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I have a fuse voltage question

DrTim

DrTim

Active Member
Showing my ignorance, but would rather be thought a dummy then be a dummy.

I picked up a Sony TA-2650 Amp cheap today. Did the dim bulb before anything else and it was good to hook up test speakers and a source.

Right channel was out and the fuse was blown. Left channel was fine. Switched fuses and right channel played without the fuse being blown.

No problem, I'll drive to the Shack and pick up some spare fuses. They don't have what I need. 4 amp 32V fuse. I have a spare 4 amp 125V fuse that I can steal for a while until I get the right fuse. Am I right in assuming that the 125V is ok as it is the amperage that matters and the voltage is the max rating it will allow to pass through the fuse? Or am I inviting smoke and tears by using a 125V?

Thanks for your help.
 
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Your 125V fuse will be fine.

The fuse voltage rating is the maximum voltage that it is guaranteed to keep open after the fuse blows. That's why 400V fuses look noticeably different than 12V fuses.
 
Thanks for the reply. Better safe then sorry and I figured the safest place to ask was here.
 
10-4. Fuses are interesting science. They are basically resistors that are designed to burn up when things go bad. Where most engineers get lost is worrying about their heat dissipation and all the variables that go with that.

During my engineering days I was tasked with specifying a fuse for an application and learned from a fuse engineer. That was interesting stuff.
 
The Voltage rating of a fuse is the highest Voltage the fuse is designed to open upon a fault.

A fuse rated for 32 Volts (automobile use) would NOT be suitable for a circuit of 120 Volts, however, a fuse rated at 120 Volts could be safely use in a lower Voltage circuit (provided it has the proper Amperage for the job, and will fit the holder).

A 32 Volt fuse in a 120 Volt circuit might fail to open quickly enough, or may continue to "arc over" upon a fault.

"Liability wise" IMHO, the fuse protects the manufactures "backside and reputation" from starting a fire as its FIRST "reason for being", with protecting the equipments operation as second, as many semiconductors fail and short faster than most fuses.

It has been said by many technicians that a "transistor fails first to protect the fuse".

Mark T.
 
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