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TR2/3/3A Smoky story and TR3 console knobs?

jayhawk

Jedi Warrior
Offline
Well after a smoky, scary initiative, I want now to disassemble my center guage/switch console. After getting most of my little TR3 reassembled after paint, my wife and I were cruising the boulevards on a beautiful evening when we started to get this funny smell. I looked all around the car but saw nothing. It went away and I dismissed it to paint overspray on some hot engine/exhaust part. A few miles later the smell returned, but this time smoke was billowing out the passenger compartment (wife was really pleased). Turns out it was and melted a wire to one of the front parking lights-- one of the dash lights was loose and rested against the other wire in the panel. Now that I've pulled everything loose, I want to take the whole panel apart, paint it and secure more of the wiring- which leads me finally to the question-- How does one get the little (panel/headlight, etc) knobs off so I can get them thru the center panel? I don't see any set screw and they don't seem to turn!
 
On the bottom of the knob's shaft near the panel you will find a small hole. Inside the hole is a spring loaded nodule. Push up on the nodule in the hole with a small pick and pull off the knob.
I had a more serious episode with billowing smoke in my TR3. I decided to clean up the wiring hanging down below the dash so I tied it up tight to a brace behind the dash with a plastic zip tie. After driving for about an hour, the billowing smoke appeared; it was so dense I couldn't see a thing, so I pulled off the road, opened the bonnet and disconnected the battery. Too late. I hadn't seen a small sharp protuberance on the brace to which I snugged the wiring harness and it punctured the insullation, shorting the harness. I now have a new wiring harness on my TR3.
 
"so I tied it up tight to a brace behind the dash" --

I can see how easy that would result in shorting-- because of the position of "live" connections and metal connections in that area-- just pulling the console out to view what was there produced some "small zaps" so I decided that the first move is to disconnect the battery and then reconnect when I had things ready to test. Thanks for the tip on the knobs!
 
Do you have an inline fuse behind the center panel? US models got them at some point in the production but if yours is missing or was never there it is easy to add and protect in particular the lighting circuit which is otherwise unfused.

A look at a late-TR3A wiring diagram will show the fuse, just an ordinary inline fuse holder with a 35(UK)/20(US) fuse.
 
NO fuse for the lighting but really good idea, Geo-- there are so few fuses in the wiring system now. I'll do it when I pull all the stuff off the panel.
 
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