Damp proofing fuse box & terminals

Please restrict your questions and replies to Capri related technical issues!
Post Reply
Not_Anumber
Donator
Donator
Posts: 894
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2017 3:54 pm
Car(s): Just sold 1983 2.8 Injection 5 speed. Currently restoring another classic Previously owned 2 Capris. Likely to own another at some point

Damp proofing fuse box & terminals

Post by Not_Anumber »

Im thinking of putting some dielectric grease or vaseline on the fuse box terminals to avoid corrosion - is this recommended ?

I started the car the other day to find the alternator charge light stayed on (despite the alternator actually charging perfectly well) and the indicators werent working. Everything else was fine and the engine started first turn of the key.

Following a suggestion i removed all the fuses from the fuse box, sprayed them and the terminals lightly with WD40 and wiped them down. this did the trick but it seemed odd as the fuses are quite recent with no signs of corrosion on them or the fuse box terminals. Also both the inner and outer fuse box covers were in place.

Could it be worth putting something on them to prevent this happening again ?
User avatar
pbar
Posts: 7425
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:29 pm
Car(s): Capri 2.0 Laser, frequent driver.
Location: North-West

Re: Damp proofing fuse box & terminals

Post by pbar »

It isn't common practice to do so, and I wouldn't bother to be honest. But if you have sprayed with WD-40 and given a quick wipe, then that is just as likely to stop corrosion especially if you have left a residue/smear behind as it doesn't evaporate. It's like magic that stuff.
Not_Anumber
Donator
Donator
Posts: 894
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2017 3:54 pm
Car(s): Just sold 1983 2.8 Injection 5 speed. Currently restoring another classic Previously owned 2 Capris. Likely to own another at some point

Re: Damp proofing fuse box & terminals

Post by Not_Anumber »

The fault turned out to be a rivet in the fusebox - really not an easy thing to trace. I have cleaned up the rivets and the copper of the fuse contacts that they pass through and very carefully applied some solder to each. Im not expecting any more trouble from that now but what an odd thing it was to troubleshoot. I found a very useful article on Capri fuseboxes here from the other lot which is worth a read http://www.capripower.co.uk/forum/index ... ngs.21510/
Post Reply