![]() ![]() The other reason for not fusing the starter circuit is that if the battery is disconnected from the alternator whilst it is turning (as would be the case if a fuse blew) the diodes in the alternator's rectifier can be damaged. They are installed with the cable being protected and are designed to melt and break the circuit in an over-current condition. ![]() For this reason it is usually deemed impractical to fuse this length of cable, although some vehicles do have fusible links which are simply a small section of lower current rating cable encased in a fireproof sleeve. Starter motors are normally the highest current draw electrical item on a vehicle as they have to crank the engine, and the current can reach several hundred Amps, especially with large diesel engines that have a high compression ratio. There are some instances where fuses are not normally used and one example is for the, normally short, length of cable from the battery to the starter motor. For this reason the length of cable from the battery +ve to the first fuse should be as short as possible so that damage is minimised in the event of an electrical fire. If there is a short anywhere along this length then it is very likely to catch fire as the first fuse will not experience the excess current. It is important to note that the section of cable coming from the battery +ve terminal to the first fuse (or battery distribution box) is effectively an unprotected part of the circuit. A good compromise is that every individual circuit should be fused as this provides a good degree of protection and at least allows you to narrow down the problem to one circuit. Having said that this is ideal it is nearly always impractical as it would lead to many fuses fitted throughout an electrical system. ![]() In an ideal world each individual section of positive cable would be fused as this would provide the most protection and make fault finding relatively straight forward, because it would allow you to narrow down the problem to a single section of cable (i.e. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |