23
The maximum rating of 25A will be for continuous use. The 40A fuse is there to blow very quickly in a fault condition.
If you look at this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge 2mm² wire will take 166A for 10 seconds or 633A for 1 second before it will fuse. So the 40A fuse will have blown long before the 2mm wire will fail.
22
Fuses do not need to be replaced unless they have blown, so it's not a regular maintenance thing.
In terms of checking them, depending on your vehicle, many only require a visual check to see if the metal is present or missing.
If you do have fuses where their status is not obvious, a good multimeter is only a few dollars (probably cheaper than replacing ...
17
Instead of Ohms checks of fuses I check for voltage with power on. Set your voltmeter to DC volts with the negative lead on the battery negative connector. With the positive lead test both sides of the fuse. If good it will read battery voltage on both sides. Most fuses have exposed metal tabs on both sides of the actual fuse section for this purpose.
On ...
12
As I understand it, there was a fundamental redesign in the cars from around 2002 onwards. Unfortunately that doesn't help you but I wonder if it is possible to retrofit the later model fuse box.
Thank you for the picture, this has cleared things up. The fuse that has melted in your unit is S177 which is wired to the alternator. Apparently as the cable ...
11
As a general maintenance practice or a troubleshooting method without having a particular reasoned approach, no. If it's troubleshooting, testing the fuses on their exposed blade tips is equivalent.
That said, replacing the fuses shouldn't create any risks so long as you're replacing them with the appropriate values.
It should be pointed out that fuses ...
11
It wouldn't be the fuse which is causing the power drain, but the circuit the fuse is there to protect. (This is the reason why the copied area you have posted has 5 "Not Helpful" votes against it.) The fuse is only a conduit. It transmits electricity. When the circuit transmits too much electricity, the fuse heats up, then "pops", not allowing anymore ...
10
You have a short somewhere.
The purpose of a fuse is to be the weak link in a circuit. If more current is running through a circuit than it was built to handle, a fuse will self destruct and break the circuit, preventing overheating and possible fire. The most likely causes of a circuit having too much current are too many devices drawing too much power on ...
9
The fuse connection legs are through bolted on many of these higher amp rated fuses. To find out remove the black plastic cover below the fuses. If you find small nuts then they are the bolted in type.
BTW if the fuse links under the clear plastic windows look OK then they do not need to be replaced.
8
I figured it out. There was a piece of metal that fell off the tip of one of my car chargers that was inside the cigarette lighter... It kept blowing the fuse but when I discovered it and removed it, the problem was fixed.
8
Tools
Digital Multimiter
Voltage, Resistance, continuity settings
Automotive specific DMM's are typically the same device but may have a few extra features (Duty Cycle, RPM)
CAUTION: Certain modes on the multimeter can cause damage to the device or your car if improperly hooked up. Never connect the DMM to a circuit in parallel when it is on the ampere ...
8
To track down and troubleshoot electrical issues, you will almost certainly need a multimeter (also known as a Volt-Ohm meter) - digital ones are best, like the one illustrated below (from Wikipedia)
You can get cheap ones, which are fine for most automotive stuff, or much more expensive ones with all sorts of clever features.
The two most useful things ...
8
Traced this problem to a fuse under the dashboard, located in the middle horizontal row right most fuse. Turns out this fuse is the indicator fuse and when this fuse is blown the indicators won't work but the hazard lights still work.
This was the solution in my specific instance but there are two other possible faults which could be to blame for indicators ...
7
I had to deal with this problem some years ago on a VW. What I noticed is that the fusible link ran slack, causing the connection to arc and as a result burnt out the plastic housing below. I couldn't get a fuse box so I by passed the burnt area, had a link fabricated and secured it with a bolt and nut.
7
If you can get to both sides of the fuse, see if you have power on each side. If you want to make sure, remove the battery terminal, and use an ohmmeter to measure the resistance between the battery terminal and the other side of the fuse. Should be zero or close to it. If so, it is good. With this type of fuse, when it blows, there is usually a large gap ...
