melting fuses

[coombsey]

why would my nova melt the heater blower fuse and the instrument pannel fuse only melted the last one since i connected the heater up

[John]

heater motor faulty.

[coombsey]

just replaced it with a different 1

[John]

Something on the same circuit as the heater motor is causing it then, get ya haynes out.

[w_wall_2001]

sounds like a live is earthing somewhere

[C612DNM]

Sounds like a dash out job to me.

[w_wall_2001]

as above check wiring for any bare wires visibe

[nova_saloon]

It shouldnt melt just blow, hope you havnt been sticking a higher amp one in there so it stops blowing! cause thats a bad idea! makes it worse, sounds to me either dodgey earth, motor in the fan is funked or leads are crossing somewhere, check the back of the dashboard (the little film thing that carrys the thin flatterened copper wires around between two pieces of blue plastic) and then all the other wires for broken wires or bare wires and check plugs for corrosion or corroded wires, long job but wish you all the best

[Southie]

A fuse melting is only a symptom, the fuse cannot be the cause by itself. A short between a positive voltage and a negative voltage source is the likely cause. If your not familiar with circuits and wiring you should have a pro look at it, or a fire could start.

Have a little read through this regarding fuses >LINK (http://www.ehow.com/list_7216488_causes-fuses-blow-cars_.html)<

[coombsey]

it happened to me whilst driving to brean for birmingham about 120 miles with the blower on most the way

[C612DNM]

I've seen cheapo fuses carry far more current than they're supposed to. There were a load coming in from China that carried five times their rating before blowing. For a fuse design that's made with a maximum current rating of 30A, something carrying 50A is going to melt before it blows (they were 10A fuses that I came across).

A midi-blade fuse will blow at 140% of it's rating, ie: a 10A fuse will blow at 14A.

Continuous running at high current can cause melting without blowing, where it's below the fuse's rating, but high enough to get hot.

[NavNova]

The same thing happened to me. Fuse melted, along with the fuse box, but didnt blow. My blower motor was wrecked though, didnt work at all.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/Ciaran_yeoo/P1010731.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n137/Ciaran_yeoo/P1010734.jpg

[C612DNM]

very informative pictures!
Those fuses without the rating in white are non-factory - which would be made by Littelfuse, and have the rating in white numbers (twice).
The ones with a single 20 as a raised moulding in the middle are the type I was on about. I'd lay odds-on that your fan has had a fault, and has been drawing quite a lot more in the way of current leading to melted fuse, and luckily not a fire under the dash.

Read this:
(if you're using a mobile internet - warning it's 12.7Mb of download)

http://www.littelfuse.com/data/en/Product_Catalogs/AA101-B.pdf

Sadly it seems that these nasty cheap dodgy fuses have found their way into all sorts of places, right up to major chains, all because their buyers are always looking for a super cheap deal to make more money out of YOU the consumer.