Can you identify this burnt fuse in Fiat battery box? (1 Viewer)

[OldAgeTravellers]

When removing all batteries and connections prior to fitting my BMV702 battery monitor, I came across this fuse melted in the engine battery box under the floor. It's a 2012 Fiat chassis Hymer B614. The Hymer book says that the 50amp is for the transformer/rectifier which I presumes means the EBL and that the yellow 20Amp which is melted is for the fridge but I got the impression that it was for the engine battery charge when on solar or hookup, when my engine battery went flat once that fuse was blown. When I replaced it the engine battery started charging again from the EBL. They also say the 50amp one in the habitation battery box is for the transformer/rectifier, would they put one on each end? I thought the Fridge was controlled by the EBL101. Unfortunately it has destroyed the fuse holder (Dirty contacts perhaps caused heating, although I replaced the fuse a couple of months ago so it should have cleaned them a bit). There is nobody within 50 miles even if I could get one. Anybody see anything wrong with the bottom picture setup? At least till I can locate the proper fuse holder.
Also if this is the engine battery charge fuse, so very important but buried under carpets etc. would it be worth putting an LED in a visable position across the terminals to show when or if the fuse blows as the first indication is a flat engine battery which can be very expensive.
Thanks for any input.

 

[jonandshell]

Dunno what it does but it's being bodged by connecting it with spade terminals.
A bad connection will create heat which will melt it.
Buy a new fuse and a proper spade fuse holder to sort it properly.
The stopgap will work for a short time however.

 

[SandraL]

The 20a supply to the ebl does power the fridge. The ebl101 uses this feed to charge engine battery from solar or mains.
So if itblows the fridge wont work on 12v and engine battery wont get charged from ebl.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

Dunno what it does but it's being bodged by connecting it with spade terminals.
A bad connection will create heat which will melt it.
Buy a new fuse and a proper spade fuse holder to sort it properly.
The stopgap will work for a short time however.

Yes I fully intend to buy the proper fuse holder when I can locate one but living in rural France that sort of thing is virtually non existent so to get us going I was going to use the spade terminal bodge then I can go to a proper motor factors when we get to the UK mid September. There is enough cable to be able to lose a couple of inches in the process.

 

[pappajohn]

They also say the 50amp one in the habitation battery box is for the transformer/rectifier, would they put one on each end?

Ideally yes.
You have a potential power source at each end of that wire and if a short occured the single fuse would blow but the other end of the wire is still connected to a power source and unprotected.

 

[pappajohn]

Dunno what it does but it's being bodged by connecting it with spade terminals.
A bad connection will create heat which will melt it.
Buy a new fuse and a proper spade fuse holder to sort it properly.
The stopgap will work for a short time however.

The terminals in a proper fuse holder or fuse box are nothing more than spade connectors secured in a plastic block.
Apart from being unsightly and the possibility of a terminal being pulled off there's nothing wrong with that setup electrically.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

The 20a supply to the ebl does power the fridge. The ebl101 uses this feed to charge engine battery from solar or mains.
So if itblows the fridge wont work on 12v and engine battery wont get charged from ebl.

That explains it, I have just managed to trace the wire and it does go to the fridge via terminal 1 on block 2 and I see now on the EBL block diagram that it also goes to the charge relay so both jobs and it certainly needs a warning light I think.
Thanks for the info.
Steve

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

The terminals in a proper fuse holder or fuse box are nothing more than spade connectors secured in a plastic block.
Apart from being unsightly and the possibility of a terminal being pulled off there's nothing wrong with that setup electrically.

Thanks pappajohn. Infact I have just managed to get one of the wires out of the fuse block and the amount of contact area is ridiculous the slightest corrosion and heating is inevitable the yellow spade connectors I plan to use have about 10 times as much contact area. And If I squeeze them a bit to make them tighter I may leave it permantly.
I have noticed quite a few things on this chassis that seem to be on the edge of tolerance electrically. The wires to the various front lights DRL's etc. Are tiny, probably less than a millimetre diameter including insulation and they are not the high voltage type. So will be carrying significant current.
Steve

 

[jonandshell]

The terminals in a proper fuse holder or fuse box are nothing more than spade connectors secured in a plastic block.
Apart from being unsightly and the possibility of a terminal being pulled off there's nothing wrong with that setup electrically.

Fuse blades are thinner than a connector. Fact.

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[Lenny HB]

The wires to the various front lights DRL's etc. Are tiny, probably less than a millimetre diameter including insulation and they are not the high voltage type. So will be carrying significant current.
Steve

Most vehicle cables are what referred to Thin Walled, they use a thinner high temperature PVC and a higher purity cooper which allows them to carry higher currents than traditional cables.

 

[bigtree]

That looks a good enough job to me and if you think it is a bit loose give the spades a bit of a pinch.

 

[castor]

Also reside in France, got my connectors and other bits vis Amazon posted to France .no probs.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

Also reside in France, got my connectors and other bits vis Amazon posted to France .no probs.

Yes that's fine if you have time, I find that most things take at least a week and usually have quite a bit of postage especially Amazon.fr
But job done with spade connectors squeezed tight. So much better connection than the burnt out one. Unfortunately a warning light across the fuse didn't work as it was positive of starter battery to positive of hab batteries so not enough of a cuircuit. A project for a quieter time, as it really does need a warning light in case the fuse blows. But a bit of electronics needed I think. Any electronics boffins can work out a simple cuircuit?
The fuse supplies a 15amp supply from the engine battery for the fridge when running, then just a 3amp flow the other way for charging the engine battery from solar or hookup when needed.