100A fuse, PHer on a bike and the RAC
Discussion
Made the most of the break in the weather yesterday and the missus and i took the car out for a nice drive across Somerset and Wilts. All was fine after a few hours ambling through villages -as yet- undiscovered and empty roads, so we headed into Longleat for a refreshment break. After spending a small fortune on a burger and ice cream we decided to head back (no driving through monkey enclosures here!)
We decided to take the road back towards Shepton Mallet and took a fuel stop. After fuelling, i got back in the car turned the key and..... nothing! after waiting 5 minutes i turned the key again and she came alive (just) so i resumed my journey. It wasnt long before i realised there was something wrong with the charging circuit and we managed to get on the A37 heading back toward Bristol under increasingly poor performance. Knowing a breakdown was probably iminent we headed toward Horsley Hill, if you know the area youll be familiar with the 2 mile stretch of dual carriageway snaking down into a valley and contiuing up toward Horsley hill... This is a fast road and as it comes up the hill the lanes merge into a blind corner on the summit... If only i can make this i thought (already committed) - then the inevitable happened... the remaining juice in the battery dried up with the increasing load on the engine sapping it further, until, splutter, splutter, bang, pop and blind fear as we came to a stop on 100 yards befroe the top of the hill on the blind corner at the end of the merge lanes.
I say fear... i was terified, cars were belting around the hill at 50-60 mph swerving at the last minute as they realised we were broken down. A warning triangle would have been useful. Fearing for both our safety we had to think fast... we managed to push the car 25 yards up hill onto a verge divider and then into a sliproad. Phew
Minutes later an old couple stopped and offered assistance which was very kind, but as we were now safe, with a phone and RAC membership we politely declined. Still none the wiser about the cause of the problem.
10 minutes later a cyclist pulled over and said "Ive got one of these!, well a 95 griff 500, and i think it sounds like your 100 amp fuse" Can you believe it - this saviour in lycra (who's name was Darren) who had actually already cycled an epic 148 miles and was heading towards Poole in Dorset where he lived. He stopped and chatted for a bit and then resumed his journey. Sometimes you gotta love being part of the TVR community.
With no hope of fixing this we called the RAC and the operator at the call center told us to expect a patrol in 45 minutes...I had just pressed the call end button on the mobile when, as if by magic, the RAC patrol turned up..! this was turning into one of those guardian angel moments!
The RAC man confirmed the diagnosis, but didnt have a replacement fuse. I agreed to do the repair myself so he hooked up his portable battery pack and followed me all the way back home into Bristol. He even helped push the car into my garage - what a star!
All in all a stressful breakdown made a lot easier to bear by a few very helpful individuals. Three things i've learnt from all this: Dont take risks getting home with a non-functional charging circuit, Bring a warning triangle, and always carry a spare 100 amp fuse!
Thanks again to all who helped (just in case they're reading)
We decided to take the road back towards Shepton Mallet and took a fuel stop. After fuelling, i got back in the car turned the key and..... nothing! after waiting 5 minutes i turned the key again and she came alive (just) so i resumed my journey. It wasnt long before i realised there was something wrong with the charging circuit and we managed to get on the A37 heading back toward Bristol under increasingly poor performance. Knowing a breakdown was probably iminent we headed toward Horsley Hill, if you know the area youll be familiar with the 2 mile stretch of dual carriageway snaking down into a valley and contiuing up toward Horsley hill... This is a fast road and as it comes up the hill the lanes merge into a blind corner on the summit... If only i can make this i thought (already committed) - then the inevitable happened... the remaining juice in the battery dried up with the increasing load on the engine sapping it further, until, splutter, splutter, bang, pop and blind fear as we came to a stop on 100 yards befroe the top of the hill on the blind corner at the end of the merge lanes.
I say fear... i was terified, cars were belting around the hill at 50-60 mph swerving at the last minute as they realised we were broken down. A warning triangle would have been useful. Fearing for both our safety we had to think fast... we managed to push the car 25 yards up hill onto a verge divider and then into a sliproad. Phew
Minutes later an old couple stopped and offered assistance which was very kind, but as we were now safe, with a phone and RAC membership we politely declined. Still none the wiser about the cause of the problem.
10 minutes later a cyclist pulled over and said "Ive got one of these!, well a 95 griff 500, and i think it sounds like your 100 amp fuse" Can you believe it - this saviour in lycra (who's name was Darren) who had actually already cycled an epic 148 miles and was heading towards Poole in Dorset where he lived. He stopped and chatted for a bit and then resumed his journey. Sometimes you gotta love being part of the TVR community.
With no hope of fixing this we called the RAC and the operator at the call center told us to expect a patrol in 45 minutes...I had just pressed the call end button on the mobile when, as if by magic, the RAC patrol turned up..! this was turning into one of those guardian angel moments!
The RAC man confirmed the diagnosis, but didnt have a replacement fuse. I agreed to do the repair myself so he hooked up his portable battery pack and followed me all the way back home into Bristol. He even helped push the car into my garage - what a star!
All in all a stressful breakdown made a lot easier to bear by a few very helpful individuals. Three things i've learnt from all this: Dont take risks getting home with a non-functional charging circuit, Bring a warning triangle, and always carry a spare 100 amp fuse!
Thanks again to all who helped (just in case they're reading)
Changed mine yesterday. It was OK and all the connections were clean and dry so I just made sure, added copperslip, replaced the 100a fuseable link and kept the old one as a spare. I did have the new one as a spare and have been meaning to get round to changing it anyway, as so many people seem to suffer.
For less than a quid it's worth keeping some in the car.
Glad you got home safely and a very cheap fix.
FFG
For less than a quid it's worth keeping some in the car.
Glad you got home safely and a very cheap fix.
FFG
If you're unfortunate to have one of these total-waste-of-space-breakdown-waiting-to-happen 100A fuses, remember that in a pinch you can just bolt the two wires together to cure a broken fuse. Up to you whether you then replace your perfectly sound bolted together connection with another total-waste-of-space-breakdown-waiting-to-happen fuses after you have got home.
Sorry to drag up an old thread but it might be useful to have this in the search.
I've written a guide to locating and changing the 100 amp fuse.
I've written a guide to locating and changing the 100 amp fuse.
theaxe said:
Sorry to drag up an old thread but it might be useful to have this in the search.
I've written a guide to locating and changing the 100 amp fuse.
I've written a guide to locating and changing the 100 amp fuse.
Excellent thanks for that, been wondering how to tackle that one for a while. I have never seen a fuse like that before though, where do you get them from?
Thanks
Matt
mattw said:
theaxe said:
Sorry to drag up an old thread but it might be useful to have this in the search.
I've written a guide to locating and changing the 100 amp fuse.
I've written a guide to locating and changing the 100 amp fuse.
Excellent thanks for that, been wondering how to tackle that one for a while. I have never seen a fuse like that before though, where do you get them from?
Thanks
Matt
Most dealers/indies should keep them in stock. I was told a couple of quid each from Offords as I need to get a couple today ready for my Furball toolkit.
GreenV8S said:
If you're unfortunate to have one of these total-waste-of-space-breakdown-waiting-to-happen 100A fuses, remember that in a pinch you can just bolt the two wires together to cure a broken fuse. Up to you whether you then replace your perfectly sound bolted together connection with another total-waste-of-space-breakdown-waiting-to-happen fuses after you have got home.
Just kind of get the feeling that they are not high on your list of valuable pieces of needed kit!
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff