Fuses, and The Trip to Oz



10/02/05
Fuses, and The Trip to OZ

I buffed some more this weekend, but managed to wear out a Buffing wheel! I’ll have to order a couple more to get the mad rush to finish my Ferrari grille before I leave for my trip!

While I was in the garage, I took a quick look at the fuse panel to try and figure out why I was blowing a fuse on my parking lights. The fuse that had blown was a red 16 amp fuse, but the only spare ones I had handy were blue 25 amp fuses. I didn’t really want to set my car on fire, but I figured if there was a real short, the 25 amp fuse would blow just as quickly as a 16 amp. I would also keep a sharp lookout for smoke while I was running my test.

With the ignition on, and a 25 amp fuse in place, I turned on the parking lights, and waited….Nothing happened, and the lights were all on. This circuit also powers the trunk light, and the under hood lights, so I opened both lids, and waited some more… Still nothing.

I began to wonder if 16 amps was not enough fuse for that circuit. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered the formula, Volts X Amps = Watts. So if I had a 16 amp fuse, it should be able to handle 192 watts. With four parking lights on each corner, and two license plate bulbs, there should be plenty of margin for that fuse. Now I’m wondering if anyone knows what was the correct fuse for this circuit? Without a blown fuse, I couldn’t fix the problem, so I’ll put a 16 amp fuse in when I get one, and see what happens.

Our trip To Australia is coming together nicely. We’ve made arrangements to stay in Sydney until January 6th, so we’ll get to see the fireworks in Sydney Harbor for New Years. If you’re in Sydney, and have any suggestions for me, my wife, or 2 year old Daughter to do, or want to meet for a beer, let me know!

I’ve gotten a green light to look into attending the Australian GP from my wife. We’ll try our best to be in the Melbourne Area when it arrives in March, but have no idea how difficult it will be to attend. I’m going to try my best to work my contacts to the limit and try to get as much access to this Formula One event since it will be my first one! If anyone has any suggestions, or contacts that can help, let me know!

I’ve also heard that there are a number of car related events in that area around those dates. In the end of February is a Ferrari event in Victoria, and what about the Historic Racing festival at Phillip Island? If anyone has insight and contact information, let me know. I’ve gotten some information from Terry Healy of http://www.oldtimeraustralia.com , but would love to hear from personal experiences, and suggestions. 

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