[ausev] 12V keyed power plane

[Nick Viera]

Hi Tom and all,

tomsmail wrote:
> Can I just say, aaagghhck!?  (Translate:The Haynes manual is
> almost worthless).

Yes, Haynes and Chilton manuals are IMHO worthless for anything 
electrical. A good source for electrical info short of buying the 
factory service manual(s) is the AllData service 
(http://www.alldatadiy.com/).

> I have 6 secondary circuits in the Tracker, not exceeding 60
> amps total, that are hot in RUN.  But the primary fuse for
> that group is hot at all times.  How is it switched?  I
> can't imagine a 60 amp wire running up the steering column
> being switched by the key.

Well, that is in fact how it is done (at least on the vehicles I've 
owned). For example, my Cherokee had most all of that "switched" 12-Volt 
load running through multiple 12 AWG wiring up the steering column to 
the ignition switch then back to the fuse block. When I went to replace 
the ignition switch I noticed that the old switch had begun to melt and 
burn in *several* places due to worn contacts and high currents in the 
switch. A bad switching method indeed.

Hope that helps,

-- 
-Nick
1988 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 EV
http://go.DriveEV.com/
http://www.ACEAA.org/
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