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Cleaning a fuse block


610StaWag

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I was a bit perplexed when one line of a circuit was not conducting. I took out the fuse and it checked ok.  I checked power to the fuse/fuse block, it was good. I put the fuse back in and I put a probe to each of the fuse holder ends and there was power. I took the fuse out again to closely look at it, I put it back in. No power/current. I rotated the fuse in the holder and found that sometimes there was and sometimes there wasn’t current. On close examination I saw the fuse holders all looked dirty and corroded.  I tried simply cleaning with a q-tip and alcohol. That was not effective. The result was the same with steel wool (plus there was the danger of stray bits if steel wool fiber debris causing shorts. I tried 600 grit sandpaper, but that took a huge amount of time and effort to be effective.  Then I came up with a very quick, easy and effective way to clean the fuse holders using a Dremel with a wire brush tip (which wore out rather quickly). In case there is severe corrosion or rust, you could try delicately using a tiny grinding tip. Maybe this is well known, but in case there are others like me that didn’t know of this, here it is:(photo shows almost all the fuse holders cleaned).

 

36726447902_dbb880861a_b.jpgCleaning fuse block by Donald Broz, on Flickr

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If just copper corrosion, like a tarnished penny, soak overnight is lemon juice and salt solution. Warm the juice in the microwave first. Chemical reactions speed up with heat. Clean thoroughly first and after with an old toothbrush. This will remove the tarnish but not grind away the soft copper underneath.

 

copperCleaning.jpg

 

Vinegar also works

 

If that corrosion caused the fuse to get extremely hot the temper may have been taken out of those clips. This can be a continuing problem as the fuse is not gripped tightly enough to provide good contact.

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Undoubtedly the best thing RW has ever used to clean a fuse block is my bead blaster (obviously you need to have one of these beasties) with glass silica beads.  Most auto electricians should have one of these and it takes less than a minute to bring it up like brand new, just need to make sure the air volume is not too high.

 

Hydrochloric acid also works a treat but you need to be careful how long you leave it in the solution and watch out for the fumes.

 

As mike has noted, Ratsun methods can be soaking in vinegar or using lemon juice though expect substandard results with this method.

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If those tabs are copper coated, which I suspect they are, any sanding blasting etc can expose metal that can't handle exposure like copper can. Spray on electrical no-ox on all of it to prevent fast degradation of all those purdy contacts

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That would violate my #3 ... it's easy to do.

 

 

The 610 fuse box cannot be separated from the wiring. Wiring is crimped to the fuse clips. You can unbolt it and let dangle into the container of lemon juice for the night though.

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