Second job today was to make up the protection diodes that connect across the coils of the master and starter relays. These diodes act to dissipate energy when the relays are switched off, preventing excessive arcing at the switches and thus prolonging their life.
I'd ordered ten IN5400 diodes from Radio Spares, and simply crimped insulated lugs to each end. The one for the starter relay needed to be a bit longer so I soldered a short length of wire to one end. I placed black heat shrink over the solder joint, and the bare diode leads, and then placed clear heatshrink over the full length to make everything double insulated. Clear heatshrink also allows me to still see the band on the diode body denoting the cathode.
Since I had ten diodes then I also made up a couple spares of each lead, in case one should fail at some stage.
When done then I mounted up the relays to the firewall again, hopefully this time for the last time.
Making up the diode assemblies, necessary to prolong switch life
Relays installed and diodes fitted
One end of the diode on the starter relay is connected to ground
