Virtually people get caught upwards on fuse wire size but once you get the hang of it, it shouldn't cause besides many headaches. This is an in-depth fuse tutorial explaining everything y'all need to know most fuses and how to size a fuse. We'll go into all the relevant details and what it all means and so you lot'll get from novice to pro in no time at all.

Why do you lot need a fuse?

The main function of a fuse is to protect your wiring, but in social club to do and so, you lot'll have to go the right fuse wire size from the get-go, too low and information technology'll accident, besides high and y'all'll end up doing damage to the whole circuit!

Things could go actually ugly really speedily, and so to avoid all that mess you'll demand to ensure that y'all get the right size fuse for the job every fourth dimension. For your fuse to do its job correctly and protect your wires, it should exist rated about i.i to i.v times the rated current value. It'due south as well a great idea to get an ATC fuse holder to protect and mount your fuse.

One common misconception about choosing the right fuse size is that it'south dependent on the load of the circuit. Actually, the load of the excursion should have zilch to practice with choosing a fuse size. The fuse size should be based on the SMALLEST wire (largest cuff number) in the excursion.

How to calculate fuse rating

For those of you lot who desire to get right downwardly to business, let's non waste any more time, here's how you'd go nigh computing fuse size correctly in 3 elementary steps:

  • Determine the wire gage you lot already have past locating it on the parcel or simply by measuring it.
  • Use the following table to make up one's mind the maximum current for whatever wire gage is being used.
  • Take the maximum current value obtained from the table and observe the largest fuse y'all tin can observe that still falls within the limitations. DO Not EXCEED THE VALUES ON THIS Tabular array! Common automotive blade-style fuses exist at 5A-20A in 5A Increments. Ex: 5A,10A,15A,20A

Determining the Full Amperage of your Circuit

So you merely bought your stuff at Oznium and are getting ready to programme your installation while USPS gets it to your door. Ane of the kickoff questions to enquire when planning your installation is what size wire to use, which will later decide what fuse to use.

Don't worry if you're lost, yous're at Oznium, we're helpful here.

Electric current is measured in Amperes, abbreviated to Amps or just the letter A. Because of the low-electric current nature of the products at Oznium, nigh of the products, and the table that I've developed, have current listed in milliamperes or mA for short.

eg. 1A is equal to 1000mA

To find the total amperage in your specific installation, refer to the tabular array below.

Observe the items that you're installing and their current requirements. Add the values and separate by 1000 to get your total electric current in Amps. You tin apply this value in the fuse size nautical chart above to determine the minimum wire size required.

Here's an example:

Say you lot bought a common cold cathode kit for each side of the dash (ii Transformers), 5 superflux LED's for your vents, and a 4.vii″ Flexible LED strip for your center console.

If yous want to put all of these on a single circuit, yous'll need to know the current. Based on the table above, each transformer draws 700mA, each Superflux LED draws 80mA, and the LED strip draws 80mA

Add it all up..

(700*2)+(80*5)+(eighty*ane) = 1880mA in total.

Then..

 1880mA / 1000 = 1.88A.

Put one.88A into the top table in this post. That table tells yous that you lot should have no smaller than 21 gauge wire for your circuit.

Personally, I would go with the xx gauge wire and a two.5A fuse.

If I've missed anything or left annihilation out, please right me through PM, and I will correct the tables.

What is fuse rating?

You lot'll commonly find the fuse rating on the side of your fuse, which volition be given in amps. Fuse rating is the corporeality of current needed for the fuse to blow or pause. When this happens, it stops the electric ability from flowing through the electric circuit.

Why are fuses rated?

The fuse rating is a valuable piece of information because information technology helps you to protect your electrical circuit and therefore should never be neglected. Every electrical circuit will need a different amount of electrical current, what is just right for i electrical circuit may exist too much or too footling for another. Do the correct thing and protect your circuit.

Hopefully this guide helps you to install all the products here at Oznium quickly and most importantly, safely.

Anyone who needs additional information or has specific or more complex installations, feel gratuitous to go in touch or post a question below.

Read common questions and answers on ATC Fuse for LEDs