Lady72nRob71

To check a fuse, a voltmeter or a test light is required.
Looking at it and seeing it is not burned is not good enough.

Yesterday, I was reinstalling all of Lady's interior trim pieces that I had to repaint, including the grills and trim rings for 4 of the speakers.

After doing all that, I made a check of the radio to make sure all the speakers worked. The radio did NOTHING. No power whatsoever!
I never had a radio issue before, so this was a coincidence for sure. All four of the speakers are connected to an external amp, so what I did could not have cause "no power".

I looked at the fuse, but it looked good. I put a voltmeter from ground to both sides of the fuse. I had 12V to only ONE side.
I popped the fuse out and the end cap popped off. The internal solder joint had failed. I replaced it with a new one and radio worked fine.

After almost 40 years of vibration and temperature changes, solder joints can weaken and fail. Perhaps this happened because my last drive was 400 miles in 100* temperatures. I also remember a couple times when the radio cut out for a split second while driving. The connection was weak and that last drive finally caused it to open up.

So when troubleshooting electrical faults, replace the suspected fuse, or use a voltmeter or test light.
While this is not a super-common issue, it can be enough to cause some supreme frustration and wasted troubleshooting time.
I have experienced this 3 times in my life so far; the first time I learned the hard way...

olds425

I hate when that happens. At least you tested it and found the problem. I use my meter on the continuity test setting with fuse out. Glad it is fixed, electrical problems are not fun.

BILL DEMMER

just a thought...
maybe it would be a good idea to replace your fuses every 30 years or so
and yes, heat cycling over many decades will do that.

bill

Lady72nRob71

A good thought, but I question how short a life the new chinesium ones will have.
It is best to at least have a whole fuse set in the glove box along with a puller.

My mom's 25 year old microwave went through about 3 new chinesium fuses in 2 years a while back. None were never blown, just open. I found a used one from an OLD junked unit and it has lasted 5 years so far with no problems.

Oldsguy

If the end cap isn't bent or mutilated just snap it back on with a little super glue and you're good to go!

Lady72nRob71

Providing that you can FIND the cap and you solder the fuse part back to the end cap, this can be done! Heck, resolder the other side, too!

My end cap launched into the unknown...
I guess i can remove one from a blown fuse................

Coming soon - Rob's "fuse rebuilding thread"...

jeffreyalman

4 years ago or so I was on the way to the OCA Nationals in Bowling Green KY

while sitting at a Wendy's drive-thru in Ocala, Fl, waiting in line, the A/C quit (had been on high)

worked fine on 1 2 and 3 but not high. I stopped somewhere in TN at an old Napa and got a new high speed blower resistor, did not fix it (used it years later on the wagon, glad I had it!)

when I finally got to the Nat's, I was in line to register and got to chatting about the A/C. Of course, a bunch of people offered to help.

We got out to the car, and one of the guys pointed to the under-hood in-line fuse and said "be right back"

He came back with his tools and fuses and said "damn I have every size except what you need!"

It was a mini 20amp glass fuse - looked vaguely familiar to me...

I had a box in the glovebox from the previous owner.

I rarely use HIGH any more, and only if I am moving

Jamesbo

Love to see it. I need to remove some pennies from my home fuse pannel

Lady72nRob71

Pennies are great for that. If they blow, just upgrade to a nickel.

mv213

That's a sure sign of fuse failure, and the only correct way to test the fuse. I took my instrument panel fuse out and tested it with an ohmeter, it tested fine out of the car (0 ohms) but in the car showed 12v on one side only. Replaced the fuse and there was light! Obviously I had the same issue you had and when testing out of the car pressed it together enough to get contact.

Blk71SX

I've got a dandy little tester that you put the prongs on each end and it beeps if the fuse is good. no need to remove the fuse unless it's bad

hamm36

I just bought some NOS 25 amp fuses if you would like one. They were $1.19 for 5.

Lady72nRob71

Thanks Carl, but I have a box of 25's and a box of 30's and two assortment boxes.
None had 10A, but I finally found some at work. 10A is not too popular i guess...

Is your car all back together now? It's been a while since I have seen it. I need to drop by some time.

jeffreyalman

I started using my A/C on high this week - nothing bad happened yet - really need it - been in the 90s - I think as long as I am moving that under-hood fuse will be ok - it's only a year old - what old technology huh? compared to today - and to think we were there back in the day when it was cutting edge

jeffreyalman

Rob are you @ work or did you fix your DSL @ home?