1 hour ago, Dave WM said:

I was starting to cramp up, otherwise I would have pursued the hazards. Getting into those tight spaces is harder the older you get.

Great. So you're saying it's going to get worse. That's fantastic. Can't wait.

As or the IR gun, I think you would have better success with an IR camera (FLIR?) instead of the gun. I don't know if the guns are pinpoint accurate enough to highlight the small area of one fuse. You're really looking for the differential between one fuse and another and I don't know if the gun would be good enough for that.

Physics says there would be power dissipated any time there's an ohmic connection passing current. So don't forget the fact that the fuse clips are crimped onto the ends of wires. That's another ohmic connection. And one that you can't clean like the fingers on the clips themselves.

its those crimps i was considering soldering, maybe next time I have a reason to pull the fuse box. They looked very good last time I had it off, I was thinking about it, but I can't remember if the spring clips were fastened to the fuse box (in which case heat from the solder iron may be an issue) of if the removable (perhaps snap in like).

Oh and yes it was the 2 from the bottom left side "Dome" light fuse that was for the hazards. The IR gun was not a good idea, as you mentioned the resolution was not good enough to narrow down to the exact fuse. I agree the FLIR would be perfect, a nice diagnostic tool to have. I have a youtube friend that uses one all the time looking for too hot parts on PCB's and point to point chassis.

 

To add to the confusion... from the microfiche... It appears the issue is mid model year 1975...

54Q-1 is for model year 1977-78

54F-1 is for model year 1975-1976

 

Dang, my Z is still apart or I would gladly pull fuses. If you need any reference photos, I can take some for you.

Thanks Dan!