Electrics

While I was test running the engine a couple of days ago I suddenly saw the rev counter drop to zero.   Further investigation showed no warning lights, no wipers, no flashers....    Obviously a problem at the back of the dashboard and there was nothing obvious.   Checked all the fuses and they were apparently OK.

I've been threatening to remove the centre console for 2 years now so decided this was the time to bite the bullet and go for it.   Out came the angle grinder and 10 mins later was presented with this:

It actually looks worse than it is, and I fairly quickly found that the 12V supply to the display wasn't appearing when I switched on the ignition.   Proved it by injecting 12V at the hub and everything started working again.    Logic tells me that a fuse has blown somewhere, but I cannot find one that has blown.  As usual my first instinct is to bypass the broken circuit and hot-wire an ignition switched 12V supply from somewhere else.  Trouble is I don't know where from.
 

Meanwhile I now need to build a new centre console.    It will be vinyl covered MDF to match the rest.    No huge rush as car still drivable, but needs to be fixed and in by the MOT, which is mid Aug.

Now I had access to everything, the first thing to do was make sure all the joints were correctly made, wires routed and that I could identify every wire (The previous owner had used a Sierra loom and has not removed any of the wires that we would not use (Aircon, power windows...).   First thing to do was find an alternative 12V ignition switched source si could stop using the console power for everything.     

While I was rooting around near the steering wheel I suddenly found this hidden away.

I couldn't see anywhere where it might have come unplugged from and everything was still working OK and lo & behold, when I put my meter across it is was a 12V ignition-switch source with a very think wire.    Paydirt !!!   

So I wired that in and now have a 12V ignition-switched 'busbar' for anything else I want to add and the display power source has reverted back to simply powering the display.

So this was the state at that point.   I know it doesn't look much of an improvement but now every joint is properly made, all the wires have plenty of extra length so the dash can easily be moved out, and all the wires are routed logically.