Fuse Blowing Problem resolved.

After a mostly sleepless night trying to understand what may be the answer to the intermittant fuse blowing, I suddenly remembered that the LP gas gauge had also failed when the fuse was blown. This led me to think about the recent gas leakage and gas shut-off problems. So first thing next morning I once again climbed under the Landcruiser to check the wiring associated with the LP gas installation. Straight away I observed a polished ring around the tail shaft adjacent to the LP gas cylinder solenoid wiring.
On closer examination I found the live wire to the solenoid had partially worn through the insulation and a bare section of wire was visible. Apparently when the mechanic in Mt Isa had tightened the solenoid at my request, the cable ties securing the wire out of harms way had not been replaced. This had allowed the slack in the live wire to come into contact with the rotating tail shaft. Tape up the wire and secure with new cable ties and problem resolved.

The disturbing part of this whole saga is that had I not persisted and tracked down the problems myself, we may have still been stranded in the middle of nowhere as the RACQ were simply not available and nothing was in place to provide alternate road service. Nor was mechanical or automotive electrical assistance available once we were in Quilpie. The NRMA were happy to accept our extra payment for "Total Care" coverage during this trip, but their affiliated interstate body were unable to deliver. They have not heard the last of this.

Kevin and Gail.
View a small sample of our trip photos at:
www.picasaweb.google.com/kevinh055