Something I never understood about fuses....

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Allright I dont mean to sound like a dumbass, but we spend a good amount of $$ on large awg wire to power our stuff. I see how tiny the metal within the fuse is and wonder if this actually chokes the current flow? I mean, look at the diameter of the wire compared to the link in the fuse! I know its there to save your equiptment.

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[HellsRise 10+ year member]

If it's choking your flow that much, throw a second run of wire and a second fuse in there.

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

If it's choking your flow that much, throw a second run of wire and a second fuse in there.

No thats not what Im saying, Im just wondering why we use this large wire when the fuse link is so small compared, again its just something Ive wondered, its not like Ive had problems...

 

[Sunfire01 10+ year member]

I dont think thousands upon thousands of defective "current choking" fuses would be sent out every year if they actually starved wire of current....

 

[Sunfire01 10+ year member]

they are pure metal, wire=tiny strands

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Again Im not saying they actually do, but I know that using wire too small will cause problems.

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

Solid conductors can be very small and equal to large diameter stranded wire.

 

[WrenchGuy 10+ year member]

They are an added resistance. Which in some cases the comp guys don't use them.

The resistance is definitely minimal. Sometimes not at all

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Solid conductors can be very small and equal to large diameter stranded wire.

Allright thats cool then, I didnt think that being solid vs stranded would make much of a difference since the strands are all in contact.

So that 8 strand Home Depot 2awg will work better than the Rockford 2awg?

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

stranded wire typically works the best and is often times more flexible. i forget the explanation, but i once asked the question myself. thus, it is not a stupid one.

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

mayby but sure wont flex very much //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

also the metal itself is a big factor, if its alum, copper, gold, platnum...

 

[DDeitz 10+ year member]

it does restrict current flow, i am not sure how much but i dont think its alot.

 

[thegreatestpenn 5,000+ posts]

The point of a fuse is to see just how much current/heat is flowing through the wire to prevent it from getting too hot and causing a fire. That little distance a fuse is simulates the whole run of wire in terms of the ability to handle the current flow, that is why it can be so small but handle so much power. I mean consider if you ran a solid gold/copper/aluminum bar from the front of the car to the back of it. You would be able to put some serious power through it without it getting hot. Same concept

 

[arizona 10+ year member]

Also something someone hasnt mentioned so far is length....look at how long the gap the fuse bridges is...then compare that to the length of the wire running through the entire length of the car. It is many many times smaller and you can run more current through shorter runs...thats why the way you fuse should also factor in the length of the wire (although most of the time the lengths arn't such extremes to factor in)

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Whats a fuse //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif