Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Has anyone used them,in their cars?instead of fuses.As i'm thinking of putting them in my car. Thats my escort im talking about.I know harleys use them so why not in a car ?

No reason you couldn't. Most boats and all aircraft use them. The only reason cars don't use them is cost during manufacture ($5 CB vs $0.50 fuse). Reliability under adverse conditions also weigh in for CB's

Circuit breakers have advantages for sure, but they also have disadvantages...

Advantage: can be reset without having to replace a fuse = cost.
Disadvantage: If you have a dead short and reset the breaker (repeatedly) then you are at a considerably higher risk of starting an electrical loom fire.

It is a car not an aeroplane so I'd fit CB's to all non essential circuits and fuses to essential circuits.

I've used them for fridge power supply, driving lights and some other random devices. I've also used them in cars that have chewed through standard and "waterproof" fuse assemblies to to mud and water ingress.

I'll be using them for my fridge and driving light wiring in a few weeks.

I think they are a good idea on safety devices, such as a power feed for trailer brakes. Could splash the plug with water or something, fuse pops and you don't know until you put your foot on the brakes and the trailer keeps going with a (Auto Resetting) circuit breaker this wont happen.

but for general purpose, i would not use an auto-reseting circuit breaker. Norml circuit breaker could be good, but how often do you actually have blown fuses anyway? is it realy worth the big investment?

A 30 AMP "waterproof" blade type fuse assembly costs about $8-9 (maxi type is around $19), a 30 AMP circuit breaker costs about $12. So not that much difference in price.

On my buggy about 10 years ago, I used a whole row of them, mounted on din rail and all. LOL

I'm using a 30 amp push-to-reset circuit breaker for my ARB compressor and a 20amp push-to-reset breaker for my smaller suspension compressor. Been running these since 2008 and i've never had to reset them.

cheers

Jeeps wrote:I'm using a 30 amp push-to-reset circuit breaker for my ARB compressor and a 20amp push-to-reset breaker for my smaller suspension compressor. Been running these since 2008 and i've never had to reset them.

cheers

Were'd you get them Sam? How much?

I replaced the fusible link with a 100A CB on the charade, and had a 200A Fuse going to the boot (Doof Doof...)

It reset a couple of times - only when cranking while hot under the engine bay...

I've been using them for years. Every accessroy I put in my truck that requires a fuse (pretty much all of them) I use a circuit breaker instead. As already mentioned I used them on a DIN rail or bus bar. This also makes wiring a bit simplier as I use the bus bar as a common power feed so I only have one power wire running to my bank of circuit breakers, then feeding off the other side to the accessories. I also use in some situations the self reseting circuit breakers that fit the blade fuse spacings in the factory fuse box.

WICKED wrote:

Jeeps wrote:I'm using a 30 amp push-to-reset circuit breaker for my ARB compressor and a 20amp push-to-reset breaker for my smaller suspension compressor. Been running these since 2008 and i've never had to reset them.

cheers

Were'd you get them Sam? How much?

Electrical wholesaler

WICKED wrote:

Jeeps wrote:I'm using a 30 amp push-to-reset circuit breaker for my ARB compressor and a 20amp push-to-reset breaker for my smaller suspension compressor. Been running these since 2008 and i've never had to reset them.

cheers

Were'd you get them Sam? How much?

Ben I just went to my local auto lecky out here at Boonah and bought them from him. He uses them for tractors and farm machinery so they're a bit more heavy duty than i probably need. I havn't seen anything like them since but seeing as the jeep is pretty agricultural anyway they suit it just fine They are designed to mount behind a panel/dashboard and in the below pic you can see the red the buttons poking up from below the plate. They just have a 20 or 30 printed on them designating their amp rating and they pop up when they trip. You just have to press them to reset, i can't remember but i think they were about $40ea:




cheers