Suggestions/Comments RE: In-Line Fuse Holder Replacement

[moon]

Greetings, been off the board & hunkered down the last few years

A quick recap: This truck project I started in mid 2009 but had to suspend 8 months later due to separation/divorce. Among other things, I replaced both wire harnesses under the hood with aftermarket. I was just starting to put it all back together when the "stuff" hit the fan. It has been sitting for four years. Now, I am trying to pick up where I left off.

This particular problem is & has been with the two in-line fuses that are in the front (runs along the radiator/grill) harness. It's my understanding these are 4 amp fuses and the wires are 18 gauge, both running to the amp-meter. Those tiny glass fuses have always been a pain to remove on both the old & new harness. Yesterday I broke BOTH of those suckers off in the fuse holders & I can't the the remaining metal ends out of either. My plan is to replace both fuse holders with "water proof" in-line blade fuse holders.

Questions --->

- Is there any wiggle room with regard to the amp and AWG size of the holder? By that I mean can I get away with using a 5 amp fuse (easier to find than 4) and could I use a 16 gauge wire fuse holder (again easier to find than 18)

- What, if any, difference would it make to use an ATC (standard) or ATM (mini) blade.

I'd welcome any comments/suggestions about my "plan"

Please note: I am a novice.... but follow instructions pretty well.

[Bigdav160]

Fuses are there to protect the wiring. So going bigger on the wire gauge is no problem. ATC vs Mini is just preference. IMHO, there's enough leeway that one extra amp is fine.

[Andy4639]

Originally Posted by Bigdav160

Fuses are there to protect the wiring. So going bigger on the wire gauge is no problem. ATC vs Mini is just preference. IMHO, there's enough leeway that one extra amp is fine.

Agree I don't see any thing wrong with what you want to do.

[Lattimer]

I wired in my ammeter when I swapped my gauges, so I never had original wiring.

Larger wire won't hurt a thing ever, just don't go smaller than original.

I used 2 parts store fuse holders for the standard glass fuses, and used 5 amps for both. No issues for a year now.

You can use any style fuse you want, they all do the same thing. I went with the glass ones since the fuse box in the truck is original and I wanted all the same style.

[moon]

Thank you folks. I found 18 gauge ATC holders and will use 5 amp blades.