Auto Fuses

[warrenpfo]

Just a quickie really, I need to put together a collection of common fuses and wondered is all fuses are made equal or if there is a "brand" or best place to get them from as I was going to get a selection off eBay.

Oh and are the fuses with little lights on top any good as I can see how in the dark it may be handy to tell if any have blown but other wise would think they are just a further drain on the battery and one more thing to go wrong, bit of a gimmick.

 

[nivapilot]

Selection off of e-blag should be fine, there are no differences in the fuse themselves, apart from visual ones.
Steer clear of any other than plain fuses... all others are just a gimmick.

What most people don't realise is that fuses are just a means of disconnection of a circuit, should the current draw exceed the value of the fuse..........BUT, that does not mean that if you draw 15amps through a 10 amp fuse, it will automatically "blow"..
A fuse is designed to accept up to 2.5 times it's rated current draw for some time before melting..will only "blow" if short circuit causes a major rise in current draw, and will "melt" if a current draw, above it's rate, is drawn for some considerable time.

So DO NOT be tempted to "uprate" a fuse rating because the fuse keeps blowing.....check out the circuit properly, your wiring will only be rated at, or slightly above the fuse rating.....and therefore, will burn out before an uprated fuse disconnects.

 

[nivapilot]

Some good reading about fuses and circuits here.
http://www.bcae1.com/fuses.htm