Melted a fuse...help.

[Rollingrock]

Here is the fuse holders for 2 sers of lights





And here is how dirty mt engin is after 8k miles. 



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[Rollingrock]

They stuck the correct size relay in the harness, same as the fuse.
- Does not mean the wire is the correct size, that is a quick swap out.

Can you get a picture of the AWG marking on the wire as well.

don't get one of the inline solder DIY types, those are the 20A version, the set screw for the ring terminal are the higher AMp version.

I have not seen one of those weather pack versions that is for 12 AWG / > 20A loads.
- They might exist, but usually they are on 16 AWG wire for < 20A loads.

Last time I saw this issue.
1. Flex-a-lite FAL-290 fan kits for the 5.4L.  The fuse hodler had a recall, and they went to the littlefuse set screw version.
2. Troyer when he had the issue with the smaller than current inrush on the e-fan kit.
- That was a current inrush issue with the fan free wheeling, and when they kicked on, the current inrush was more than the relay socket could take over time ( quick on / off cycles tore them up )

Let me go back out there and see if there is anything on the wiring....

Need to have a sip or two from my draank. 

[Rollingrock]

Here are sone crappy photos















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[sscully]

Sorry I called it at midnight.  I can't make out too much on the wire itself.
- Could be it looked fine to you, but that might be everything looked like that after a few sips of your crown & diet & HD 

Start with which type fuse holder you want and get a holder for it.
- Maxi - Mega - AMI/MIDI 

Don't know if you would rather want to look into getting a new harness for it straight away or temp this together and think on that later.
- I am just thinking what could go with it next.

Talk when you are around later today.

[Rollingrock]

Bought a new inline fuse for the light harness that was getting hot...After I clipped it off, the connections just fell out of the harness...so I think I discovered that it had weak connections from the get go.   That would probably account for it getting hot.   And Steve, I found out the wiring is 12g.  The new inline fuse holder seems to be much better quality. the fuse actually "snapped" into place and was very firm. (that's what she said)

I tested it for 10 min with the light on, didn't feel any heat from wire.   

JP

[Too Stroked]

A poor connection will lead to arcing - which sure as heck causes heat. Hopefully you're good to go now.

[sscully]

See how good I am at guessing ( that is the key word ) AWG from a picture.

That would do the trick, high resistance load ( i.e. heated seat element ) is what you had going on there.

Good to hear it was not as serious as I thought.
- Just keep an eye on that wire this summer, to see if the insulation starts checking from getting too hot.

[Rollingrock]

Back home and settelled...going to head out to garage and run light for 10-15 min and I do have a temp gun, gonna take a before and after. If I can

JP

[Rollingrock]

Found the problem......I used trailer wiring for 10 inches to make a connection. ...cable melted



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[Too Stroked]

So you used a smaller diameter section of wire to extend its length?  Well. sounds like you learned a lesson.

PS: You might want to use a torch or heat gun on your solderless connectors too. Both ends are supposed to be shrunk around the wire insulation.

[sscully]

If you use butt connectors, no automotive crimp pattern.

If you heat shrink them any way, get yourself a set of homas & Betts WT111
- Amazon has them if you cannot find them local.

This is what electrical contractors use with crimps.
- A good nylon cover should not pierce if you use the correct size on them.
- You just need to make sure the joint in the terminal is in the circle of the crimpers.

If you want to read through it, I started a DC trouble shooting guide some time back.
- life got busy and I never got it competently finished.

[Kitzy]

Even I know you have to best shrink those butt connectors and wiring scares the crap out of me.  Haha.  Come on rookie! 

[sscully]

Butt connectors, if installed correctly, do not need heat shrink for +VDC to ground protection.
- This means striping the insulation the correct length and making sure all the strands are in the crimp end.

In this case the heat shrink is to stop water from getting into the end of the butt connector and sitting there corroding the guts out of it.

This is really only if Marine heat shrink is used, standard heat shrink; water can still work its way in the end if the wire is aligned correctly vertically or on a downward slope.

That said, to keep the resistance of the splices the lowest, an inline solder splice should be used ( this requires heat shrink ).

Pre solder


Post solder, pre heat shrink

[sscully]

Found the problem......I used trailer wiring for 10 inches to make a connection. ...cable melted



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Now that I look at the melted area a bit better, that looks like it might have some vibration chaffing on it.

Aside from what would be 14/4 or 16/4 flat wire installed into a 12 AWG harness, is there where the wire turned a corner or was close to a bolt head ?

If so, once you fix the wire, you might want to either route it a different way or get some rubber liner tape to build up the wire where it melted.

Take a good look around, could be flapping, where the wire fell down or where the wire goes to when you shut the hood.

[Rollingrock]

I bought all new butt connectors that are g specific.  In this case they were yellow...and yes I used a lighter to shrink them up nice and tight...then wrapped in Electrical tape.

This area is under the cowl...there isn't anything there but a open space.   I did wrap this section with tape and then rerouted the power line under a little different space to make it cleaner.  I did use the proper crimper as well.   

That said, I ran the light for 25 min while sitting in the garage...the line still gets warm but not hot.