7
Replace them all? No. As others have mentioned, they're either working or they're not. Test them with a multimeter or fuse tester. Be sure to look for "fusible links" in the wiring on a newer car, not all fuses are in the fuse box anymore for some unfathomable reason...
Take them all out, one at a time, and clean them? I've had that help on some ...
6
Tail light fuse will be third from the left along the top row.
As for a concise fuse diagram with full descriptions...
Will that do?
6
Unfortunately, simply unplugging a fuse isn't going to stop a determined thief, as they often tow cars away rather than going to the noise and effort of trying to start them...
I'd suggest some kind of physical lock, either on the steering wheel, gear lever/handbrake, or similar - they often act as a visual deterrent to casual thieves as well, who will go ...
6
It sounds to me like a dead battery.
Depending on how accurate your voltmeter is, what you see as 12V may be 11.9V or lower. To give you an idea, an open circuit battery terminal voltage of 11.7V indicates a completely uncharged battery.
What you are describing happened to me once with a Volvo car, due to a faulty switch in the glove-box; the glove-box ...
6
A fuse blowing indicates something is wrong. This could of course be a transient that just requires a fuse replacement or a trip reset, but what if it's something more serious, like a short allowing high current to flow through sensitive components, or to ignite something flammable? Or an indication of failure of an expensive part.
A self resetting trip ...
6
Replace the wire between the alternator and the fuse box.
It's called the alternator harness, but I haven't found it for sale online. It is just a simple (large) wire with two ring connectors crimped on the ends.
It tends to get a break in the wire near the fuse box that then arcs and overheats; this is not a problem with a short otherwise the fuse ...
6
They are typically on the same fuse. Charging outlet should be listed as a cigarette lighter.
6
The parking lamp/headlight switch applies power or ground so the circuit would be open if you were testing with the switch off.
Same with the turn signals.
The tail lights are on separate circuits. They don't share a ground.
Does the car have an aftermarket trailer harness? If not your going to have to remove panels and visually inspect the harness for ...
6
There are three fuses for the seat heater system
1) Passenger fuse box: Fuse 20, 7.5 amp. Supplies Seat heater control unit.
2) Passenger fuse box: Fuse 5, 15 amp. Supplies relay power pin.
3) Driver side fuse box: Fuse 26, 7.5 amp. Supplies to relay control coil.
Some have power key off, some do not.
6
If the fuse is blowing as soon as you perform an action it's a short to ground.
Multimeter won't do much good in this situation. It'll come down to wiring diagrams and visual inspection of the harness and connectors on the circuit. Unless you have a fancy tool that will find the short for you.
It looks like fuse 21 powers a bunch of stuff, but since the ...
5
Its fairly common for these to burn out sockets for the bulbs, and even often on both sides at the same time. The socket can be removed asa separate piece, and it is fairly likely melted and/or burned
5
It could be a blown fuse as you suggest.
It could also be that the motor isn't receiving current due to a break in the wiring. The multimeter should come in handy to verify this - check to confirm that a voltage drop registers across the pump motor terminals when the wiper stalk is engaged.
It may also be that the motor in the pump has gone bad - check for ...
5
That would work, but it's a very dangerous solution. The fuse exists in the circuit as a safety mechanism. If the circuit is flowing more power than it can safely handle, the fuse self destructs and stops the flow of energy. If the fuse is replaced with something that continues to handle an unsafe load, bad things can happen. Wires can melt, get red hot, and ...
5
I would suggest that you should find the source of the fault - probably in the wiring as you suggest as it could get worse and cause a fire (not the best thing in dense traffic with no place to go).
How do I know - I have had to repair that type of melted wire / fire damage before and it takes time & skill.
4
If the tail lights were hot during the swap you may have broken the filiments. Bumping a bulb that is on or been on recently can cause the filiments to fail. Remove the bulbs hold them up to a light and see if the filimant is intact.
4
You should also check the battery connections. Make sure they are clean and secure.
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