Why brute force and ignorance is dumb when it comes to fuses

Garage talk. Anything from mounting a winch to water proofing the electrics.
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Lincoln
Hard Yaka
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:42 am
Location: Christchurch

Why brute force and ignorance is dumb when it comes to fuses

Post by Lincoln »

Today I wanted to check for air in the fuel system on my Surf so I carefully read the manual that started with "Disconnect the battery and remove the glow plugs fuse".

I found the fuse pretty easily then gave it a pull. Hmm. Not really going anywhere. I tried another fuse and it came out easily so I figured it must just be a bit jammed. So I gave it another pull and nothing shifted. So ... I pulled out the pliers and gave it a yank.

And yeah, er ... it sort of imploded. I figured it was already screwed so for the next ten minutes I battled on with my pliers and the thing was still jammed in there.

Then, for the first time, I used my brain and went down to supercheap to buy a replacement so that I could get a good look at what it looks like and check it for hidden catches, trapdoors etc. It was only then that I found out about the difference between male and female fuses! I also found out that instead of pulling, you have to release a catch and then push the bloody thing out through the bottom of the fuse box where you then find that it has two bloody great screws holding it in place.

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You'd think this would be the end of my exploits but no, one of the screws was fixed solid and I had to apply such a great turning force to it that it finished off the rest of the fuse as well as the fuse housing!

Not much left of the fuse holder on the left, behind the blue fuse:
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On the right is what remains of the first fuse:
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Damn it. By this time I was reasonably angry and went on to break the leakage pipe of the fuel injector too! Lesson learnt!
1993 Hilux Surf SSR-G, 2.4L Turbo Diesel, 2L-TE, LN130, 125,000kms and counting.
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