Fusebox cover cracked, and how I fixed it, ghetto style

[teddyc1]

I posted this pic on my list of issues (berlingo issues, not overall issues with life...) over on this thread:
BEFORE: http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=8939


AFTER: And here's my ghetto fix with superglue, cardboard reinforcement, and wood glue:

[Image: 2ytql2a.jpg]
Top.

[Image: 15pgz2r.jpg]
Bottom, with cardboard reinforcements, (and Jerusalem Post to provide extra protection to the cardboard haha). The big cardboard piece in the middle has superglue underneath, supporting the superglued crack, and then regular Elmer's wood glue holding down the rest of the big cardboard piece.

[Image: 20qnx2b.jpg]
As you can see from this cardboard closeup above, I cut and folded the cardboard and placed it in various pieces to straddle the crack points. Then, after holding it for 3 minutes to dry, I dribbled more superglue on the top of the cardboard, and letting it soak thru and make stronger connection to the plastic on the other side.


I guess all I need now is a bit of squishy foam to help keep the wires and fuses from jiggling around and getting too excited.

i figure, a fix like this will serve the purpose of keeping out some dust and moisture, and with the foam insert, hold all the insides down ok.

Hope this helps someone, or at least is good for a few laughs. :-)

[ron]

If it does the job at little cost,it's a goon 'un.:thumbsup:

[adam3rdcanvey]

Yes this is a supreme fix! Top job

[teddyc1]

Thanks guys! I think this could work for engine covers too, or anything with panel plastic where looks don't really matter.

I think the key is the thin cardboard (like from an envelope mailer, not thick corrugated box cardboard) for reinforcement. Without that, the superglue for the plastic cracks is just not going to hold up.


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[Jed Clampit]

Job's a goodun Is it water proof ??

[teddyc1]

It tests to be about as waterproof as I imagine the original to have been.
The main crack on the top is definitely waterproof; it's just one of the sides that prolly still has a gap. But come to think of it, I could place few dabs of waterproof silicone here and there to fix that real quick. Although, the sides don't matter much, as the original part is not designed to take water spray from any and every direction, it seems. No rubber seal around the edge of the box; no grommets, just sponges in the gaps where the wires come out the front, you know what I mean...

[oldgadgie]

It could have been done easier with a soldering iron gently melting and fusing the broken plastic together

[teddyc1]

Got some white waterproof silicone there now, inside and out, in the cracked glued spots. Also, it's been confirmed from a reliable source that it is quite important to keep water out of there, for sure.

Either way, I'm glad to have put the thin cardboard there, I think any bond would have benefited from a little extra support.

I decided to skip the foam inside. I don't think it achieves anything. I could be wrong about that tho.

Thanks for the soldering iron idea! I might try that sometime. Or, I was thinking, modeler's cement achieves the same melted plastic bond, but chemically rather than with heat.


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