Does anyone use circuit breakers?

[scottamphi]

I have inline fuses by the battery of my amphicar to the original wire (to key and lights etc., bilge pumps, fuel pump etc. Last year while the headlights were on we blew the original wire circuit fuse. Car lost power to, had to use cell phone light to change fuse.

I plan to add another circuit to the light switch. Does anyone use circuit breakers? If so are auto or manual reset best. Also do they need to be mounted in a box to stay dryer under the engine hood.

If I get the Amphicar & motorhome winter repairs done, Melanie and I want to go to Mid Florida Swim in!

Thanks in advance

Scottamphi

 

[mike_israel]

I will let others with more electrical expertise weigh in but generally I think they are a bad idea as you are often just covering up the root cause of undersized or old wiring, a bad switch, a short in the system, modifications by prior owners, etc. You are much better off sorting out the problem and addressing the underlying issue whatever that may be.

 

[jfriese]

The only place I know of where automatic resetting circuit breakers are used in a car is in the headlight circuit where you absolutely want the things to at least try to keep working. These are just bi-metal things that open when hot and close when they cool down. The last time I dug into such an area the circuit breaker was built into the headlight switch.

John Friese
67 White
67 Red

 

[Midwest Amphicar]

Often neglected is corrosion. Non soldered connections(repairs). Grounds are also important to double check. Pull on connectors in rear area. They become brittle and loose. It all works against you and causes higher current draw.
I do like to have a add on main fuse in back on large red wire. Also it is not difficult to add a second fuse box.
This years Florida swim in appears to be growing this year!!! Woo hoo!!

 

[jfriese]

Hugh Gordon once told me that the brass connectors at the rear connector block will crack and become intermittent. He told me to replace all of them with new connectors. He was absolutely right. An afternoon spent replacing them and using X4 shrink tube, to make them look factory stock, solved most all the intermittent problems with the cars. I'd never seen brass connectors fail that way but they surely did. The few remaining intermittents were in the switches and lamp sockets. They can all be fixed without replacement.

John Friese
67 White
67 Red

 

[mike_israel]

Good point about corrosion. On other older German cars I find that a great way to exorcise or prevent electrical gremlins is to replace ALL of the fuses every 10 years or so while cleaning up the contacts. There is a product called DeOxit, comes in spray or brush on, that works great for cleaning and protecting connectors.

 

[scottamphi]

Most posts are telling me to clean connections, and I will get DeOxit for this. Is dielectric grease good for the connections? The brass connectors at the back, can you get brass today, or is the new silver (I guess steel) ok? Looks like an afternoon bent over in a tight place.
The original fuses are still in line, should I eliminate them since I use inline fuses by the battery?
The blown fuse was a 30 amp at the battery on the "big red wire" I added 3 or 4 years ago, and a one time event. I will still separate the lights to another added wire and fuse. That will make 7 inline fuses, a fuse box would look neater.
The IAOC web sight doesn't say much about Florida Swim In, any new news?
Thanks for all the ideas!
Scottamphi

 

[strandweiss62]

Silver looking connectors are usually tin plated brass.

 

[LSolheim]

. . . . snip. . . .
The IAOC web sight doesn't say much about Florida Swim In, any new news?
Thanks for all the ideas!
Scottamphi

Yep, looking for some "approved" detail

 

[jfriese]

Those silver connectors are fine but I could only find them locally with the plastic stuff over the place where the wire goes in. I pulled that plastic stuff off before soldering and it all worked fine. Use X4 shrink tubing to make the replaced connectors look original. I got the stuff from https://www.shrinkshop.com/
and just buy the multi packs. Use Deoxit on all the connectors and they will not give you any corrosion problems in the future. When I did mine, I removed the engine cover and unscrewed the blocks from the firewall. I set up some cardboard on the muffler and spent a quiet afternoon bending over the left side. Without removing the lid it would be practically impossible.

John Friese
67 White
67 Red

 

[Midwest Amphicar]

Most posts are telling me to clean connections, and I will get DeOxit for this. Is dielectric grease good for the connections? The brass connectors at the back, can you get brass today, or is the new silver (I guess steel) ok? Looks like an afternoon bent over in a tight place.
The original fuses are still in line, should I eliminate them since I use inline fuses by the battery?
The blown fuse was a 30 amp at the battery on the "big red wire" I added 3 or 4 years ago, and a one time event. I will still separate the lights to another added wire and fuse. That will make 7 inline fuses, a fuse box would look neater.
The IAOC web sight doesn't say much about Florida Swim In, any new news?
Thanks for all the ideas!
Scottamphi

IAOC website updated. Thanks Larry!