Important ATC (Standard blade) Fuse FYI (1 Viewer)

[Spike Strip]

Word of warning: Anyone who's bought/using cheap Chinese ATC blade fuses from Amazon, Harbor Freight etc. - You know, the plastic case of 150 pieces for $10 ones ? Do yourself a favor and remove them all from your current (no pun) vehicles and replace with quality fuses that meet manufactures' and automotive wire specifications. There are dozens of YouTube videos showing these cheap Chinese fuses to be DANGEROUS due to being wildly out of spec and taking much greater than rated amperage to blow, risking harness damage and even vehicle fire. Particularly import since so many of us have added circuits and even tapped directly off the fuse box.

Harbor Freight even had a recall on theirs, but there are many many out there from the same ccp factory under all kinds of different brand names.

I'll give y'all a little secret I found:

(all amp ranges, 7.5, 10, 20, ... in the bulk, 25 pc fast-acting fuse packages, are Japanese automotive OEM). Is it worth an extra $25 bux to protect your vehicles?

 

[tmxmotorsports]

I used a small fuse panel from Amazon came with fuses I saw how cheap the plastic was and removed them and put better quality fuses back in.

 

[Spike Strip]

I've read the cheap fuses use recycled aluminum instead of the zinc alloy of higher-quality fuses. Don't know if that's true, but wouldn't surprise me.

SAFETY RECALL

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Cheap car audio power wire is the same way CCA is cheap compared to high quality wiring

 

[CruiserTrash]

@Spike Strip Thanks for mentioning this. I use Littelfuse fuses in my fusible link replacement kits for this exact reason. The big companies like Littelfuse, Eaton/Bussman, etc, all submit their products for lab testing and have requisite datasheets so they can be used in OEM applications by various industries - there’s a chain of culpability. That’s a level of trust the Amazon junk isn’t capable of. I would call the stuff from Amazon “a thing that looks like a fuse”, but I wouldn’t wager my vehicle’s safety on them. I can’t be 100% certain but if they do have “datasheets” would suspect they aren’t very real.

I have an 82 with glass fuses anyway. I get the Pacifica fuses for that. Also high quality.

 

[Spike Strip]

None of the ebay/Amz/Harbor Freight fuses have data sheets. Several of the YouTube tester channels tried to get them and were ignored.

Littelfuse or Bussmann or Nippon (I think those are the reboxed Bussmann) are the only brand of ATC I'd use now. Only reason I went with the Bussmann is it said, 'Made in Japan' and they look identical to the OE Toyota ones I have, as well as the Nissan, and Subaru flavor.

 

[Spook50]

I've only ever used Bussmann in my 62 (which oddly enough is all the parts stores near me sell), but now I know to consciously make sure that or Denso is all that ever goes into my truck.

 

[dbbowen]

I like to use the ones with the little lights inside of them when they pop. I figured if they are nice enough to have a little led in there, they wouldnt cheap out on materials

 

[Dekeman]

This Bussmann 43-piece kit + tester for $27 CAD is a good deal...
Bussmann Fuse Pack + tester

 

[chelo]

I was just at hf getting some heat shrink and butt connectors. I need some fuses and I actually picked them up, looked them over and placed them back. I'm glad I did. Thanks for the warning guys. I'm sure this will help other members.
I will be ordering the eaton kit as a spare but when I go to the junkyard, I get them there.

 

[mdw83fj60]

Glad I found this thread, I have been using HF fuses and just went and replaced all those with some from LittleFuse and Bussmann. When I was switching them out I compared the HF 15amp fuse with the LittleFuse 15 amp. Two things stood out the HF fuse rattled and the blades moved around easily, also size of the resistor wire in each. It’s easy to pick out the HF fuse.

 

[bjatx]

I was reading this thread and had just bought fuses for my KC lights tonight at O'Reilly. Happy to check the pack and they're Littelfuse. Looked them up - from Chicago and have a facility nearby in Round Rock, TX.

 

[tclark]

A few years ago I went to the Upullit and harvested a bunch of fuses, nuts, bolts, screws, etc from Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans. Got about a gallon bucket of stuff for like $5, and it all looked practically new.