Renault 20ts & Fuego & maybe others pointy fuse fix

bob

Well-known member
1000+ Posts
Fellow Frogger
Joined
May 30, 2001
Messages
3,347
Location
Skipton
G'day,

this thread, previously #66112, is one of those that went away never to return in the great AF collapse. Seeing as there looks to be a bit of interest in these lousy fuse boards, and, I managed to find the original pix, I thought to try and reconstruct something that I can't for the life of me remember exactly what was said.... anyway....

Having experienced the usual problems with these fuse boards, firstly with an R20 then later with a Fuego - dicey edge connections, loose fuses, and bad soldered joints - it was inconvenient to say the least trying to find faults by driving around with wired-in electrical meters !!

HotSpot.jpg NextProblem.jpg

Dealing with the fuse board fixed a multitude of problems, well worth the effort.

I started with the r20. I pulled the edge connectors apart and bent bits to get reasonable tension on the connectors, and the usual vaso on final assembly to help keep away the corrosion. I went over all the soldered joints and gave them a touch up, looked really pretty - aaah, I think that the buzzer went with the flashers, optional extra for half deaf not so old buggers....

BoardCopper.jpg

It was still no damn good, the fuses were not connecting properly all the time, they had to go.

So we got the Bob Mk1 fuse board, and convenient fuse extractor....

NewFuses.jpg FuseRemover.jpg

Isn't great when things work.... :approve:

Soon after this the Fuego arrived, seeing as the Bob Mk1 was such a success, I went for a Bob Mk2 and added LEDs as failed fuse indicators.... :D

FuseBoardMk2-front.jpg FuseBoardMk2-rear.jpg FuegoCircuit.jpg

All the bits 'n bobs would have come from Jaycar. The old time fuse holders are the PCB type and need to be modded a little to reduce the width so that they will fit in the space. But a quick search failed to turn them up, could be another useful item that's no more, although the little clips are available, maybe not as convenient but the effect will be the same. Make sure you get the right ones for the fuses you want to use. The 3mm red LED/resistor combination to suit, you don't need much current to get visible light in this situation so allow for a higher available voltage than 12v - just make sure you get them the right way round....

Reckon that I looked at wedge fuses at the time but they wouldn't fit, too fat or too tall, one or 't other.

And, just to be sure that you are kept on your toes, here's a couple of other Fuego typical lectrickery trouble spots.....

OldDisaster.jpg RelayConnex.jpg

that first one is near the middle top of the firewall and is a main feed, I've seen one of these that got that hot it melted the socket and caused a fire that destroyed the car..... :eek:

cheers,
Bob
 
Nice you thought to take those photos Bob, I've lost count of the boards I have repaired, or found repaired with additional bridging wires soldered direct to the circuit board with a fuse added in the wiring loop - so many burnt out connections on circuit boards due to the heat generated where the sliding connectors lose their tension, but with some ingenuity and a bit of patience those gremlins can be fixed.

If the circuit board is in good condition (all sliding surfaces clean) a wipe of contact enhancer like the Stabilant 22A helps maintain a good electrical contact between the surfaces. Comes in a small 15 ml plastic bottle with applicators and a little bit goes a long way - I still have some left after 15 to 20 years of use, and after owning a few Renaults I always treat the sliding connectors to ensure trouble free operations (Megane and Laguna) was expensive to buy but worth every penny..

Regards
Ken
 
Top