Thread: fuse to protect main power source

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my battery is located in the trunk of my 64 cutlass and I was wondering if there was a company that makes a fuse that can go inline with the hot battery cable. It makes me a little nervous thinking it may rub through somewere. I know of the other options such as a remote mount solenoid or a master kill switch, but I want instant cut off of the juice should somthing happen. I'm guessing the qualifications would be that it would have to hold up to the draw of the starter but burn through at draws higher than that. Do they make Maxi fuses rated that high? And how many amps are we talking about when the starter is drawing.
Thank in advance, JC

Hi, an in-line fuse on your starter lead. Great idea. However a little tough to handle. The currrent that a starter is capble of drawing is in the 50-200amps or more depending on the engine. Fuses are available in these ranges but are of the MEGA Fuse variety. They are hard to find, require a unique holder and are expensive. A better choice would be a manual resettable circuit breaker. You did not mention what gauge wire you are running from the battery to the starter but I suspect it is at least 4ga. I would suggest checking with a local stereo shopn for the breaker. The breaker is nice because if it pops open you simply have to close it again. A 120amp breaker would be a good size to start with. Remember when sizing the breaker to make sure it will open before the wire melts, seen it happen on a small scale. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions. Christopher.

thanks for the info , its great when someone knows what the hell there talking about.