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Dittner@ao*.co* wrote: > I don't know what rinky dink auto company you work for, but the one I work > for has fuses in the headlight circuit, always has, and always will. The > reason most cars have a fuse in any circuit is to prevent something from > shorting out, building up heat in the wires and <surprise> catching fire!!! > For what its worth a fusible link is just what it says, a "fuse", get it? If > the circuit has too little resistence (ie a short) than the fuse or fusible > link heats up first and melts to prevent the electical system from having an > experience on the order of the china syndrome. The company is not rinky dink, but in this case I am. Without verifying my information, I opened my big mouth. There is a fuse in the headlight circuit along with a fusable link. That will teach me to believe what I am told by others. (others who SHOULD know) Sorry for putting out bad information. Sushi is on me for everyone! > I am in no way endorsing having a fuse in a cave light, > quite to the contrary. I support the KISS principle on light systems. The > fuse is one more faliure point that none of us need. Besides if your light > catches on fire it won't burn for very long <G>. The light is a very simple > cicuit, in fact it is just about the most basic DC circuit around if you > remove the switch. Battery wire load wire battery. There is no need for a > fuse in this design for this application, if there were there would be fuses > in flash lights. Have you ever seen a flash light with a fuse? As Steven pointed out, the reason for a fuse in any circuit is to prevent fires. This is not a consideration for cave lights. Another thing to consider, the fusing current of 12 ga. wire (I think that is about the gauge used in AUL lights) is about 235 amperes. A healthy sealed lead acid battery should be able to burn the wires open in a dead short and thus act like a fuse. (I DID look this one up!) > Also I have never heard of any goverment regulation on where not to put > fuses on cars, I was under the impression that some EE was paid alot of money > to design safe electrical systems for the cars. Not some know nothing > goverment bureaucrat. If you work for an auto company, you know that sadly there are many designs that are dictated by know nothing government bureaucrats. Remember the cars that would not start if you didn't have the seat belts fastened BEFORE turning the key? That one didn't last very long. Remember the performance you got from cars with polution controls that were mechanical (before we knew how to make engine controls with computers)? There are many others, but this is a diving list, so that's enough off topic stuff. -- <<<<<<======------======>>>>>> Dave Mabry dmabry@mi*.co* Great Lakes Maritime Institute Underwater Research Team <<<<<<======------======>>>>>>
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