Fuses, so simple

pamcopete · Posted: July 29, 2009, 3:37 pm Post subject: Fuses, so simple

On a long ride with some friends on the weekend, one of the bikes just quit dead....nothing.....no lights, ignition etc. Suspecting a main fuse blown, we looked at it and it "looked" good, but we replaced it anyway. Problem solved. I was able to pull one of the end caps off and discovered that the solder that attaches the fuse element to the cap had melted from overheating, probably caused by a poor contact in the fuse holder.

This condition can also produce an intermittent failure.

So, a recommendation is in order:

1. Replace all fuses once a year.
2. Clean the contacts in the fuse holder

The combination of heat and vibration can cause a fuse to fail mechanically, even though it "looks" OK. It's also an example of the axiom for all things electrical: "There is no substitute for substitution"

IAmGrowler · Posted: July 29, 2009, 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: Fuses, so simple

pamcopete wrote:

On a long ride with some friends on the weekend, one of the bikes just quit dead....nothing.....no lights, ignition etc. Suspecting a main fuse blown, we looked at it and it "looked" good, but we replaced it anyway. Problem solved. I was able to pull one of the end caps off and discovered that the solder that attaches the fuse element to the cap had melted from overheating, probably caused by a poor contact in the fuse holder.

This condition can also produce an intermittent failure.

So, a recommendation is in order:

1. Replace all fuses once a year.
2. Clean the contacts in the fuse holder

The combination of heat and vibration can cause a fuse to fail mechanically, even though it "looks" OK. It's also an example of the axiom for all things electrical: "There is no substitute for substitution"

An even better suggestion would be to replace the stock fuse block altogether with an ATO or ATC fuse block and fuses.

These bikes vibrate way too much to rely on old school glass fuses.

pamcopete · Posted: July 29, 2009, 5:27 pm Post subject: Re: Fuses, so simple

IAMgrowler,

The fuse block in this bike had been replaced with inline fuse holders, but your suggesiotn is well taken.

jayel · Posted: July 29, 2009, 7:03 pm Post subject: Re: Fuses, so simple

something like this hardwired in (soldered and shrink tube) on the connections

woodman · Full Member Joined: Oct 12, 2008 Posts: 256

Thats what I did on mine and put a box of spares in the tool pouch

xsleo · Posted: August 1, 2009, 1:08 am Post subject: Re: Fuses, so simple

One advantage of the ATC fuses is they have no solder joints.

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