RustyRed's recent post got me a-thinkin', along with a 1968 harness that I just got an order to refurbish. This harness had some moderately corroded fuse clips, leaving me with a choice of trying to sandpaper the clips, replace the entire fuse box with a less corroded one, or installing new fuse clips. I couldn't find a really good one in my stock, and I'd have to splice at least 8 lines. So...my wheels started turning inside my tiny little brain...
What about using my sand blaster cabinet? Naw...the sand would go everywhere once the harness was in the cabinet. Hey! Wait a minute...I have a portable blaster that I use outside with recycled sand! Got it set up, and removed the clips from the fuse box. Went outside, and within 5 minutes, those clips looked extremely nice, and no sand in the harness itself! Some of the clips were made of copper; others of steel under the anodizing. Meanwhile, I soaked the fuse box itself in diet Coca Cola for 20 minutes, and that came out as clean as a whistle!
When I checked the continuity across the fuses as my final check, there wasn't a single issue and got the best readings ever! So...I now have a new procedure for refurbishment. It will take longer (approx. 30 minutes to remove clips...they are a bugger to get out sometimes when there are three clips to a lead), but it's worth it to improve product reliability. And I won't increase the price.
What about using my sand blaster cabinet? Naw...the sand would go everywhere once the harness was in the cabinet. Hey! Wait a minute...I have a portable blaster that I use outside with recycled sand! Got it set up, and removed the clips from the fuse box. Went outside, and within 5 minutes, those clips looked extremely nice, and no sand in the harness itself! Some of the clips were made of copper; others of steel under the anodizing. Meanwhile, I soaked the fuse box itself in diet Coca Cola for 20 minutes, and that came out as clean as a whistle!
When I checked the continuity across the fuses as my final check, there wasn't a single issue and got the best readings ever! So...I now have a new procedure for refurbishment. It will take longer (approx. 30 minutes to remove clips...they are a bugger to get out sometimes when there are three clips to a lead), but it's worth it to improve product reliability. And I won't increase the price.