the pins. Taking a wire brush and jeweler's file to clean it up now.

[Mike C.]

Went back into relay compartment and pulled up the fuseblock. l wanted to make sure I had a secure connection to the fuse clips, and sure enough I did. Pulled the lambda relay and all the sockets up, checked underneath for any signs of melted wiring, arc-ing, etc. All relay clips are in place, no signs of arc-ing.

While cleaning the corroded prong on the CPR, I noticed the other prong is VERY weak and bent with almost no force, so I gently put it back into place. I have a spare CPR sitting here and may just install that in the meantime.

[Michael]

One thing though, anyone ever seen this before? Tied into black/purple and white/purple with red vamp clips.

Definately a capacitor, but why it's there I have no idea. I do not like those connectors though, they are nothing but trouble and unreliable as heck(the wings-a-loft door launcher kit is full of those).
The only thing I can think of is in the old days, people would put a capacitor on anything to supress noise in the stereo speakers. Fuel pumps, alternators, etc.