Fuse Boxes

Fuses. We don’t spend one second in life thinking about fuses until things stop working.

If the front half of your house is without power, the electric windows in your car fail, or its all lights out on your boat, there could be a problem with a fuse (or worse, wiring – but let’s just focus on the fuse).

So what does a fuse do? Put simply, a fuse protects wiring. The fuse breaks the circuit if there is too much current flow. It does this in a simply brilliant way. If there is too much current, a metal wire within the fuse melts away, breaking the current, protecting the car, house or home appliance.

Housing a fuse is the fuse box. The beauty of the fuse box is that it protects fuses from weather conditions, temperature, fluids and, generally, anything that might flick up from the road if driving a car. It also serves as a central distribution point for electrical wiring and the circuits that need power to run electrical equipment.

Let’s talk cars. In a car there are two fuse boxes. Arguably, the most important fuse box in a car is located in the engine bay and contains all of the high voltage engine fuses and relays. A secondary fuse box links to other accessories within the vehicle; like seat warmers, the liftgate, USB power outlet, power seats and mirrors. In a Mazda CX-5 this is located inside the car, below the dash, aligning to the A-pillar on the passenger side.

Fuse boxes are often built with seals that make them water resistant or weatherproof. For example, NARVA’s 10-way weatherproof standard ATS blade fuse box has a weatherproof, or splash-proof, cover preventing the ingress of dust, grime and water. They’re great for car, marine, RV and other types of exterior fitment.

There is also a waterproof fuse box, which is basically what you expect of it, water can not get in. An important feature if your 4X4 ute wades through deep water regularly or you own a boat.

The thing with fuses is that if something stops, you need to know where to locate the fuse box. Your vehicle’s owner manual - check your glove compartment - will tell you were to find it.

If you are bush bashing sometimes a fuse can dislodge, so check this first, it might just require a wiggle back into place. However, if you find that a fuse has broken, NARVA also sells an easy to store case that contains 360 popular glass, and coloured mini blade and standard ARS blade fuses. If you drive a lot, particularly off-road, it’s a good band-aid to have packed away.

Having a little bit of knowledge on fuses, and where to find your home, car or boat fuse box will certainly reduce stress when you lose power. Knowing there are fuse and fuse box products made by NARVA means you know where to visit first if you find yourself needing help.