Re: PN - Radiator ground wire upgrade - part deux

[Peter Schulz <schulz@ed.ray.com>]

QSHIPQ@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Hope to get all the archive in on this one in terms of response.  A couple of
> things come from a myriad of private posts:

<snipped>

Great post Scott...

My only comments would be that the 20v NA (7A) owners should also
address the more common failure mode of the rad fan stopping
and resulting car overheating due to poor conductivity through
the fan harness.  The harness has no provision for strain relief
and I know of at least 3 20V cars (two CQs and a 90Q) that had
fan "failures"- troubleshooting found that the fan was still 
functioning, however the harness connector had failed - examination
found arcing marks, melting, charring, ugly stuff...

I believe that due to the harness being too short (no strain 
relief), over time, hot/cold cycling (causing the harness to 
shrink/grow) places stress on the harness (female) connector 
and the male connector in the fan motor itself. On Paul Royal's 
90Q 20V, the male connector in the motor itself had been damaged 
(pulled away from it's internal mounting) from the mechanical stress.

So, to summarize, for the 7a engine, good preventative action is
to add the Audi 80 Amp fuse, AND provide some strain relief for 
the 2 positive harness leads, by adding lengths of at least 12 AWG 
wire and butt-splicing them with the automotive/marine grade splices 
(with built in adhesive).

my two pfennigs...

-Peter Schulz
1990 CQ
1991 TQW
schulz@res.ray.com