OK! NOW I'M FED-UP!!!+!

[FM-USA]

.
(got your attention? ) . . . This is about BLADE FUSES.

This is unbelievable, I've NEVER seen nor heard of this and I've been around these before they were born.
The actual fuse (little squiggly wire in the middle) didn't burn, one BLADE did.
Luckily the fuse box has LOTS of space, 1 fuse burnt & melted part of the box. It's still usable, thank goodness.

I looked and looked around my town, can't find quality blade fuses.
I've rode way out and around, only finding CHEAP China @#*-D@*^SES! . .

Quality blade fuses,... Oh where, oh where can they be?

[redbug]

Dirty or loose connections will sure cause the heat build up and a hi current draw along with it. Kinda like the three yellow wire repair. Did this happen in the original fuse holder?

[Bluewaterhooker0]

Dirty or loose connections will sure cause the heat build up and a hi current draw along with it. Kinda like the three yellow wire repair. Did this happen in the original fuse holder?

Plus 1 on the loose connection at the blade. Any fuse, breaker, or protection device has to have a very solid connection, as well as every other joint, splice, or connection in the series. I've seen a lousy 2.5A draw on a blower motor, burn the crap out of a relay that had a poor connection. It happens easier at high amp loads, but it surely can happen even at low amp draws.

Also +1 on the cheap Chinese CRAP. It amazes me that we couldn't even bother to keep such simple devices manufactured in this country. There is no logical excuse, for a product that costs $2 max, to be made in China, to save maybe .50 cents, and add that to the bottom line of profit. It's a disgrace. Raise the cost by .50 cents, and keep the job HERE you idiots ! And, there are THOUSANDS of similar products that have been outsourced, along with THOUSANDS of associated jobs, only to have an INFERIOR product shipped back for consumption by the fools paying for it in this country. Sorry, but you just hit me at the right time on that subject. MAYBE, a change in presidents can help reverse this debacle. We ARE getting screwed, on both ends.

[FM-USA]

Dirty or loose connections will sure cause the heat build up and a hi current draw along with it. Kinda like the three yellow wire repair. Did this happen in the original fuse holder?

Plus 1 on the loose connection at the blade. Any fuse, breaker, or protection device has to have a very solid connection, as well as every other joint, splice, or connection in the series. I've seen a lousy 2.5A draw on a blower motor, burn the crap out of a relay that had a poor connection. It happens easier at high amp loads, but it surely can happen even at low amp draws.

Also +1 on the cheap Chinese CRAP. It amazes me that we couldn't even bother to keep such simple devices manufactured in this country. There is no logical excuse, for a product that costs $2 max, to be made in China, to save maybe .50 cents, and add that to the bottom line of profit. It's a disgrace. Raise the cost by .50 cents, and keep the job HERE you idiots ! And, there are THOUSANDS of similar products that have been outsourced, along with THOUSANDS of associated jobs, only to have an INFERIOR product shipped back for consumption by the fools paying for it in this country. Sorry, but you just hit me at the right time on that subject. MAYBE, a change in presidents can help reverse this debacle. We ARE getting screwed, on both ends.

I'm right with you on that LOST JOBS point. (grrr)
Yes was in the OEM fuse holder. I pinched out all the surface charred plastic, the fuse box is salvageable. With a little sanding you couldn't tell anything happened. Must be higher temperature plastic.
Connections definitely weren't dirty, still had that new look. They weren't loose, made sure of that last summer when it first happened. I pinched the female connectors closed a bit and those new fuses took a bit of a push to install. To remove today it took a REALLY GOOD TUG to pull the blades out with needle nose pliers, they were not bonded from heat. The fuses plastic busted up but the squiggly wire of the fuse was still intact. Next you're gonna say a larger fuse was installed. NOPE.
I took a good look at the fuse fragment. The squiggly wire area was darkened in the middle from heat but not to the point of burnt. It had the colors of heat treating , wasn't like that new.

I was quite satisfied last summer I had this problem sorted out. The only weak link now is the "Cheap China Crap" fuses. They're overall thinner in plastic, good for heat dissipation but faster to melt. The blades were thinner too but seemed hard tempered, took a bit to bend once they were out. I believe the heat did this, a new one bent normally.
So what I did was switch the good fuses from headlights and tail light to the problem spots and will keep an eye on these. Until I get GOOD fuses I put the CCC fuses in the STOP and HORN-TURN spots AND will keep an eye on them also.

OH, another thing on these CCC fuses. The plastic is brittle and will easily snap, the good fuses take some bending before breaking.

Well that's my story (page 13,078) and sticking to it.

