blowing fuses 101?

hey guys, i got a set of hella lights. the fuses keep poppin! how do i stop them from popping all the time? one fuse that popped was rated at 15 amps. i threw in a 30 and it worked for awhile. i havent checked to see if that particular amp blew though. my question is. why not just throw a bigger amp fuse into all the spots instead? and what causes fuses to blow? what should i do?

 

[Blee1099]

What guage wiring are you running to the lights? Also do you have a relay installed inline to the lights? Throwing a bigger fuse in there is a bad way to fix the problem, its just putting a band-aid on it essentially.

 

[clarkkent]

it was the wire that came with the kit. yes it has a relay. what happens if i throw a bigger fuse in there?

 

[davidmmm69]

how do i stop them from popping all the time??

wrap tin foil around the bad fuse or push a 22 casing into the hole..

 

[Vanquish502]

I'm betting you wired them into another electrical system on the truck that only runs on 15 AMPS, but those lights may pull like 40. That's why its blowing fuses. You need to find the amperage intake of those lights and wire them into something with the same or higher amperage output. That or wire them directly to the battery.

 

[Blee1099]

wrap tin foil around the bad fuse or push a 22 casing into the hole..

Don't take that advice, please. First things first, run the constant power connection to the battery not to an existing one power wire. Just make sure you have a good fuse within 10" of the battery terminal. Just use these instructions.. http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3250/9101fig4.gif

 

[davidmmm69]

Don't take that advice, please. First things first, run the constant power connection to the battery not to an existing one power wire. Just make sure you have a good fuse within 10" of the battery terminal. Just use these instructions.. http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3250/9101fig4.gif

I hope you do realize that I am only joking...

come on do you think any one actually does that...

 

[Blee1099]

I hope you do realize that I am only joking...

come on do you think any one actually does that...

This world is full of idiots..

 

[MrShorty]

it was the wire that came with the kit. yes it has a relay. what happens if i throw a bigger fuse in there?

I sense a need to understand the purpose of a fuse.

A fuse is a safety device. Any electrical circuit is designed to carry a certain amount of current safely. If a circuit carries too much current, the heat generated will be enough to melt conductors, or start fires, or other catastrophic failures. The fuse creates a known "weak link" in the circuit. If a failure in the circuit causes the circuit to draw more current than the fuse can carry, the fuse "melts" and breaks the circuit, hopefully preventing some of the above noted catastrophic failures. If we replace a 15A fuse with a 30 A fuse, we no longer know where the "weak link" in the circuit is. We open up the possibility of allowing the circuit to carry more current than it can safely carry.

 

[WannaBeRobb]

my question is. why not just throw a bigger amp fuse into all the spots instead? and what causes fuses to blow?

PLEASE don't ever replace a fuse with a fuse with a higher amp (wattage) rating!!!

Fuses are specifically designed to be the "weakest link" in an electrical circuit. If the load becomes too high, or a short develops in the circuit, fuses blow for two reasons, 1) to notifiy you that there is a problem, and 2) give you a cheap, safe, way to rebuild the circuit once the problem has been fixed.

If a larger filament fuse is installed, the fuse may no longer be the weakest link, perhaps some of the wiring (or connections) in the circuit become it instead. If a section of wire becomes the weakest link, it will heat up until it eventually breaks (the wire becomes the fuse). Basically, the section of wire becomes much like the coil in a toaster.............it heats up tremendously, to the point that it can ignite flamable materials that may be close to it.

To sum all that up, using larger than design fuses CAN lead to lighting your vehicle on fire!!!! If your lights are rated at less than 15 amps, yet blowing a 15 amp fuse, STOP, and find the problem in the circuit...........don't put a larger fuse in.

As mentioned earlier, and not answered, don't try to run these lights off an existing circuit. Run them off a dedicated circuit just for them.



Oh, and the fact that your aftermarket lights don't work isn't a 911 situation.


edit: MrShorty was typing at the same time.................with his usual excellent advice!!!

 

[Bill Kemp]

So all that means is you have to go back over your install and make sure all th wires are where they are supposed to be. You will/should find something wrong. Just follow each wire from begining to end.

 

[clarkkent]

yeh sorry i didnt know what section to throw this post into. for some reason i couldnt post in the "useful thread' SECTION.