Fuses for 12v accessories
 

Hey guys

I was hoping some of you could give me a bit of advice. When hooking up an accessory outlet straight from the 12v KLX battery, what amp fuse do you use.

I have this stupid fuse that says it's 3 amps but when I shorted it directly to the positive and negative sides of the battery it didn't 'pop'.

I'm hooking up lights and had an issue where the fuse should have popped but didn't. Instead the wire melted but the fuse is still intact.

Therefore I wanted to deliberately 'pop' the fuse as a test.

Thanks

Mike

20 amp, use this type so it matches the fuses in the bike.

http://www.watsons-streetworks.com/i...s/L46H_STD.JPG

Thanks Deej

I hooked lighting accessories to the KLX last night and they worked fine. Unfortunately when I bolted down my right radiator shroud it fastened directly on the wire to one of the lights and shorted it out DOH!

I have a fuse in line with the circuit so no problem right? Wrong. The wire melted and the fuse did not blow! So I tested the fuse by connecting it directly to + 12 and -12 and it still won't 'blow'. I tried the same experiment with the standard KLX headlight 10 amp fuse twice and the fuse blew right away both times.

So, why would the 10 amp fuse 'blow' but the 3 amp fuse survives as the wire melts?

I've tried shorting another 3 amp fuse from the same box of fuses and still the same phenomena. The wire heats up quickly and the fuse survives.

Mike

Faulty 3 amp fuses? Sounds like the "fuse" inside was made wrong, or out of the wrong material. I would take them back and let them know there was a problem, someone may start a fire if there are more of these "3" amp fuses out there.

These crap fuses are nothing more than jumpers unfortunately. I informed the guys at the custom shop that I bought my lights from because they are the ones that supplied me with the fuses.

What if the short occurred while riding at night and the fuse wouldn't pop? That could very well take out alot of other components and God knows what could happen when your positive and negative leads of the battery are at a dead short until the problem wire melts away. The guys at the custom shop are good people and jumped on this situation at once. They told me that they'd test the fuses immediately. I'll get back to them tomorrow.

Mike

Yeah, a total meltdown of the wiring could prove to be expensive, and you would be walking for a little while. Good thing they are active on it already.

There have been some recalls of defective imported fuses recently (I.E.: @ Harborfreight).

there is lots of counterfiet electrical gear out there these days. with counterfeit UL markings. House panels, lighting, breakers everything.

The guys at the shop stopped using these faulty fuses. They had the same results that I did with them.

Mike