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7 Aug 2000
When I first installed the batteries
and saw the size of the cables I realised that there was some
serious power at play. I had various fuses throughout the system
to protect the wiring but thought that a fuse directly
on the battery terminal would be a good idea. I decided that it
wasn't important enough to do for a while. That was until today.
I was head down and bum up installing some
freshly cut plywood in a cabinet when I smelt something strange.
At first I though it was just the newly cut timber but then realised
it was something different.
On extracting myself from the cabinet I immediately
spotted the problem. I had been using two jumper leads to
connect one of the winches to the 12v battery, it was a temporary
measure that I had disconnected from the winch a few hours before.
As a "safety" technique I usually clip one of the leads
to the handle of the other so the metal jaws of the two cannot
touch. I've been doing this for years but this time the jaws slowly
pressed though the insulation and the two leads shorted.
The insulation was dripping from the hot wire
and smoke was wafting to the ceiling.
Somehow I managed to unclamp the leads and relaxed
thinking I had fixed the problem. A bit premature as it turned
out.
The leads were overlaying each other in several
places and the heat had caused the insulation to melt through
so, by now, they were shorting at several places. The only thing
to do was remove the leads from the battery, that's the battery
in a difficult-to-get-at location under the truck and the leads
are extremely hot, to hot to touch.
Eventually I found a rag and managed to
clamber between the chassis and body to remove one lead, but what
if I had not been there or the battery housing had been finished
and therefore enclosed and even more difficult to get to.
A fuse is required and it should be located
as near as possible to the actual battery, right on the terminal
if possible.
Unable to find an on-terminal fuse holder thingy
I made my own by bolting a fuse directly to one of those battery
connectors with a wingnut design for attaching a lug.
Fig 1. Fuse mounted directly
to battery connector.
18 Aug 2000
I've been spending most of my time on fit-out
lately, here's a couple of shots from the lounge room, through
the kitchen and down towards the bath and bedrooms.
Fig 2. Righthand side of the
kitchen.
Fig 3. Lefthand side of the
kitchen.
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