Fuses

Fuses, we all use them daily, from being in our computer and tv plugs to the circuit breakers found in the fuse boxes. Sure we know what they are, but I believe that we take fuses for granted. The idea of the fuse or circuit breaker is to be the weakest part of the circuit, therefore in the event of a surge for example, the fuse will blow therefore protecting whatever is part of that circuit. Fuses are therefore also used in car audio.

Regardless if you choose to install a budget amplifier and subwoofer or if you choose to have multiple amplifiers and a high end car audio set up, you’re going to want to protect your investment. That is why it is highly recommended that fuses are used. There are 3 main types of fuses available for you to choose from, Blade Fuses, AGU Fuses, AFS Fuses and ANL fuses.

Each of the different types of fuses all essentially do the same job of protecting whatever they are installed with, however due to their different sizes, each has a different maximum Amp rating. However, when choosing a fuse and fuse holder, it is important to ensure that you pick a fuse and holder appropriate for the demands of your equipment. Generally with most wiring kits, an AGU fuse and fuse holder is supplied. These are the glass tube fuses and are fairly decent, however, ask the opinion of anyone who is serious about their car audio and they will without a doubt recommend that you have installed an ANL fuse and fuse holder. However, the amplified subwoofer boxes from Pioneer for example, are supplied with a Blade Fuse and the appropriate holder. While you can choose to upgrade the fuse holder, this is the manufacturer recommending that blade fuses are used.

For my car, I had added to my list to upgrade my AGU fuse holder to an ANL fuse holder however I’d never really gotten around to it and it was one of those things, where I myself actually overestimated the durability of that fuse holder with regards to the kit I had in my car, however recently I blew the fuse. I thought it was a simple swap of my fuse until I saw the state of my fuse holder. It had completely melted through effectively insulating the gap between the holder and the fuse. This was something that was pretty concerning to say the least, especially with the location of my fuse holder, (as many of you know I drive a Smart, and the location of my fuse was in the passenger foot well) it was possible that there might have been an increased risk of fire. Now I’ve got two amplifiers totalling currently 700rms with a 80 amp fuse. To replace the fuse and holder, I opted to go for a ANL fuse holder with a 100 amp fuse. Out of the box, i noticed immediately that the ANL holder was of a higher build quality with much thicker plastic as well as the fuse itself being much larger and as a result,you'll find that ANL fuses can take a greater current that flows through them. From my research, the maximum size of fuse that is available is about 750 amps however it is recommended that wire is no thinner than 4 gauge and a maximum of 300 amp fuse is used. The larger the amp rating of the fuse means that the fuse can take a larger amount of current through it in the event of a surge for example. Below is a picture of my AGU fuse holder that had melted purely due to the heat generated by the current.



Fuses are usually installed in line with all your components that needs to be protected and are usually as close to the battery as possible. For cars with dual batteries usually a split charging relay is installed and that fuses are used in line. Some people opt to put a fuse from the alternator to the split charging relay when performing The Big Three upgrade and the logic behind this is due to the increased current flow and decreased voltage drop that is the benefit of using a thicker wire, the fuse will protect the battery as well as anything else connected to it in the event of any power surges that may arise from the alternator. However there are some people who will simply run dual batteries in their cars and simply wire them in parallel. They do this to increase the current while still maintaining a 12 volt system.

So overall, I personally would recommend the use of an ANL fuse and fuse holder. Their construction offers much more flexibility with what you can put into your system as well as offering you the highest level of protection for your equipment, but on a last note, make sure you have fuses installed to protect yourself and any passengers most importantly and to reduce any surges which could potentially result
in a fire! After all, no matter what fuse and fuse holder you decide to use, they're not relatively expensive to the rest of your components, so why risk them being damaged? I wouldn't take the risk myself so why should you?

Neil Patel