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iandvl
Patrolman 1000+
Patrolman 1000+
Posts: 1765
Joined: 12 Jan 2015 13:26
Full Name: Ian de Villiers
Nickname: Ian
Home Town: Garsfontein
Current 4x4: Nissan Patrol 4.5 GRX
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Post by iandvl »

I did a trip to Hobby Park with my father a few weeks ago. The trail was nice and wet. It's a nice drive. I did, however, underestimate the first obstacle, which saw me popping out the right rear tail light on the bumper (anybody with a standard rear bumper on the 4.5 will know that this is a regular occurrence).

The obstacle concerned was this one....
hobby-park.jpg
hobby-park.jpg (19.03 KiB) Viewed 1939 times
Reinstalled the light at the end of the trail, and drove another two days with no issues.

On Monday, I flew out for Malawi. Drove hell for leather to get to the airport on time. On the way, my flickers just stopped working... Stopped several times to check, and each time the 7.5A flicker fuse had blown. I'd replace and test. All would be good. The fuse would blow again as I resumed driving. So drove to the airport (sans flickers) and left the truck there. Got back from Malawi on Wednesday. Replaced the fuse in the airport parking. Tested with engine running (thinking it may be alternator / voltage related). Tested everything. All good. However, my stock of 7.5A fuses was now finished. Started driving home. Fuse blew as I turned onto the highway from the airport.

Stopped later at the Engen garage a few kilos from the airport on the R21 North. Decided it was probably the connections from the light that popped out, so disconnected the rear right tail light. Garage had no 7.5A fuses, so I stole the fuse for the electric mirrors, and used that. Tested. Good. Hit the road. No worries at all.

Investigation unearthed the fact that the indicator wires had been pinched when the light came out at Hobby Park. When driving (I assume), the wires would shake a little and create a dead short, as nothing would happen when the vehicle was standing still.
fuse1.jpg
fuse1.jpg (31.83 KiB) Viewed 1939 times
In any case, crimped, re-soldered, and heat-shrunk. And everything is as good as new again.
fuse2.jpg
fuse2.jpg (97.66 KiB) Viewed 1939 times
Edit: I have to get my replacement back bumper finished... Hopefully this weekend... Hopefully... :rolling: :rolling:
Ian de Villiers

Patrol 4.5 GRX
Jurgens XT65 2x0 with Super Select Zero
ORRA: H80
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