Engel thermal fuse

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Trunk Monkey

Trunk Monkey

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Well, wiring my aux. 12v outlet I managed to blow the fuse in the plug on my ARB fridge. The 10A blade on the actual fridge is fine, this is the glass type fuse that's in the actual plug. It's Engel branded, says thermal fuse on the side. Any ideas where to get a replacement?
 
Cory there is a electrical shop on Main St. and about 3700 S. in SLC near the Harbor Freight Main St. entrance that has ALL sorts of goodies.
I dont know if it will be what you are looking for, Call me if you need the exact addy.
Good luck

EDIT, I just ran out to the 80
Standard Supply Electronics • 3424 South Main Street • Salt Lake City, UT 84115
• Phone: (800) 453 - 7036 / (801) 486 - 3371
http://www.standardsupply.com/
 
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My norcold came missing the thermal fuse. I just plopped in an old style glass thermal fuse (10A) ala fj40's and it's fine

I bought a pack of the glass fuses and tossed them in the bj since all those are bladed. So I'm covered on the blade and the thermal fuse.

see the end of this thread https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=53526&page=2&highlight=thermal
 
FZJFillmore said:
Yeah, I did the same with a std. glass fuse. The one that was in there looks like it has two diodes in it. I'm going to give ARB a call this morning and see if it matters.
Click to expand...

It won't matter if you don't hook it up wrong again. I'm sure the diodes are in there to protect an expensive fridge from a wiring error. You should be very happy they were in there or you would be calling ARB for the price on a new compressor instead of a new fuse.

Get the correct replacement fuse with the diodes.

-B-
 
Interesting, I guess I should buy an OEM replacement :eek:

I looked through a few different parts list on norcold's site for the mfrt 40 and 60 and some others. The 40 just says a special thermal fuse. The 60 lists "Bussman Fuse MDL 15 or Little Fuse 313015.

MDL-15A =313015 SlowBlow 15Amp fuse $1.53

Both the 60 and the 40 are 15A...
 
Ok, here's the answer from the horse's mouth. Talked with Chuck, a tech rep at Engel. The thermal fuse has a 168 degree C diode in it that will pop from heat (not an electrical short). They were mandated for the Japanese market as their (JDM) concern was that the plastic dash might melt if the plug got too hot.

A standard glass fuse, fast acting, of the same amp (10A for smaller fridges, 15A for the 60 and 84) works fine as a replacement, no issues at all. He said he would be glad to sell me the thermal replacement ($4 ea. from Engel), but would recommend the standard fuse.
 
FZJFillmore said:
The thermal fuse has a 168 degree C diode in it that will pop from heat (not an electrical short).
Click to expand...

So, how did you blow this fuse? 168C is plenty hot.

-B-
 
Hooked up an aux. 12v outlet wrong. Must have an electrical component too? I would think if this were thermal then the blade on the fridge would cover the electrical overload. I checked continuity on the thermal fuse and it's dead.
 
FZJFillmore said:
Ok, here's the answer from the horse's mouth. Talked with Chuck, a tech rep at Engel. The thermal fuse has a 168 degree C diode in it that will pop from heat (not an electrical short). They were mandated for the Japanese market as their (JDM) concern was that the plastic dash might melt if the plug got too hot.

A standard glass fuse, fast acting, of the same amp (10A for smaller fridges, 15A for the 60 and 84) works fine as a replacement, no issues at all. He said he would be glad to sell me the thermal replacement ($4 ea. from Engel), but would recommend the standard fuse.
Click to expand...


Awesome.. Thanks for the info Cory :D

Good to know for all of us with fridges :cheers:

FWIW I've been running a standard fuse for 6+ mos without an issue :)
 
I'm still not sure you got the straight scoop from Engle. All fuses will blow due to "heat" which is basically when there is more current passing through the fuse than it is rated for. All fuses are designed to melt the center connector. Circuit breakers work a little different and open the circuit when they overheat.

If there is a diode in the MDL15 fuse (and I'm not sure there is...) then the purpose of the diode is to allow +12v to flow one direction only (incoming in this case). A diode would imply the fuse is directional and has to be installed accordingly.

Typical slo-blow fuses like the MDL15 are used on one leg of the circuit; usually the +12v side, and their purpose is to tolerate a short in-rush of high current to allow for the starting of a motor or things like that.

-B-
 
FZJFillmore said:
The fuse is directional, has a big arrow on the side.
Click to expand...

I think we need a pic of this thing and it sure doesn't sound like a Littel or a Bussman has an equivalent.

Can you post a pic? I would do this myself but my Engle 45 is on vacation in Baja right now, keeping Pappy's beer cold.

Did the Engle guy recommend the permanent use of a slo-blow or a regular AGC fuse?

-B-
 
The white diode has 168 C printed on it. No other writing on the whole thing (other than the Engel sticker). The metal between the two diodes is still intact, unlike a typically blown fuse where it blows out there. Engel said a normal fast burn fuse would work.

DSC00949.JPG
 
That's definitely a diode. Obviously, this directional fuse (I think they're called a blocking diode fuse) saved your butt when you wired the 12v outlet backwards. I'm now thinking this type of fuse is a good thing and maybe it's not a wise decision to replace this with a different type of fuse.

I haven't had any luck finding these with a Google.

-B-
 
Like I said, only place I've found them is ARB and Engel. When I was talking with the tech at Engel, he told me to go to Radio Shack and get one, trying to save me some cash. I went and all they had are the typical auto fuses, metal strip up the middle, both fast and slow. I called Engel back and told them they didn't have anything like that at Radio Shack. Guessing that I was a bit slow, he carefully explained, in detail, an AGC fuse. I said they had plenty of those, but none with the diodes. That's when he told me to just use the AGC fuse and not worry about the thermal type fuse.

I still don't understand why it would have blown if it's a thermal fuse. I would think the 10A blade fuse on the back of the fridge would have gone.
 
FZJFillmore said:
I still don't understand why it would have blown if it's a thermal fuse. I would think the 10A blade fuse on the back of the fridge would have gone.
Click to expand...

You didn't blow the fuse portion, you blew the diode portion due to the reversed polarity. Had that fuse not blown you probably would have blown the compressor motor as soon as you tested the fridge. A standard AGC fuse wouldn't protect us from something like that.

-B-
 
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