circuit breaker, again

Dedicated to the memory and knowledge shared by Jim Mettler - All things relating to the flow of electrons in a Pinz.
Post Reply
pinzgauer4x4
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 8:41 am
Location: Woodbridge, VA

circuit breaker, again

Post by pinzgauer4x4 »

I have never had to reset any of the circuit breakers in my 710M yet, so I have not yet seen what they look like when they "pop". Currently working on some wiring behind the dash, I noticed that I have some of little plastic rings encompassing the buttons on the breakers (which make it snugly fit through the dash panel) are broken and the breakers are loose in the hole or misaligned. Is that a concern or is it safe to assume that they are still fully functional?

Thanks......
User avatar
Jimm391730
United States of America
Posts: 1456
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:58 pm
Location: Idyllwild, CA

Re: circuit breaker, again

Post by Jimm391730 »

The breakers pop up (out) about 1/4" when tripped. In my experience, the worst condition is when they seem stuck mechanically and may not be able to move outwards. If the buttons on yours seem loose (can you push them in further, against the spring, and do they return to the original position easily?) then I would suspect that they are OK. If you push them down further and they stay down, then maybe they won't work as expected.
Jim M.
712W and 710M
pinzgauer4x4
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 8:41 am
Location: Woodbridge, VA

Re: circuit breaker, again

Post by pinzgauer4x4 »

They do push in against spring tension and spring back to the original position after depressing them. I kind of thought (and was hoping) that they might be OK. I didn't know if the rings had an alternative function.

Doug
GRCameron
United States of America
Posts: 158
Joined: Tue May 27, 2014 7:32 pm
Location: Yarnell, AZ

Re: circuit breaker, again

Post by GRCameron »

The breakers (manufactured by ETL in Germany) are "trip-free" meaning that they will trip even if the button is restrained from popping out. If the button is jammed to the point of not popping out it would not be possible to reset the breaker.
George Cameron
Yarnell, AZ
1979 Pinz 710M
Molon Labe
User avatar
TechMOGogy
Canada
Posts: 2831
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:39 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: circuit breaker, again

Post by TechMOGogy »

GRCameron wrote:The breakers (manufactured by ETL in Germany) are "trip-free" meaning that they will trip even if the button is restrained from popping out. If the button is jammed to the point of not popping out it would not be possible to reset the breaker.
ETL or ETA - my spares say ETA
72 Pathfinder | 75 710M 2.7i | 96 350GDT Worker
GRCameron
United States of America
Posts: 158
Joined: Tue May 27, 2014 7:32 pm
Location: Yarnell, AZ

Re: circuit breaker, again

Post by GRCameron »

Yep, E-T-A. My bad. I was going from memory - seems to be failing more and more...

Still, they're "trip-free." This protects the circuit in case the button becomes jammed up.

ETL (Electrical Testing Lab) is a safety science lab similar to Underwriters Lab (UL) and was formed by Thomas Edison in 1896.
George Cameron
Yarnell, AZ
1979 Pinz 710M
Molon Labe
Post Reply