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Series 3 wiring
- Thread starter 63 Beamer
- Start date
puff4
Donation Time
The fact that you are reading end-caps worries me, since if so, you're using US fuses and they are absolutely the *wrong* fuses to use. Use proper Lucas fuses with the paper slide in them that states the amp rating. I know they are harder to find, but then again you don't blow fuses all that often (hopefully), and if you install US fuses in a UK system I pretty much guarantee a melted harness if you have a short.
A 35 amp Lucas fuse is roughly equivalent to a 17.5 amp US fuse - indeed, the Lucas fuse will blow at at a surge of 35 amps. It is not rated for a 35 amp circuit. A 35 amp US fuse is rated for a 35 amp circuit and will blow after 5 seconds at 70 amps (more than the old Lucas wiring can take without melting!) Oh, and you'll also find that Lucas fuses are a slightly different length than US fuses, too, and that can sometimes cause other issues.
If, in a pinch, you have to replace a Lucas fuse with a US fuse, the best bet is to use a 15 amp slow-blow fuse since this is the closest US equivalent (Bussmann # MDL-V-15 would do). But please take my advice: Get Real Lucas Fuses. One easy source is BritishWiring.com - they have them for only $0.60 each, and that's just about the cheapest insurance you can buy.
BTW, here's a handy code for the colors of Lucas fuses:
..5 amp - Red print on Yellow paper
10 amp - Green on Black paper
15 amp - Black on Light Brown paper
25 amp - Black on Pink paper
35 amp - Black on White paper ← proper fuse for Sunbeam Alpine
50 amp - Purple on Yellow paper
60 amp - Yellow on Red paper
.....But whatever you do, don't use a 22cal cartridge as a fuse! See Mythbusters.
A 35 amp Lucas fuse is roughly equivalent to a 17.5 amp US fuse - indeed, the Lucas fuse will blow at at a surge of 35 amps. It is not rated for a 35 amp circuit. A 35 amp US fuse is rated for a 35 amp circuit and will blow after 5 seconds at 70 amps (more than the old Lucas wiring can take without melting!) Oh, and you'll also find that Lucas fuses are a slightly different length than US fuses, too, and that can sometimes cause other issues.
If, in a pinch, you have to replace a Lucas fuse with a US fuse, the best bet is to use a 15 amp slow-blow fuse since this is the closest US equivalent (Bussmann # MDL-V-15 would do). But please take my advice: Get Real Lucas Fuses. One easy source is BritishWiring.com - they have them for only $0.60 each, and that's just about the cheapest insurance you can buy.
BTW, here's a handy code for the colors of Lucas fuses:
..5 amp - Red print on Yellow paper
10 amp - Green on Black paper
15 amp - Black on Light Brown paper
25 amp - Black on Pink paper
35 amp - Black on White paper ← proper fuse for Sunbeam Alpine
50 amp - Purple on Yellow paper
60 amp - Yellow on Red paper
.....But whatever you do, don't use a 22cal cartridge as a fuse! See Mythbusters.
MikeH
Diamond Level Sponsor
puff4
Donation Time
Don't know, but I suspect so. If it had a Lucas harness, I'd use Lucas fuses. Best to ask that on an MG forum, though, to be sure!
I've owned a great many LBC's, but not any after 1968, with the sole exception of a Morris Marina (ugh), so I don't know what the later BLMC/BL cars had in them.