Car won't start after jump: Fusible link vs. Fuse

[Pu241]

Yes, other than the reverse polarity, the problem you had was the battery was dead and when you started it up with the new fuse the battery was calling for all the amps it could get. At idle you wont exceed the 30 Amp cartridge rating but once up to speed the fuse was only going to hold so long. Same when you replaced the burnt out one. It lasted as long as it could given the amps passing through it into the battery.
Once the battery has a partial charge the amp demand drops and you wont smoke any more fuses. I know this because I did the same thing used all 3 of my reserve and back up fuses. May have helped that on my last fuse I had to turn the lights on because it had gotten dark. You still may have damaged the regulator/diode in the ALT from the reverse polarity just have to keep and eye on it because it can fail and feed too high a voltage to the battery and cook it.

[olivertwist]

have the same issue in my car the the middle fuse 30 amp goes out when its jumped the fuse has goes out then it has to be replease when it blow then it run i put a 40 amp and did good i need abetter pictur if any one has one

[GenevaDirt]

most use the cartridge fuses and use 30,40,30. The 30's are pink and the 40 is green. You want to get the ones with longer legs on them so they fit right. The short leg ones may or may not work and will only slightly be connected if you get them to work.
I have seen other use 20,30,20 without issue also.

[JohnGunn]

i need abetter pictur if any one has one

Here is a picture I borrowed from another thread on this topic.



John Gunn
Coronado, CA

[scitzz]

most use the cartridge fuses and use 30,40,30. The 30's are pink and the 40 is green. You want to get the ones with longer legs on them so they fit right. The short leg ones may or may not work and will only slightly be connected if you get them to work.
I have seen other use 20,30,20 without issue also.

X2,3, and 4. I think almost all the NC cars, other than mine, have that setup.

[TominMO]

^^ Yup, that's what you need to do. Go with 30/40/30. Forget about the fusible links. And ignore that red 10 amp fuse in the back BTW; he's got something else hooked up that requires its own fuse.

[olivertwist]

what are the fuse controling

[FestYboy]

EGI is your fuel system and computer, Main is just that, your main chassis power (interior, ECU, etc.) and the last one is JUST for your headlights.

[Beans]

Go with 30/40/30. Forget about the fusible links.

Just to clarify, the fuses in the picture are FLF cartridges, which is in fact a fusible link, just not the regular wire kind that comes stock on the festiva. Regardless, they are a direct replacement for a wire-style fusible link.

As an update, I replaced my main fusible link with a 30 amp FLF cartridge and haven't had a problem since, after the battery charged up for a bit. My girlfriend's sister's boyfriend is a mechanic and he was somewhat alarmed when I said I replaced it with a 40 amp FLF so I bumped it back down to a 30 amp just to be safe, but many people on here have said that a 40 amp main won't cause problems. Alternatively, you can do what I did first and replace the FLF cartridge with a wire with a spot for a fuse in the middle and some female spade connectors and put a 40 amp fuse in it (40 vs. 30 because fuses can't take spikes in amperage like a fusible link can apparently). The fuses (ato I believe) are much cheaper than the FLF cartridges, at least around my area, about $.60 for an ATO fuse vs $6.50 for an FLF Cartridge.

[mattman]

just did this to mine 30/40/30