Electrical wiring on equipment can get damaged or malfunction due to damage, moisture, elevated resistance or poor connections. Understanding the reason why issues with electrical wiring happen can help you understand how to prevent this from occurring. This spring when your machines are not working during breakup it is a great time to go over your electrical wiring from top to bottom. Any wires that are damaged should be replaced. Wires are often repaired by twisting the wires together and taping them with electrical tape. Problem with this is that without the proper insulation moisture can eventually enter the spliced area and cause corrosion or a poor splice can raise the level of resistance and eventually cause the connection to fail. If resistance gets high enough the circuit can overheat or cause the fuse for the circuit to blow.
If you have problems with blowing a fuse NEVER replace the fuse with one of a higher amperage or substitute the fuse with a solid conductive material.
When troubleshooting an electrical problem always test the circuit on the ground side of the circuit as well the power side. Poor grounds have been the cause of many malfunctioning circuits. A good habit is to remove the fastener connecting the ground wires or straps to the machine frame and clean the connection with a wire brush at least once a year. Poor grounds can cause a variety of strange things to happen with the electrical system. One common problem is premature failure of light bulbs.
Below on the left you can see some repaired wires that can cause problems. On the right you can see an example of corrosion.
