![]() ![]() At any rate, the proper wire was connected and the problem was solved. The service technician thought I was fortunate not to have had a fire in the trunk. The insulation melted off this wire and when it touched the body of the car, the fuse would blow. A goof at the factory had this thin wire powering the tail lights. The cartridge is rated for up to 600 volts and is current limiting with a dual element and time delay. This monitor circuit had a very thin wire leading back from the tail lights. The Cooper Bussmann FRS Series 15 Amp Brass Cartridge Fuse is constructed of brass end caps and a fiberglass tube. The problem turned out to be that some Ford Tempo models were equipped with a tail light monitor. The car was on warranty, so I took it back to the dealer. A replacement fuse would last up to a week and then would blow. The dash lights were on the same circuit so I knew when the fuse blew. I had only had the car a month when the fuse blew for the tail lights. ![]() However, pulling more current (amperes) on an overfused circuit (using a 20 ampere when a 15 ampere is required) sets up the conditions for a fire whether it is in a car or in a house. On a fused circuit, a dead short rarely causes a fire. This leads to heat, melted insulation and a possible fire. However, when you put in a 20 ampere fuse, and it doesn’t blow, while a 15 ampere fuse does blow, you are pulling more current through the wires than the wires were intended to carry. A direct short circuit would blow either a 15 ampere or a 20 ampere fuse immediately. PS: I agree that the 20 amp fuse is a bad idea. There is a Hypot (high-potential breakdown) test that can be run, but you probably won’t need to go that far. Sometimes the cracks and chafs can be visually seen on the wire insulation. You’ll want to have the battery disconnected when you do this, as the lock circuits are always “hot” even when the key is out. These types of shorts can often be found by removing the door panel, untying and “breaking into” the harness, seperating the individual wires, and checking continuity (in this case to ground) while flexing them. The harness to the driver’s door is the usual suspect, becaus thet gets flexed repeatedly every tim ethe car is used. You may have a high-resistance short to ground. ![]() You didn’t say the year of the vehicle, but one thing common to older vehicles is that the insulation on wires in the wiring harness that ges through the holes in the body and door becomes chafed and cracked and shorts out. ![]()
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