250GTE - Electrical Problem

[Musicman]

Hello All,

I wonder if anyone can help me diagnose an electrical issue with my GTE. It has been on trickle charger, undriven, for several months - when i went to start it up at the weekend, the autoflux worked as normal but when I pushed the key in to start the car, there was a small "bang" followed by total loss of electrical power. I didn't even get as far as the engine trying to turn over. On inspection of the fuse box, it appears that the 3rd fuse down in the left hand fuse panel has tripped, and it looks like it has been forcibly ejected from the fuse board, so much so that the burnt fuse appeared sitting in the gulley running down the edge of the bonnet, which it wasn't before i tried starting the car. In my fuse box diagram, this fuse is marked as for horn and cigarette lighter so this doesn't make any sense at all.

I am no electrical guru so wonder if anyone has similar experience - or is there a master fuse or breaker which may also have tripped to cause this fuse problem?

I didn't have a replacement fuse to hand so haven't tried to put a new fuse in and try again...yet.

Any ideas of what may be wrong or what I can look at?

Thanks

Graham

[250GT]

Hello All,

I wonder if anyone can help me diagnose an electrical issue with my GTE. It has been on trickle charger, undriven, for several months - when i went to start it up at the weekend, the autoflux worked as normal but when I pushed the key in to start the car, there was a small "bang" followed by total loss of electrical power. I didn't even get as far as the engine trying to turn over. On inspection of the fuse box, it appears that the 3rd fuse down in the left hand fuse panel has tripped, and it looks like it has been forcibly ejected from the fuse board, so much so that the burnt fuse appeared sitting in the gulley running down the edge of the bonnet, which it wasn't before i tried starting the car. In my fuse box diagram, this fuse is marked as for horn and cigarette lighter so this doesn't make any sense at all.

I am no electrical guru so wonder if anyone has similar experience - or is there a master fuse or breaker which may also have tripped to cause this fuse problem?

I didn't have a replacement fuse to hand so haven't tried to put a new fuse in and try again...yet.

Any ideas of what may be wrong or what I can look at?

Thanks

Graham

Graham,

I am not a expert in electric also
but this is most likely a short in the Ceam ignition switch.
together with the Lucasparts and Fispa sup 150 the most often "problem" issues at 250gt IMO
if you are loading over month you must take of the + lead on the batterie
to interfere the neg. lead is not enough
The brass lips or contactarms inside are weakening.
the blown fuse has nothing to do with not starting the engine possibility

Cornelis.

pic as usual

P.S.
see thread the 10th ignition switch

[tyang]

HI Graham,

First make sure your battery connection is secure. Sometimes the terminal is loose, and the demand of the starter current causes an arc at the battery terminal that oxidizes the connection. I've also found those green knob battery disconnects to have bad contacts. If all your electrics turned off when you started, I would look at the battery first.

I have other suggestions, but check the battery first. I always say, check the easy things first.

Tom

[zac]

Good suggestions, I have also had problems with the contact of the negative cable to the body after the car has been sitting. The ground connection is everything and often it is better to add some extra ground cables on a car that is going to be driven.

Zac

[Musicman]

HI Graham,

First make sure your battery connection is secure. Sometimes the terminal is loose, and the demand of the starter current causes an arc at the battery terminal that oxidizes the connection. I've also found those green knob battery disconnects to have bad contacts. If all your electrics turned off when you started, I would look at the battery first.

I have other suggestions, but check the battery first. I always say, check the easy things first.

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the advice - look for the easy things first! On close inspection, there appeared to be a small discharge from the side of the battery which had crystallised on the side and bottom of the battery tray so looked like a possible problem factor. I replaced the fuse that had blown and discovered that i then had power to the car again - only enough to power the internal lights and autoflux, and not enough to even turn the starter, so battery fault was my simple diagnosis. I ordered up a new battery and today replaced the existing unit (which was only 4 years old Bosch unit) - hey presto the car fired up first time. there must have been some internal battery issue that caused the initial fuse to blow but thankfully a new battery has got me going again! Now just a few more weeks to enjoy the old girl before an english winter sets in !! Thanks for the suggestion.

Graham

[tyang]

HI Graham,

First make sure your battery connection is secure. Sometimes the terminal is loose, and the demand of the starter current causes an arc at the battery terminal that oxidizes the connection. I've also found those green knob battery disconnects to have bad contacts. If all your electrics turned off when you started, I would look at the battery first.

I have other suggestions, but check the battery first. I always say, check the easy things first.

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the advice - look for the easy things first! On close inspection, there appeared to be a small discharge from the side of the battery which had crystallised on the side and bottom of the battery tray so looked like a possible problem factor. I replaced the fuse that had blown and discovered that i then had power to the car again - only enough to power the internal lights and autoflux, and not enough to even turn the starter, so battery fault was my simple diagnosis. I ordered up a new battery and today replaced the existing unit (which was only 4 years old Bosch unit) - hey presto the car fired up first time. there must have been some internal battery issue that caused the initial fuse to blow but thankfully a new battery has got me going again! Now just a few more weeks to enjoy the old girl before an english winter sets in !! Thanks for the suggestion.

Graham

Hi Graham,

I'm so glad it was an easy fix. Happy motoring!

Tom

[Terry Gardiner]

Hello Graham - which battery did you go for, original look or just functional? Dare I ask where from and how much?

[Musicman]

Hello Graham - which battery did you go for, original look or just functional? Dare I ask where from and how much?

Terry,

I went for functional rather than period look i must confess. The previous unit was a Bosch Silver and I have replaced this with a Varta E9 12v 70Ah (570 144 064). I bought it from Tayna.co.uk. Ordered late afternoon and delivered the following day. Cost was £77 including delivery charge so cant complain at all.

Graham