Practically Classics Forum

Yes good advice there terry I was planning on the use of heat shrink, I unfortunately ran
out of the relevant size again! I manage to pick some up while out doing some errands
this after noon.

Although the wiring on the main harness has been replaced and upgraded to a bigger amp
cappacity compared to the previous wiring I had not considered the actual wiring on the
fog lights till I tried to put new spade connectors on! The negative wire was so thin it
vertually disintegrated in my hands! So I had to remove the light sort the negatives out
with new wires and clean the rust off the positive spades.

I am getting sick of using tape to wrap the wring as when I need to trace a wire I have a
task to strip the tap off and have to clean the wiring of the sticky residue.

If you haven't guessed by looking at the cables I have used to replaced the old dodgy
wiring I have been upgrading the wiring for future use or changes. the fog-lights had a total
possible amp rating of 15 amps when I traced it back to the single wire they had put in
originally. The wiring that has gone in is rated to 40 amps, and the negative to the lamps is
the same and taken right back to the main negative the battery will be connected to.

The new negative wiring to behind the right headlight with new connections is also 40 amp
rated negative cable. And all the new cable ends wither they have been crimped or not have
been soldered.

There is one thing I am in need of that I am having trouble finding! The spade connector
used in th back of the fuse box which are held in the back of the fuse box but allow you to
plug in or remove a relay on the front(if you know what I mean). They would make it easier
to house the relays for the fans in the empty relay spaces in the fuse box on the car rather
than have things sticking out hear and there! Any ideas on where I can get them?

If you are talking about what I think you are talking about, they are called automotive relay holders, something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Way-Splash- ... 0659276225
If you have a look on RS (or ebay) you can buy singles up to 12 way ones with or without covers.
I have a 4 way in the RR with a splash proof cover attached to the side of the factory fuse box when I upgraded to HID lighting, sorted out the micky mouse LPG wiring, I forget what the 3rd is for but I labelled it and the 4th is vacant.
Whenever I go rummaging through a Range Rover or Discovery which is being broken I nab the relays as they are ridiculous prices to buy new or normally a few pounds for a handful from an old car with the holders.

Terry there are three empty relay spaces in the neon fuse box, I want to use them but
I need the crimp on spade connectors that go into the spaces on the back and are held
by the structure. These female spade type connectors plucg in from under the board
allowing the relays to be plugged in from above.

Have a wander through AES's site, they might have something you can use. I suspect the Chrysler ones may be a bit "specialised", but you may get away with uninsulated crimp terminals (though you'll probably be better off soldering them - the crimp tool is different!).

http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product_list/2

Look for "Blades with Tags" - the tags hold the terminals in the holders.

Ahh, I see. If the plastic is formed to take captive spades then there are various different designs so you would need to either gently tease an existing one out to find a duplicate or find a scrap fuse box to salvage the spades from. You may get away with using normal spades and hot glue but that would be a bit of a bodge.
If the plastic is formed to take a relay holder then if you can't find a match you could probably file them out and put a standard single relay holder in the space. If you don't want to fiddle with individual spades, you can probably do this regardless of the construction of the fuse box.
Personally I would just fit an extra external one. As an example my RR has something like 5 fuse boxes 8 or 10 banks of relays from the factory.

Terry the factory relays have the same footprint as regular relays the only difference is the hight.
The screen shot is taken from the FSM(factory service manual) One of the spaces marked as not
used is the euro fog lights. But as I am not using the A/C I was thinking of using that.

As you have a "spare", it would be worth trying to tease a spade out and seeing if you can match it if you want to keep a single main fuse box. It would be the neatest solution from a visual point of view and would save you some space if you have limited amounts under bonnet. I am quite lucky in that I have enough space to fit more or less anything I want so adding more relays separately was a no brainer.

TerryG wrote:it would be worth trying to tease a spade out

Gardening tips from Terry, number 317b.

Agreed regarding all of his words above though. So will we see the Neon at Ryhope this year, Aron? Should be feasible, you have over two months in which to get it tested and running.

It is looking possible if not in the gate then parked outside still with tatty interior! DWP lost my pip
pack and that there is a 9+ month waiting list I might have to pay for road tax

This a picture I found online that looks right but doesn't give bloody details sods law!
Apparently also used in fords and gm stuff(not food terry!!)


Email received by the head honcho of yorks yanks, Hull Motor Show on the 24th of August!
My car won't be ready but I will see about using mother's astra as it is more or less a straight
run a19, a1(m), then m62 and just over 120 miles and 2 hours there and same coming back!

Have put on the calender "Car Show Yorkshire" so it is vague enough so mother won't realise
the distance, well not until she looks at the odometer later