Fuse melted, not burnt in middle

[Keef]

Cranked up my bike yesterday. ( 1997 GL 1500 Aspencade) I let the RPM's go a little higher than normal. I smelled smoke. Little later I noticed my tail lights were out. So I started pulling fuses. Pulled the one that said ( Tail, meter, position) Now I know what the tail means. But could some one tell me what Meter and Position mean, or what they got to?
Also this fuse was melted, not burnt in the middle like the usually do. Is this a sign of something else? Should I check something else?
All imput is greatly weclomed and thank ful for. Pix of fuse next. See attachment.

[wjnfirearms]

The burnt fuse is a sign of a potential short circuit in that particular circuit. You will need to check all the wiring, connectors, and sockets in the circuit and then also check your fuse box for damage.

[virgilmobile]

I have seen this many times....It's cause is usually a poor/corroded connection on the blade that got hot.
Poor/corroded/loose connections have resistance...current flow through a resistor will create heat...
You must repair the connection....by any means that you can...Just putting in another fuse might help for a while but it too will end up the same way...
The female connection has already been heat stressed and will never make a really good connection.
It needs to be replaced.

Here's a link to a site with similar problems....http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14 ... 07560.html

[thrasherg]

Virgil is correct, I really doubt its a sign of a short in the circuit as that would have caused the fuse to fail, it's a clear indicator of a poor connection between the burnt leg of the fuse and the connector in the fuse box that connects to that leg of the fuse. Just replacing the fuse will NOT correct the issue, you need to get to the connector and try to clean it with a needle file, emery paper and contact cleaner, then fit a new fuse and all should be good.

When you have poor contact, you get higher resistance than normal, as current flows through a resistance it generates heat and that heat caused the plastic around the leg of the fuse to melt..This is NOT a sign of excessive current (so nothing is shorting in the circuit), it just indicates poor contact between the fuse and connector..

Gary

[Keef]

Thanks Guy's, Will try the cleaning and emery cloth first. Now can one of you tell me what the ( meter, Position) stands for on the same fuse??
Thanks

[virgilmobile]

I'm gonna guess that it's the marker(position) and backlight(meter)...
You'll know when it's dark out.

I noticed that my..photon generating,electron consuming,filament device....(light bulb) quit in my instrument cluster last night..... ...I'll get round tuit someday..

[Fatwing Chris]

The terminal will loose some tension(grip)because of the heat,so it would be a good idea to try and squeeze the terminal closed a bit.If the terminal can be removed from the back of the fuse panel(it was put in there,so it should come out) then you would be best to go ahead and replace it now.Once a terminal is that bad then they will never be the same for the reasons stated above.Cleaning and squeezing is a temporary repair IMHO.

[Keef]

Thanks all for the info! Will replace next time............