80amp Birds nest Fuse

[Relayer]

Simple question.....do all Chims have one?? I realise they can be tricky to locate but mine does not appear(?) to have one.

Many thanks.

[Pink_Floyd]

My 1998 chim has one.

[Steve_D]

I believe they all have the 80amp fuse. This fuse supplies the fusebox so is important. There should be a red cable coming off the positive battery terminal to the fuse holder then 2 heavy brown wires from the other side of the fuse.

Many cars do not have the 100amp fuse (normally lives on the underside of the O/S engine mount).

Steve

[Relayer]

Better get down in the Birds Nest and find it. A job for a barmy evening, next time we have one!

[Belle427]

Some photos here.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=12...

[QBee]

I have heard of it being tucked up behind the fuse board on occasion

[Steve_D]

As I said before there should be 2 cables at the battery positive terminal. One is obviously the starter cable so just follow the other one towards the fusebox.

Don't forget to drop some breadcrumbs along the way so you can find your way back out.

Steve

[Loubaruch]

As the fuse block in my Griffith has been moved to the glove box and the ECU and relays are fixed to the bulkhead, I decided to move the 80 Amp fuse to the inner wing together with a battery socket. A shorting link enables power to be completely removed while in the garage, The battery socket plus the earth post enables charging without delving into the footwell.

[QBee]

Elegant solution.

[Zener]

If that cable opening isn't sealed thats going to leak water into the passenger foot-well like a sieve why not leave that fuse in the drier atmosphere of the cabin? just curious seeing they never give trouble so long as the terminal/fuse screws are tight

[Steve_D]

More worrying is that the supply into the fusebox is 2 heavy gauge cables in order to deal with the current load but the supply side of the fuse is only one wire of (what appears to be) the same gauge.

Steve

[Loubaruch]

Steve,

The cable looks the same but it is twice the current rating of the others.

Yes, thanks I must get around to sealing the hole where the cables pass through.

[Relayer]

Found it. In the process discovered the captive nuts in the bottom of the battery box were completely detached. Have now refitted said captive nuts with araldite and all seems good. Shall refit battery this morning.

[Relayer]

Well that really was a pain. However I have gained a couple of inches extra leg room for the passenger..... turns out that the battery was never in the correct position due to it not being fixed down and had the 80amp fuse and cable between the battery box and the bulkhead below the fuse box. The carpet between the seat and the pull out carpeted battery protector now fits perfectly, whereas before it rode up the pull out protector by a couple of inches. Thought that was normal. The downside is that the birds nest above the battery is considerably more compacted than it was. Not sure I'm completely happy about that. Any thoughts?

[Belle427]

The ecu and relays can be tucked up under the drop down flap/ glove pocket area which clears some of the mess and allow you to tidy the rest of it.
There is another idea that might give you some more room and that is a different battery tray that just utilises a base and clamp arrangement, much easier to get the battery in and out too.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by Belle427 on Monday 31st August 07:48

[Relayer]

I still have the ECU at the side of the battery box and the rest sitting on top of the carpet flap on top of battery. I like the idea of the battery tray however, could be a winter job!

[QBee]

Two potential issues with the arrangement as you have it:

1. If the battery boils over for any reason, you could end up with your ECU getting soaked in battery acid.
2. If anyone forgets to cover the battery with the flap before re-nesting the cables etc on top, you could get a short direct onto the battery.

No. 1 did actually happen to me - 3 years battery spewed acid onto the carpet, the car suddenly shut down completely whilst I was driving it one Friday evening. Fortunately a) I have a trailer, b) I have a spare ECU, c) I was only walking distance from home and d) my TVR expert is a genius and works Saturday mornings. He had diagnosed the cause in 15 minutes flat, and given me a glum look when he realised that the fuelling chip on the ECU board was destroyed. He cheered up when I produced the spare ECU, having thrown every ignition related spare I owned into the boot before I set off to see him.

No.2 has happened to others - the resulting fire totally destroyed the car.

So my advice is to make sure the ECU and all wiring and relays etc is kept well away from the battery.