Alan

Wow - I've never seen a 'Y' connector so badly deteriorated that there was nothing left ... what kind of fuel have you been running this thing on!

Alan

Alan

BTW - I think your relay is likely OK (since one side works). Fuses are obviously an issue that need cleaning work. You can use a 10A fuse for a while it will do no harm - for 100W bulbs the wiring is just OK and you need a 10A fuse anyway. Do get the 7.5A ones when you can find them though - for 55W bulbs its better protection.

Not sure if you said that high-beam and low-beam both went out on one side? If yes that sounds like it might be a ground problem too since that is common betwen both filaments. if the fuse(s) doesn't fix it I'd look at the connections you made. How did you do this? you did solder the connections right? no twisted wires with tape I hope. Minimum would be crimp connectors - but I'd rather see soldered & heat shrink wrapped in this case since there is a lot of movement and regular exposure to water.

Alan

Alan

SharkSkin

That would most likely be the lower vent hose or sender gasket. The hose I'm talking about is a loop between the top of the tank and the filler neck, to the right in the pic.

Mrmerlin

Hi great picture Dave thanks, a picture make things so much easier, Stan

928SS

fwiw, i just had my tank dropped and EVERY rubber piece was trashed/rotted out. it's a PITA to pull it out but it cured my fuel smell... course your cansister issue is a good starting point, obviously.

sure the fuse is good?? sometimes they are hard to see if blown. I had to put in larger fuses on my H4's cause they kept blowing...

MGW-Fla

Here are some pics of my fuse panel section where you can see the damage from the melting of both low beam fuses #38 & 39. The red stuff on the panel is from Deoxit I sprayed on to help me loosen them up to remove them. Thought for a while I wouldnt be able to even get them out of the panel.

Also have 3 pics of fuse #38(right low beam) & 2 pics of #39(left low beam). You can see that #39 had not burned thru the element & the headlight was still working. I cleaned up the panel as best as I could, then let it sit overnight. Was able to re-insert two fresh 7.5 amp fuses.

Just not sure what would cause this? I've used Hella H4's for a year without any problems in my other shark. The regular halogens worked fine in this shark. What would cause this problem simply from switching from the halogens to the H4s(55amp)? And for it to effect both the low beam fuses? Would a poor ground wire suddenly create such a problem? Kinda concerned with the H4s in there, wonder if I should go back to the halogens with SITM in a few days. Burnt fuses & panels is a very scary scene!

AO

HOLY MELTED FUSES BATMAN!

ew928

Stock 9004 bulbs are 45/65W.
The H4's are 55/65W.

Wonder if the headlight wiring is borderline and the 10W higher draw murdering the fuses.
Mel, you got a voltmeter to check for resistance?
You're already armed with De-Oxit to clean up the contacts.

If you can't figure out the cause of the fuse melting might want to go back to
stock headlights.
Less lights is much better than no lights in them NC mountains and the long night-time
drive home.

Them HID's only draw 35W continuous once the startup current passes through.
Ernest (NYC)

MGW-Fla

Yeah.... with the limited amount of time being only a few days till SITM, might just go back to the halogens for now. Just cant figure out why they worked fine for a year in my other shark, then cause a problem in this one right away. The two sharks were built three months apart. You'd think the wiring would be the same. Definately dont want to be without lights in those NC mtns. though! Hey, on a bright note, I got my Jager analog clock with wood trim in and it looks really sharp!!

jon928se

The fuses have melted because the contact blades are corroded. Likely the sockets in the fuse board are corroded also. Corrosion causes resistance - resistance creates heat.

Use new fuses and clean the contacts in the board with a thin nail file. Your lights will be brighter as a result.

If 7.5amp fuses are difficult to find it would be OK to use 10amp until you can get 7.5.

Would be worthwhile pulling all the fuses one by one and cleaning all the contacts - you never know what may come back to life as a result.

MGW-Fla

Thanks Jon! Thats kinda what I was thinking too cause if its simply pulling too many amps, the fuse would blow. And why would the H4s work in the same model shark for a year then not in this one? I cleaned the contacts on the replacement 7.5 amp fuses I had & as best as I could in the fuse panel too before I reinserted the replacement fuses.

I cleaned my other shark's fuse panel & itd definately helped. I plan on doing the same on this one. Not the same extensive R&R that Dave A.(Sharkskin) has so greatly detailed on his site yet though I hope to one day soon. I have a spare fuse panel thats in good shape to get parts from.

I just turned on the headlights for about 10 minutes with the replacement fuses & they didnt blow or melt. Got a little warm to the touch though, but thats normal I think, yes?

Alan

What Jon said - except that based on how the fuse terminals look - I think you probably will have a hard time just cleaning the fuse sockets up - I think it would be best to try to replace these. Easiest way is to swap the whole 5 fuse block from a donor panel (they just snap in - of course its harder to get them back out - but possible). 20 th street auto in Phoenix has used panels (inc for 85+)... I don't expect they would break them apart but...?

Although you say its working for now - I suspect you have just bought a brief respite before the issue recurrs... I would not want to be relying on these...

The new lights slightly higher power may have pushed you over the edge here - but your contact problems clearly predate this... likely the fuses were already badly corroded before the new lights went in... Check for water damage elsewhere too...

Based on this I'd pull all the fuses 1 by 1 and see how they all look - note any other suspect ones...

Alan

MGW-Fla

I am pulling each fuse one at a time now & cleaning them. They have the typical grey colored corrosion, but I've seen worse. I suspect many are originals. As I posted earlier, I have a spare used 1985 panel that I can get parts from. Thought about just replacing the whole #5 socket. Do they pull out from the front yes? I almost pulled it out trying to remove the #38 fuse. Just didnt want to continue cause it was late & was concerned about getting the wires connected back up ok.

Alan

Mel,
I don't recall for sure but I believe it was out from the front (that would also make the most sense) - You need some thin blades to encourage them out - since the old one is toasted cut the middle out of it to make removal easier (e.g. dremmel it)...

Of course - take it out of the car first!

Alan

928SS

my 7.5's just blew cleanly. no other panel hassles like that, but many of my contacts did have intermittent oxidation issues till cleaned up w/contact cleaner spray - but I"d disconnnect the battery 1st if I did it again facial hair takes me a long time to regrow and makes me look weird, ahem.

I'd guess fresh 15's would be a safe minimum bet cause I don't think the 7.5's would last w/older wiring and the extra juice demands anyway, and I'm running 15's w/no problems w/my H4's and euro lights in a US spec 85S. IIRC the wiring should handle that w/out any headaches cause there's other similar gauge wire w/larger fuses too....

I feel good now that someone else actually had an uglier part than me for once - thx mel