[Bluewaterhooker0]

I've noticed the same problem you noticed with the blade thickness of the spades on the fuses. I've seen the same issue with the relays I use in my business. It creates a problem, in that the female terminals that attach to the male spades don't make a solid connection, if they stay in place at all. You can feel it when the two are mated. The rule of thumb regarding Chinese manufacturing seems to be, if it looks sorta like the real thing, it's good enough. Measured specifications seem to be hit and miss when it comes from China Land. You already know how I feel, so I'll spare you another rant. I just sent an email to Cooper Bussman, an old school fuse manufacturer, asking if their product is still made in the US. If I hear from them, I'll let you know. I'd be interested myself, for my own inventory. I've been know to throw the Chinese crap in the garbage when I can source some good US replacement parts.

[FM-USA]

SAGA UPDATE

Last year I dial indicatored the fuse blade. Did the same for a piece of 320 wet/dry sandpaper.
Added the total of that sandpaper and a feeler gauge to just less than the fuse blade that was going in. I wrapped the feeler gauge with the sandpaper and inserted it in and out of the female end in the fuse box a few times. I believe I had more and cleaner contact area than OEM.

It's more than likely my use of 60/55w headlight bulbs is over stressing the 15 amp fuse and it's wiring. So today I did insert a quality 20A fuse and ran the bike with the lights on keeping a 'eye on' and felt for excessive heat of that headlight fuse.
It seemed normal, not even warm, so went for this days ride. Seen no melting nor felt extra heat even with the high beams on for 5 minutes before shutting down for the night.
I've had these 60/55w bulbs in for just under 3 years now and they're still shining nicely. I bought a 6 pack of these since I was having problems and didn't care for riding in the dark with no head lights. The "quality and high priced one's" I was buying weren't lasting but 364 days. SilverStar Ultra, BRIGHT ya, but JUST didn't last. I emailed and gave them a piece of my mind.... didn't help any, they're still in the stores at a HIGHer price.

SO! Here's the source of these LONG LASTING and inexpensive H3 headlight bulbs.
Keep your Nitro pill handy B4 seeing their price.
https://www.bulbamerica.com/products/bu ... otive-bulb

[Bluewaterhooker0]

It's been my opinion that the plain old Sylvania XtraVision H4 bulbs, at $15 a pair are as good as it gets. They are all rated at 12.8V and 55/60 W. How adding a blue tint, which can only reduce the total light output, is supposed to increase visibility, I don't know. I've been running the basic bulbs for 4 years, and about 16K miles, with no issue. I do have a headlight modulator installed, and I wonder if that doesn't actually extend the bulb life, as the bulbs only run at full voltage half the time. But, I tried the fancy bulbs in my Expedition years ago, and wasn't impressed, or able to tell any difference. It's just a marketing scam to me.

[FM-USA]

Anything less than the bulbs intended voltage will extend its lifespan.
Less voltage means the filament runs a smidgen cooler.

[Side Info]
Isn't the world's oldest lightbulb still burning bright after 109 years in some firehouse somewhere?

[redbug]

Yes there is, Livermore Ca. Fire station 6. They have a bulb cam.

[FM-USA]

Yes there is, Livermore Ca. Fire station 6. They have a bulb cam.

A bulb cam? OH MAN..... watching that's got to be worse than watching paint dry.

[redbug]

pretty slow there...total hits 27...

[Bluewaterhooker0]

Anything less than the bulbs intended voltage will extend its lifespan.
Less voltage means the filament runs a smidgen cooler.

[Side Info]
Isn't the world's oldest lightbulb still burning bright after 109 years in some firehouse somewhere?

It's a known fact that running incandescent bulbs at lower than intended voltages will greatly increase their life span. The reason I wasn't sure that would be the case with the modulator is that, the modulator turns the current all the way off, and then back to full current, many times per minute. It's also known that one thing that helps reduce bulb life span (or any electrical device) is many on and off cycles, where the filament cools and is again heated to maximum output. So, I couldn't figure out which would have the greater effect on the life of my headlights. I'm also not sure that the current is actually reduced to '0' in the off cycle of the modulation. While looking at the filament close-up, while it's modulating, the filament never seems to actually reach a point of being completely off. That may be due to the fact that the cycle is so rapid, the filament doesn't have time to totally cool down and stop glowing. If that's the case, then the on/off cycling may be negated by the frequency of the cycle. It may also be that the design of the modulator may not completely shut down the current flow in the off cycle. But, the end result is that my headlights have lasted much longer than I expected, and that may be due to the modulation, or in spite of it. OK....I think I've beaten this dead horse long enough.

[FM-USA]

I'm sure you got a couple WHI-TISH's left.

I agree, that filament takes a full second to totally shut off where you can't see any light at all. I remember seeing one cars light fade so slow it took almost 5 seconds to go completely out. Have no idea what type of bulb that was but was back in the late 1970's.