Blowing the lid off car fuses and fusible links
Automotive fuses are the gatekeepers and bodyguards of automotive electronics.
This often results in a temporary loss of functionality.
Fuses, however, are cheap and usually easy to replace.
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Repeated failures of a fuse on the same circuit often reveals an underlying problem.
Types differ primarily in size and number of terminals.
Physically large fuses are typically used in high-current applications.
In the past, vehicles commonly used glass tube and Bosch fuses.
They’re found today in old vehicles that are still on the road.
A glass tube fuse is capped by metal terminals with ametal strip passing through the center.
Types of Blade Fuses
For all blade fuses, the housing is opaque or clear.
If the strip is broken, the fuse has blown.
However, this isn’t safe if you don’t match the current ratings.
However, you also risk damaging some other electrical component or even starting a fire.
These are gray and brown, respectivelycolors that are also used for lower-amperage fuses.
What About Fusible Links?
Fusible links perform the same basic function as fuses, but in a slightly different way.
Blade fuses are sometimes physically difficult to pull out.
If you replace a fuse and it blows again, there’s typically some underlying problem.
Replacing the fuse with a higher amperage fuse might fix the problem temporarily.
Likewise, replacing a blown fusible link with the wrong part is dangerous.
In a worst-case scenario, you could end up with a fire.
Never replace a fusible link with an electrical cable.
Fusible links often carry tremendous amounts of current.
