Classic/Antique Car Repair: 65 mustang wiring, radio shack store, fuse clips

Question
Hi. I'm restoring a 65 mustang. The wiring is all new except the main underdash harness which was in good shape, and I cleaned up anything that wasn't. The problem I have is when I pull the parking lights on, the fuse gets so hot that it will melt the solder out of the cap, but won't blow the fuse. I have cleaned and checked all the grounds and cleaned the spring tabs in the fuse block as much as possible (very hard to get in there). It takes several minutes for it to get noticably hot, but the temp. keeps rising. Also, when I pull the switch out to headlights, the front parking lights go out. Is this right?
Thanks, Peter

Answer
The last question is an easy one, yes, the parking lights are supposed to go out when you turn the headlights on.  Later cars, starting in 1968, began leaving the parking lights on with the headlights, as a safety requirement from the NHTSA, but not in '65.

As for the hot fuse problem, heat is generated in any electrical connection due to the product of current times resistance, as you probably remember from HS science class.  This means that either your parking lights are drawing too much current (not likely or the fuse would have blown) or that there is resistance where the heat is being generated - meaning that your fuse clips are not clean or tight enough.  If you can't get at them physically, get some "contact cleaner" at your local Radio Shack store and see if you can get a good squirt up there - then take some fine sandpaper, wrap it around a fuse, and  push the fuse into the clips, then pull it out again numerous times until you see clean bright shiny metal on all the contact surfaces - this should cure the problem.

All old cars develop this same problem sooner or later, depending on where the car has been all its life.  Out here in the dry desert, we never see this problem but back east, it starts happening when the cars are just a few years old.

I hope this clears it up for you.

Dick