Date:         Sun, 19 Jan 1997 04:09:48 -0500 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         SyncroHead@aol.com
Subject:      Re: halogen wisdom please

In a message dated 97-01-18 20:11:43 EST, jdiebolt@up.net (Jeff Diebolt)
writes:

> Why won't it work? Remember the purpose of a fuse is to protect the wiring
> and equipment in the circuit. If the 100w bulb draws 7.6 amps it is below
> the rated current carrying capacity of the wire. Also I ran 140w bulbs in
> my 72 bus and never blew a fuse or wire and didn't have unusually short
> bulb life. My advice is go ahead and use them. IMHO
> At 10:18 PM 1/17/97 -0600, kenneth d lewis wrote:

> >Sean;
> >When it came time to replace one of mine I was wondering the same thing,
> >"Will my wiring handle almost twice the current?". I doubt it. >>

Don't do it. The fuse is there to protect against electrical shorts only.
 Often fuses are rated for 5 time the current draw of the protected circuit.
 This does not mean that the circuit can safely handle 5 times the current.
 Specificallly, others on this list have installed high wattage bulbs in
86-91 Vanagon headlights and have toasted the wiring at the back side of the
headlight connector.

Regards,
Jim Davis