Triumph Repair: electrical, hot rodders, pegasus racing

Question
QUESTION: i recently purchased a 1979 spitfire, in central pa, and all of the electronics seemed to be working. one evening i turned on the wipers and it felt like something within the switch itself broke, not allowing me to turn on the wipers. the next thing i know i have the right side tail light out as well as the tach not working. could the wiper switch have anything to do with it?
thanks,  John in pa

ANSWER: John,

The short answer is no.   No direct connection between the wiper switch and the tail lights and tach.

But....

While checking things you may have done something like disturb another connector, or even the fuse.  Keep in mind that in their infinite wisdom Lucas built the fuse box such that each leaf that holds a fuse is a separate piece.   So it's possible to have have the circuits on one fuse fail even if the fuse is good.

Also, it's not uncommon for ground connections to become loose or disconnected.   Again, you'll loose things that seem to have good power supply, at least as checked with a voltmeter.

Tom O'Malley has done the Spitfire world a great service by first redrawing the wiring diagrams in color then allowing them to be posted on the web free.   A good source is located in the reference pages of http://www.triumphspitfire.com/  

I've found that setting up a test lead of 10 or 15' of 14 gauge wire with alligator clips plus a good voltmeter (or at least a test light) helps in chasing down wiring gremlins.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,

Jim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: where can i go to to purchase an up to date fusebox as well as a wiring harness.

Answer
Stock wiring harness?  You can check with the usual parts suppliers, or try British Wiring (www.Britishwiring.com).  

As to up to date fusebox?  I've heard some Spitfires owners express happiness using a fuse box setup that the hot rodders use.  I don't have particulars, but you can look at suppliers like Summit Racing, Jeggs or Pegasus racing for ideas.  

One tweak I do recommend is to use relays and separate power feeds (fused of course!!) to handle heavy current items like the headlamps.  Simply use the normal "feed" wire from the wiring harness to trigger the relay.  Less current though the switches = less wear on the contacts.  


Cheers,

Jim