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what would cause a fuse to get so hot you can't touch it???

01maroonz71

01maroonz71

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one of the fuses in my truck was like this. it's a big ass metal fuse that says

GTE
30A-12V

i removed it, and the only things that don't work now are the radio and the power door locks. hmmm....but the truck was sitting off for like 10hours, then as soon as i got in the truck the radio didn't work, so i looked at teh fuses and this one was so freakin hot you couln't barely touch it. i had to use pliers to remove it. any ideas????
thanks
~dave
 
That fuse is waaay too big for a radio or power locks. The reason it is getting hot is because there is a short and that fuse is too big so it will get hot first before either the fuse blows or it starts a fire.
 
ok, good thing i pulled it. im not positive that's what it controlled...because on the fuse panel, the spot it was in was actually blank. ill try to get to the bottom of this tomm. thanks man.
 
Sounds like thats actually a circuit breaker, '85-ish up had two of them. They typically handle the non-fused accessory terminals.
 
Had one in my '89 that was for the power windows, heated up like all get out when I was having a prob with a window motor.
 
01maroonz71 said:
one of the fuses in my truck was like this. it's a big ass metal fuse that says

GTE
30A-12V

i removed it, and the only things that don't work now are the radio and the power door locks. hmmm....but the truck was sitting off for like 10hours, then as soon as i got in the truck the radio didn't work, so i looked at teh fuses and this one was so freakin hot you couln't barely touch it. i had to use pliers to remove it. any ideas????
thanks
~dave
Click to expand...
That sounds just like the breaker that was in my Astro. It controlled just the power door locks and I had one lock cylinder that was shorting out. It would actually unlock the door every time I would lock it. If the power locks aren't working check the cylinders first, one is probably shorted.
 
ok...will do, this fuse/breaker definately controls the radio too, and maybe some other things. i can't find where the wire is grounding out. it's kickin my ass. so i should check in the doors for a lock cylinder that is grounding??? thanks again guys
~Dave
 
I *think* you should be able to remove the connectors in the fuse panel (the locking ones we discussed) to determine where your issue is...if it's getting that hot, something is obviously wrong though, those circuit breakers are designed to reset after a bit, it could be that it is bad, but perhaps more likely that there is a short. You could always put a 5 amp fuse in the spot, and see if it pops. (without actuating the door locks or radio of cours...with no usage, obviously there should be no draw)

Better (easier) to pull wires off the fuse panel than it is to pull a door panel, if you don't have to. :)
 
a problem I have seen it inside the door, the wires get cracked or chafed sp? and they over time short out,

post a pic of your fuse panel..and do put a in a 5 amp to test it.
 
x2 on the door switch wiring. They tend to be in bad shape. Likely cause, still wouldn't pull the door panel without testing that circuit alone if possible.
 
Not that it matters much, but I don't think I've ever seen a radio NOT on a fuse and on a circuit breaker instead. Are you sure you've narrowed the circuit accurately? Do you have access to a Haynes or any other wiring diagram?
 
i put a 5amp regular plastic fuse in the spot, and the radio and power locks work now. and the fuse didn't blow. a guy at work told me the ground to the battery may be isht, and things may be trying to find grounds elsewhere. so i cranked the ground about 180 degrees(side post POS) and it seems to be working now. why would this SOB put a 30amp circuit breaker in there???? hmmmm....
 
30 amp circuit breaker is *normal*. Things that weren't fused separately, were simply ganged up on a 30amp breaker. The radio certainly wasn't (factory) but with PO's, anything is possible. :) Things like power windows, power door locks, etc.

Do you have two circuit breakers on your panel, or just one? You can buy the breakers at auto parts stores (or cheap/free from the wrecking yard) as it certainly sounds like the breaker is the problem, the fuse would have popped if one of the accessories was the problem.
 
ok....i do have two breakers, and the radio is definately controlled by this one. should i go get a new breaker and see if that heats up???? ill head to the parts store now and see what they got.
 
You could just swap the "good" breaker in and see if it gets hot. :)

Wouldn't put the suspected bad one in unless you isolate the problem to another source.
 
Again fwiw, when I had my 'window' problem I experienced the 'hot' breaker. I too thought maybe the breaker was sticking so changed the breaker out and it still was hot.

Unfortunately I never really figured out the problem with the motor, I just changed it out. So I can't point you in a possible direction (other than the obvious).

The next step after you test the breaker would be using a multimeter along the circuit.
 
fireplug, how did you figure out which side it was????

it's too dark to switch breakers right now, no dome lights in truck, since i bought it.


on a side note, if it was a short of some type, wouldn't it blow the 5amp fuse for sure???

i played the radio, and locked/unlocked doors ALOT of times, and the fuse is fine.
 
Hmmm you know that's a good question. :D It was a couple of summers ago. I'll give it some thought while I run to the grocery store. I'll get back to you.

I too would assume the fuse would blow with a short, good point...
 
Yes, it should blow the fuse immediately. If the 30amp breaker was continuously getting tripped (which it's timed, so again shouldn't happen enough to get that hot) then it would blow a 5 amp fuse.

So truck off, not using the door locks/radio, the thing was that hot? Doesn't really matter, a short COULD do that, but not likely at all if the fuse doesn't blow.
 
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