[ICOM] Dead 2720 check the gnd ??

[Bill Archer]

Paul and Mac,

Good comments and both leads are fused at the battery.....speaking of 
fuses...this happened to a friend of mine and I think it is worth the 
bandwidth to pass along..


Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 14:56:36 +0000

>> Saturday while driving down the road my 2m radio turned off on me.  Thinking I 
>> had perhaps blown a fuse I was a bit concerned but did not stop.  When the SMOKE 
>> came pouring out from under the hood and into the cab of the truck I did pull 
>> over.  Some how my positive lead from the radio to the battery had shorted out 
>> and was in meltdown.  I could not touch the #8 wire since it was glowing red.  
>> As I was getting ready to start digging in my toolbox another truck stopped and 
>> asked if I needed assistance.  He has a pair of wire cutters handy and I cut the 
>> wire at the battery.
>> 
>> I was a bit perplexed as to why the fuse had not blown and decided to dissect 
>> the blade type fuse holder once I got back to the house.  Before I opened it up 
>> I checked it with an Ohmmeter with and without the fuse installed.  It had 
>> direct continuity with and WITHOUT the fuse in place. XXXXXXX had on 
>> clearance about a year ago.  I had 3 left in the drawer and checked those as 
>> well.  2 of the 3 have direct continuity through them with out a fuse in them.  
>> I basically had no fuse protection at all in my mobile installation.
>> 
>> The fuse holder I am referring to is black in color with a #10 wire coming from 
>> each side for hookup.  It also states on it that it was made in China.  Not sure 
>> if this was isolated to the batch that was on clearance or not, but I urge 
>> everyone to check to make sure that when the fuse is removed it actually breaks 
>> the connection in the line.  Had this short occurred while I was not in the 
>> truck I feel confident that substantial damage would have occurred to my 
>> electrical system. 
>> 
>> I am now running an inline fuse holder that is made of thin plastic and uses the 
>> old style BUSS fuse.  Now if the fuse does not blow at least the housing will 
>> melt quickly and break the connection.
>> 
>
>  
>


Paul Gates, KD3JF wrote:

>Don't ask me either... I had the fuses on the inside of the vehicle and watched the the cable burn till it got to the fuses.... Hard lesson to learn!
> 
>Paul, KD3JF
>Glen Burnie, MD
>FM19qd (Map Grid Square)
>
>  
>