Many years ago when I started at University, I met a chap I now know as Gib. We met when I took his last ciggie in the Banshee night club in Manchester. It turned out that he was on the same course as me - and the rest is history...
He was a school chess champion and whilst he didn't teach me how to pay chess, he did give me a top tip (so I didn't loose so quickly) - sit on your hands - (don't tell anyone I told you). It stops you making rash decisions and means that you think about the moves a little longer (hopefully helping you win the game).
Anyway, while I'm not very good at chess (not good at all) I can do other things that require thinking about. One of which (can you guess what's coming up) is fixing old cars. Sometimes , usually with the electrics, a problem presents itself which could do with some thinking. This week's problem was that the van lights didn't work. Both side lights and one dipped beam. So what is the thought process... 3 bulbs out so find a common point of failure - maybe an earth (the working dipped beam could be earthing somewhere else). And the earth is connected to the heater mount (which I've had in bits). So that must be it mustn't it?
I took the lot apart. Fitted and re-fitted the earths, checked all the wiring - nothing - nada. So I had another think and waved a multimeter at it. So that's when I discovered the real problem - three blown bulbs - so much for sitting on your hands - meh...
He was a school chess champion and whilst he didn't teach me how to pay chess, he did give me a top tip (so I didn't loose so quickly) - sit on your hands - (don't tell anyone I told you). It stops you making rash decisions and means that you think about the moves a little longer (hopefully helping you win the game).
Anyway, while I'm not very good at chess (not good at all) I can do other things that require thinking about. One of which (can you guess what's coming up) is fixing old cars. Sometimes , usually with the electrics, a problem presents itself which could do with some thinking. This week's problem was that the van lights didn't work. Both side lights and one dipped beam. So what is the thought process... 3 bulbs out so find a common point of failure - maybe an earth (the working dipped beam could be earthing somewhere else). And the earth is connected to the heater mount (which I've had in bits). So that must be it mustn't it?
I took the lot apart. Fitted and re-fitted the earths, checked all the wiring - nothing - nada. So I had another think and waved a multimeter at it. So that's when I discovered the real problem - three blown bulbs - so much for sitting on your hands - meh...
2 comments:
I'm thinking that your sitting on your hands wasn't all a waste of time. Although I am not the expert on wiring, I do believe a bad earth or ground as we refer to it in the States here, can contribute to blown bulbs. Are you using a little grease on your connections to prevent corrosion too?
Hi Doug,
I'm not using grease on the connections as I'm always worried that it will cause a bad connection - I presume its worth while?
Post a Comment