Thanks mate. My factory jack failed a couple of years back, piece of junk. I bought a decent Trolly jack and stands.

Thanks again for the advice. I’ll report back tomorrow as soon as I have tested

Hi Andy

I just put power from battery straight to compressor and it powers up.
So would this now indicate a break in the wire somewhere? Any suggestions of where to look next?

Thanks mate

Hi Silverman,

it sounds like it could be a faulty relay. sorry, I'm not sure which one it is...

Have you checked the large fuse under the bonnet.

I'll find a pic in a moment.

Click image to enlarge

No I didn’t check a large fuse. In my manual all I could find related was 2 small fuses under bonnet and one below glove box. They were all fine. If you could tell me where this is it seems the next thing to check

I’m assuming that because there was no sparks at the relay when I bridged it there’s no power there. I bridged it again today while the cover is off the compressor I would be able to hear easily but still dead

I ordered a new multi meter online yesterday but it won’t arrive til next week now. Maybe I should just go and buy one today

picture in post above and words updated


If you are upto the job of removing the front wheel plastic arch and having a prod at that connector. you could do that while you wait for the meter.

Put the wheel back on, and leave the plastic wheel arch off if you aren't using the car during the week i guess

Potential good news. That large yellow fuse has blown!

I’ve never come across those fuses before. At first it looked fine but on inspection it’s blown. I’m guessing any car shop will have one....

Is there one I could take out and use temporarily to see if it blows again while the car is up in the air?

I think they are called J fuses. Also used on Jap cars.

think they are these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5x-60Amp-Yellow...SwOLVbLQWR


If you just insert another fuse 98% chance it will blow again! They don't blow for nothing them big ones.

Best have a look under the car, follow the wiring from compressor to the front wheel arch and check for any rubbing on the thick red wire

Last edited by Andy K on Sat Apr 27 2019 11:25am. Edited 1 time in total

Hi Silverman,

I'm not sure how much the fuses cost but unless you know you don't have a short circuit then it may blow again. if it says 60Amp then that's one hell of a lot of current needed to blow it. if i can remember back to my teenage years (ah hem... 20+ years ago) then under overload conditions it would take apron 108amps to blow it if it has similar characteristics to an old rewireable fuse. Be careful!

Ok cool. I’ll do a check on the wiring first before I change fuse.

So all wiring from compressor and around passenger front wheel arch? Is it front n/s wheel off and liner off or can it be accessed from below? I’m guessing any damage would be from below

Just thought. Could internal water ingress do this? I was getting a lot of condensation in my car a month or so back. Had the same problem in an Audi before and water was sitting in my passenger footwell which caused elec probs

Thanks again for your help with this

have a check under the car first.


No. Unlikely to be water related. Do you have a sunroof? as the drains can cause that.

No sunroof.

I’ll jack the front of the car up and take a look for any suspect wires and report back

Thanks mate

Nothing suspect on the wires what I could see.

The only shop I have local is a eurocarparts and they don’t stock those fuses. I’ve ordered the pack of 5 from that link on eBay so I’ll have them and a multimeter next week. Is the relay still a suspect as if so I’ll order one of them also? If I can get a fuse before they arrive I will put it in but I’m expecting it to blow.....

If I haven’t missed anything and the wiring is ok what else is likely to have caused that fuse to blow?

Thanks

No, relay isn't suspect.


Another trick you can do, is replace the fuse with a 55W headlight bulb for testing. e.g H3 or H7

If the light shines brightly, it means you have a short on the wiring (with compressor unplugged).

You can wiggle wiring around, and if the light goes out, you know the fault is there.

course you need to bypass the relay to complete the circuit.

So you using the car still?

these 3 items could be used to make a tester
if required.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H7-BULB-HOLDER-...XQcVNQ8p9T

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-3mm-brass-cri...Swtb1bsElu

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Willkey-2-10x-H...YX09BbRhVA

or

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Main-Beam-...SwaEhZL~go


H7 are used in your main beam lights. SO you could have a spare pair