Gilded connectors

[DrWin]

Hi again,

I was listening to Delorean Talk podcast the other day and someone mentioned gold plated fused to help with corrosion and heat build up in the fuse box. I get that gilded connectors don't corrode. But wouldn't the contacts in the fuse box still be subject to corrosion? Which leads to the question, wouldn't the best solution be gilded connectors and gilded fuses?

I'm thinking from a loooooong term maintenance perspective, that since the electrical system is such an achilles heel for the DeLorean, it might be prudent to think about not only fixing bad connections, but also preventing the from reoccuring?

I've read that high fidelity audio equipment uses a copper/berrylium alloy, that gets coated in gold for maximum connectivity.
Is this a thing that's relevant to the DeLorean?

[RIUM+]

Gold-plated connectors have more corrosion resistance than nickel-plating, but much less wear resistance. I'm not sure what the cycle count would be for our type of fuse holders, but depending on how frequently you pull certain fuses for troubleshooting purposes or how frequently they blow & need removing & replacing, "long-term" may mean that nickel-plated holders may last longer without issue.

[Bitsyncmaster]

You would need to find someone to plate your fuse block pins. I've never seen the fuse block pins offered with gold plating. It's probably a good idea but not sure if it's worth the hassle.

[Ron]

+1

I think a lot of people don't consider the problems found/upgrades to fix them, and that they have been in use for ~40 years, etc. then jump to overkill trying to do thinks right.

I would suggest sorting things out and repairing what you have. Then replacing the fuse box with OEM.

[DrWin]

Gold-plated connectors have more corrosion resistance than nickel-plating, but much less wear resistance. I'm not sure what the cycle count would be for our type of fuse holders, but depending on how frequently you pull certain fuses for troubleshooting purposes or how frequently they blow & need removing & replacing, "long-term" may mean that nickel-plated holders may last longer without issue.

My thinking was that if they never blew, they'd never need changing. Also I thought gold had good wear resistance, but perhaps not for a friction fit?

[DrWin]

You would need to find someone to plate your fuse block pins. I've never seen the fuse block pins offered with gold plating. It's probably a good idea but not sure if it's worth the hassle.

Yeah, I was sort of hoping I would be able to find some pre-gilded. Going through the process of having someone gild them seems a bit much. Just with all this talk about overheating this, melting this, that and the other thing, I figured a root-cause fix might be in order. Also I'll admit freely that I'm fairly fascinated by the concept of "maintenance free" which seems to run at odds with owning a DeLorean. :)

[DrWin]

+1

I think a lot of people don't consider the problems found/upgrades to fix them, and that they have been in use for ~40 years, etc. then jump to overkill trying to do thinks right.

I would suggest sorting things out and repairing what you have. Then replacing the fuse box with OEM.

Propably right. I strongly suspect I'm guilty of 1) not knowing what I'm doing and 2) trying to overkill everything.

[Josh]

Propably right. I strongly suspect I'm guilty of 1) not knowing what I'm doing and 2) trying to overkill everything.

I can relate to this on a spiritual level.

[DrWin]

I can relate to this on a spiritual level.

:meditation: