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my 33 project was some what restored in 1980, engine rebuilt, paint and upholstery and then parked. the switches and lighters in the rear compartment were never hooked up-i assume it was because of a short to ground that i found in the circuit for the lighters. turned out the front lighter was missing one insulated washer-grounded the hot wire. the result is the current limit relay got fried. on top of the two fuses there is a .050 steel wire that rapes around an insulator in parallel with fuse and connects the main leads to the amp meter. my question is this some kind of special wire, i assumed it was steel as it passed the magnet test.
the switches are wired so the DS controls the corner lights and the PS controls the dome light when the light switch is in the first notch.
thanks for any advice and help any one might have, i have not been able to find many manuals for this car, i have more for my 28

Dell,

The wire used is typically nickel chromium wire, often called Chromel C, is the wire of choice for heating elements, resistance windings, and hot wire cutters. Due to its nickel content, this hard-drawn wire acts like a soft bend-and-stay wire. Maximum temperature is 1800? F.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#nickel-chromium-wire/=vbhzfe

Dave

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thanks dave i will order some today. dell

Dell & Dave,

I just sat down this afternoon planning on doing two things. First I went to PackardInfo.com to see what had been posted the last several days and second was to write a request for help.

I'm restoring the fuse block on my '32 and the wire, while still present and unbroken, is very corroded and needs to be replaced. Therefore, I was going to place a call for to determine what type of wire to use and to confirm it's diameter.

So I want to thank both of you for your assistance.

Dell looking at Mc Master it looks like the wire is 0.045 or 0.050". This would equate to 15 to 20 feet of wire for a 1/4# spool. If you are willing to share some of the wire, I'd be willing to split the cost with you - Send me a PM.

Also, Tom Wilcox on his site has some nice pictures on his restoration of the part.