Taken from the CBS January newsletter -
TETHERING FUEL CAPS
UK IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) rules require that most fuel caps must be tethered to the filler neck so that you don't drive away from the petrol station leaving the cap on your wing or on the petrol pump.
Here's one suggestion on how to tether an Aero-style cap although you can apply similar techniques to many other types of cap.
The tether we chose is brass picture frame wire. It's a fine, multi-strand, flexible wire that has good corrosion resistance and can easily be soldered. To secure the ends we used cut-down uninsulated crimp terminals.
We drilled two 1.5mm holes in the plastic bottom of an Aero cap in a position that would not interfere with the locking action of the cap. The wire was threaded through the holes and the terminal slipped over the wire and crimped. You can also solder it for added strength.
The tether should be 6 or 8 inches long and must, of course, be also somehow tethered down inside the neck. Here we've shown one option looping through the holes of an unleaded insert before it is fitted into the neck. And simply drilling through the neck. The filler hose will just slide over the wire and seal higher up the neck.
We'll be selling a half metre of the cable with fuel caps for an extra quid if you need it.
Other styles of cap may have other tethering options like the one pictured below.
|