Fuses for Engine Gauges

[expozen]

I have three new gauges: water temp, oil pressure, & hour meter. Each has a power connection from engine switch. Should each gauge have its own fuse? Or could I use one fuse for all three?

[Wotname]

I note you have been around for a couple of years but as this is a first post - Welcome Aboard expozen!

One fuse for all three is what most of us would do and is fine however the truly pedantic among us would use separate fuses so it's your choice!

[model 10]

No, one should stick with what is standard, one c/b for all 3.

[smac999]

I have never seen a fuse on a gauge. ideally the feed from the starter post to the key switch is fused. but even that is rare.

i'd say 80% of boats have no fuses on any of the key and dash wiring. direct to battery. which is scary.

putting one to all gauges you'd ahead of 99% of other boaters. 3 would be crazy.

[GordMay]

Greetings and belated welcome aboard the CF, expozen.

[ayates]

While I suspect most installation have a single fuse for all instruments at most, I was a little more thorough. I have a circuit breaker covering all the instruments, and the individual fuses for each instrument. I like to bring all components back to a bus bar anyway, rather than daisy chaining them, so using fused distribution is not a big step anyway.


Allan.

[a64pilot]

I personally dislike fuses, first you have to carry spares. Then when one blows you have to find it, and that isn’t as easy as it sounds sometimes.
I’ve spent several wasted hours of my life chasing wiring, to find a buried fuse holder no one knew about.
If you have to have fuses, maybe put big colorful tag of some kind on it making it more visible?

[Island Time O25]

A blown fuse manifests an underlying problem/issue. Unless that problem is addressed replacing the fuse only is but a temp fix. Ideally everything should be set up s to minimize the need for the fuses in the first place. IMO the fuse is just a sentinel of a potential problem not a problem solver.

[ayates]

My assumption is that the individual fuses will never blow. They are just for the extreme remote chance that there is a short circuit on in one of the instruments (or in the power wire), so all the instruments aren't taken out.


Allan.

[MartinR]

There is really no need to have fuses on the instruments. If an instrument fails and causes a short, it is it's own fuse and will effectively break the circuit. Maybe a fuse for the lighting would be in order, but I have never seen one. The same basically applies here, the light bulbs act as fuses.

[a64pilot]

Fuses fail with age, maybe it’s vibration, maybe it’s the fuse metal corrodes, but as they get old, they fail. A blown fuse sometimes is just an old fuse.
Of course CB’s often fail due to old age too, I guess everything gets old

[model 10]

[QUOTE=a64pilot; I guess everything gets old


I'm re-building a 1940 airplane now and I'm kind of jealous of it. It's going to come out pretty nice and unless somebody wrecks it, it will be around for quite a while. There is no way to re-build me, I'm probably on downwind.

[a64pilot]

[QUOTE=Ecos;2943230][QUOTE=a64pilot; I guess everything gets old





I'm re-building a 1940 airplane now and I'm kind of jealous of it. It's going to come out pretty nice and unless somebody wrecks it, it will be around for quite a while. There is no way to re-build me, I'm probably on downwind.[/QUOTE]



What are you rebuilding? When we went cruising I sold the Maule, but kept the 46 C-140. If well kept, I see no reason why it wouldn’t still be airworthy at 100 yrs old.


The Cessna originally had fuses in the bottom of the instrument panel, they were an odd size and apparently don’t exist anymore.
To this day I believe if flown Commercially a pilot is required to carry a spare set of fuses and a 2D cell flashlight.

[model 10]

Stinson Model 10 with an O-235. I sometimes work on it during our 6 months in the USA. The fuselage and interior are done and it got a new engine cowling last year. This year I have rebuilt the brakes and the landing gear shocks. I also got the left wing ready for re-cover and built a aux fuel tank for it.. I have run out of steam and am thinking about the boat only.
Hope I finish it. My only goal is to maybe fly back to OSH again and just be an old fart with an old airplane flying across the country.

[a64pilot]

Way off topic but I attended a funeral last weekend for two friends going to OSH, they made it 1 mile before they augered the Cirrus in.
So be careful going to OSH or Sun-N-Fun
SR-22, I have never liked those, still don’t.
I figure overgross and aft CG and a departure stall. 1 mile from the airport is about where I figure the reduction in power from take off to climb would be.
There wasn’t enough left to identify them
https://www.wtvm.com/2019/07/24/sher...ted-sumter-co/