8 replies to this topic

[razorsharp192]

clubman gt:
1975:


noticed last night my interior lights arent working, no prob i thought, just swap the fuse, but when i got to the fuse, its melted and in 2 halves (the plastic inline fuse holder i mean)

any ideas why this might be happening?! only thing i've changed is that i hardwired my road angel in last night, to the same circuit, would that cause it to melt though? the actual fuse is still intact, so it didnt blow the fuse, just melted the holder! very odd!

[taffy1967]

Was the fuse of the correct wattage? (15 amp).

One of my in-line fuse holders was melted on my Mini when I first bought it. It was the one that runs the dim-dip lighting and the problem was with the in-line fuse holder itself which had a chunk of left over plastic stopping the fuse from making good contact.

I just replaced the in-line fuse and it's been fine ever since.

[miniEgg]

our hazzard lights stopped working and it was due to the in line fuse's behind the air filter had melted, they are very simple things and melt easily, i would sugest changing them with the u shaped fuses and holders, the heat from the carb will make them melt over time.

[razorsharp192]

right well i've been to halfords and got a different type of inline fuse holder, got one that takes mini blade fuses, seems a bit more hard wearing, so i'll see how this one goes!

[dklawson]

Since the fuse was still intact, you only know for sure that the circuit was not carrying excess current. Most inline fuse holders are "open" a bit and this can allow moisture to get in. If the contacts inside the holder (and the end of the fuse) corrode, this will increase the resistance of the elements and that in turn causes heating. If you still have the bits you removed, look at them to see if the ends of the fuse and/or the contacts on the end of the wires are corroded. Anything less than shiny means contact heating. Likewise, if the spring pushing the contacts against the fuse has corroded or weakened, the reduced pressure can result in contact heating.

For those who still have their original fuse holder, consider taking them apart and using Scotchbrite to clean the fuse ends and the fuse holder contacts. Apply a bit of dielectric grease or Vaseline to the contact surfaces (and the spring) before re-assembly. The metal to metal contact will push the grease out of the way but what remains will keep moisture away from the surfaces which assures good metal to metal contact.

[razorsharp192]

it was a brand new inline fuse holder and fuse.... i only put it in a couple of weeks ago...

[Jammy]

our hazzard lights stopped working and it was due to the in line fuse's behind the air filter had melted, they are very simple things and melt easily, i would sugest changing them with the u shaped fuses and holders, the heat from the carb will make them melt over time.

Just to add, if your thinking about changing to blade fuses, they aren't rated the same as glass fuses. And there really shouldn't be much heat from the carb (exhaust) anyway, unless you spent most of your time sat in traffic jams and hot weather.

[dklawson]

Since the holder that failed was new and just installed, it sounds like it was fabricated using wire that was too small (not rated for the current it was carrying).

[fppage]

Sounds like you may have some kind a short in where youve wired in the road angle, the reason it may have not blown the fuse, and melted the wire instead could be due to you wiring it the road angle live, to the +12 live side, rather than fused side!