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Hi,
Hope someone can help me in using the correct fuse for "Tap-A-Fuse". I installed Footwell Led light for front seat only on driver and passenger., I use a Tap Fuse and plug to fuse #27 Parking Light 7.5A. My question is, do I put both 7.5A in a Tap-A-Fuse slot? The Tap-A-Fuse came with 5A fuse. Please see picture of what I mean. Hoping it won't overload. Picture is only for example. Thanks.
You should first determine which side of the original fuse slot is the positive side. Make sure your tap-a-fuse has the "tapped" side on the positive side.
How to do this: Set your voltmeter to ~10V setting. Put one electrode in one side of fuse slot, other electrode on an exposed bolt or piece of metal that makes contact with the body/chassis. If you can read ~12V, that's the positive terminal.
Insert tap-a-fuse such that the tapped side is in the positive terminal. Now you can additionally add the 5A fuse included in your kit (assuming it has its own fuse holder) to the wire coming off your tap. If you don't have a fuse holder, it wouldn't hurt to add one so that your LEDs don't blow up. Probably won't be an issue if you don't use it, but that's up to you.
Your LEDs should have a negative wire. Run that wire to any available bolt on the chassis that is a good ground. (your entire car is a "ground" so any exposed metal works). You do NOT have to run the negative back to the fuse box. Handy, huh?
Here's what's going to happen:
Your parking lights draw some amount of current (call it I_p). Your LEDs draw some current (call it I_led). The wire leading to the positive terminal in the fuse box now carried (I_p + I_led) of current which may or may not go over 7.5A. However, the current fed to your LEDs gets tapped off at the tap-a-fuse, and the only current passing through the original fuse is still (I_p). Yay!
Your parking lights now are in no danger of having a blown fuse, and your LEDs get lit. heh.
You should not, under any circumstances, change the fuse rating in any slot (either up or down). If you wire it like I describe, you won't have to.
You should first determine which side of the original fuse slot is the positive side. Make sure your tap-a-fuse has the "tapped" side on the positive side.
How to do this: Set your voltmeter to ~10V setting. Put one electrode in one side of fuse slot, other electrode on an exposed bolt or piece of metal that makes contact with the body/chassis. If you can read ~12V, that's the positive terminal.
Insert tap-a-fuse such that the tapped side is in the positive terminal. Now you can additionally add the 5A fuse included in your kit (assuming it has its own fuse holder) to the wire coming off your tap. If you don't have a fuse holder, it wouldn't hurt to add one so that your LEDs don't blow up. Probably won't be an issue if you don't use it, but that's up to you.
Your LEDs should have a negative wire. Run that wire to any available bolt on the chassis that is a good ground. (your entire car is a "ground" so any exposed metal works). You do NOT have to run the negative back to the fuse box. Handy, huh?
Here's what's going to happen:
Your parking lights draw some amount of current (call it I_p). Your LEDs draw some current (call it I_led). The wire leading to the positive terminal in the fuse box now carried (I_p + I_led) of current which may or may not go over 7.5A. However, the current fed to your LEDs gets tapped off at the tap-a-fuse, and the only current passing through the original fuse is still (I_p). Yay!
Your parking lights now are in no danger of having a blown fuse, and your LEDs get lit. heh.
You should not, under any circumstances, change the fuse rating in any slot (either up or down). If you wire it like I describe, you won't have to.
I'm new to this thing.
Dumb question: How to do this: Set your voltmeter to ~10V setting. Put one electrode in one side of fuse slot, other electrode on an exposed bolt or piece of metal that makes contact with the body/chassis. If you can read ~12V, that's the positive terminal.
Do you mean test the fuse box slot #27 to see which side give ~12V or test Tap-aFuse to see which side is positive? I put fuse as it was label below and plug into fuse #27. So far it works but not it's work probably since I did not test to see which is positive for the fuse.
I take note how the org fuse was plug-in. Example, the number 7 was on the right side and .5 was on the left side. So basically, when I plug the tap-a-fuse, i put the same way.
Oh awesome, the tap-a-fuse has it's own fuse slot.
I meant to check which side of the original fuse slot (the one in your car where all the other fuses are) is positive. However, now that I see how it's setup, I'm wondering if it even matters... there must be some kind of diode/switch/something that automatically pulls power from the right side in order to make that secondary fuse work. So you're probably good no matter which way you go! If that 2nd fuse slot wasn't there, then what I said before remains true, but I think you're ok no matter what now.
01-10-2017, 01:46 PM
