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Fusible link


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I know what a fusible link is and where it is, but what is it made of? Is it a special type of wire or just various guages of wire?

 

One of the fusible links in one of 'rus had a loose spade connector and the car died on me this afternoon. Apparently it's been arcing for a bit because the insulation is cooked. (The fluctuations in the voltmeter should have told me something, but I know what that means now.) Well, I tracked down the problem and made a street fix but when I went to O'Reilly's to pick up a replacement link (and a few spares for the other links "just in case"), the only links they had were listed by wire guage (16 or 18) and the suckers were $2.99 each, which seemed kind of expensive to me.

 

So, can anyone fill me in on "Zen and the fusible link?"

 

OOHHHMMMMM, Shanti! OOOOHHHHHMMM, Resistance!

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Both. The circuit being protected from excessive current has a "fusible" link.............an odd name, since it is meant to fuse open!. They are usually made of aluminum-coated copper wire to give a faster "rise time"..........the material fails faster to protect the circuit. The guage of the "link" will determine how much current a particular circuit is intended to handle before the the link overheats and fails..........preventing an overload or worse, a fire.

 

I am speaking in general, of course. I don't know what material Subaru used for their "links", but I noticed they are color coded on mine...........maybe a trip to a wrecking yard is in order?? Match the colors to maintain circuit protection.

Chances are that the connectors corroded on one end or the other, causing greater resistance (heat); which in turn left your fusible link to fail as soon as the material in it could take no more..............

 

Just curious; what circuit was it on?

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<<Just curious; what circuit was it on?>>

 

Main, I guess. It was the blank fusible link. The voltmeter kept jumping everytime I put on the A/C. I just figured the needle bounce would be normal given the high draw.

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if you blew a link there is a problem. it takes a lot of amps to pop one of those.

2.99 expensive?:confused: thats less than one drink at a bar or a hot dog at a ball game.

I would be concerned about what the problem really is. that may be the expensive part.

 

you say the voltage kicks when you turn on the A/C? is that when it blew?

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The link never blew. The problem was a loose connection at the link box -- the spade connector wasn't fitting tight. Apparently it's been arcing for awhile because the arcing weakened the connector and dry-fried the rubber insulation.

 

The voltage kicks down a volt or two when I turn on the A/C. If I cut the blower fan, it'll go back up.

 

Ooops ... had a typo in my second post, wrote blank and meant to type black.

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