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fuse is good but it still does not work…. |
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We
can not begin to tell you how many times we all get
fooled over a fuse that looks good but in reality
is blown. Now the first item in our hand when we go
out to check a fusebox is a test light.
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One
of the major causes of the confusion is corrosion.
The ceramic style fuses will corrode at the ends over
time and will cease to make the necessary connection.
Although they look good the corrosion is interupting
the flow of current which has the same effect as a
blown fuse. The best way to prevent the problem is
to simply replace all the fuses every three years
or at the first sign of corrosion. By the way, the
fuses used to be made out of ceramic now they are
plastic but the term ceramic has stuck. The illustration
below shows the ceramic fuse in plastic dress.
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Another
source of betrayel is the fuse is actually blown
but looks intact. I have seen many fuses at first
glance look like they are intact but the metal is
actually broken at the ends or has such a small
break in the middle that the break is not easily
seen. You actually may not see the break until after
you take the fuse out and it falls apart.
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Now
we come back to the test light. To avoid all of
the confusion hook your test light alligator clip
to ground, turn the key to the on position and touch
the metal of the fusebox on each side of the fuse,
not the fuse ends but the metal that the fuse is
contacting. Do not push inward on the metal since
you may cause the fuse to make connection again.
We are looking for the cause which we will fix later.
If the test light lights on one side of the fuse
but not the other we now know that either the fuse
is blown or corrosion is preventing a good connection.
Test each fuse of the vehicle while you are there.
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Now
that you have identified which circuit is in operative
turn off the key and remove the fuse. If you remove
the fuse and it is intact corrosion is the problem.
At this point I would replace all the fuses. Make
sure you replace each fuse with the correct rating.
You can check your manual or fuse cover for this
information.
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