Okay, so I'm sick of the fiddly standard fusebox, so I bought a replacement blade style fusebox. It has 12 fuses across, with one pair blade terminals for each fuse.

Which is fine, but since I'm now providing a separate fuse for each pairs of wires (whereas before several pairs shared a fuse), should the new fuse be the same amperage as the original, or should it be lower?

I've tried to remember 6th form physics to no avail. Even Stage 2 University Physics is no use, but then again I did get an E. As in A,B,C, D, E...

Id guess they would be the same as the original fuse (ie what was 20 amps shared fuse, each new fuse should be 20amps as that would be the max before blowing)

but ask an auto sparky

_________________
78 van 1300 cam extractors weber, 12" Superlights Metros Konis HiLos MP3 Amp Sub Alpine speakers and lots of fur
www.crazybitchracing.com

Here's my basic understanding of electrics [shoot me down if I'm wrong]

The new fuses will have lower ratings than the old single fuse

fuses are rated in Amps
Amps = current flow
current flows through wire circuits and gizmos
if circuits flow through a common fuse then the current of circuit 1 and circuit 2 are both flowing through the fuse at that single point
if circuit 1 = 4 amps amd circuit 2 draws 14 amps - total amps going through the fuse would be 18 amps - in that case a 20 amp fuse would do the job
but split the two circuits and put an individual fuse on each one...
circuit 1 = 4 amps - a 5 amp fuse will do the job
circuit 2 = 14 amps - a 15 amp fuse will do it

You need to determine the current draw for each circuit and supply an appropriate rated fuse to suit. The combined total of all the new fuses should add up to close to the old single fuse rating.

If this is too confusing then please seek expert assistance. Under dash electrical fires due to poor wiring is not at all uncommon in these old cars.

jill200sx is right... The fuse box is there to protect the wires not the devices... If your cd player draws enough current to break the fuse it's probably blown itself (they generally come with they're own fuse to protect themselves). All the wiring going through the 20amp fuse will probably catch fire if anything above 20amps is put through it (hence the need for a fuse). If a light globe breaks cause of too much current it's not as hard as replacing half the wiring harness cause the wires caught fire.

The currents don't actually add up.. You could have a hundred 15amp devices running through a single 20amp fuse. But it would be a stupid idea.