In-line fuse

[bugi]

I am considering putting an in-line fuse in the wire from the battery to the ignition switch on my Bug Eye. Does anyone have any thoughts on the required amperage ?

 

[Billm]

If it goes then you are dead-in-the-water with no way to figure what went wrong.
It would probably be better to fuse the individual lines but 30 amps would probably be OK if you still want to do it.
BillM

 

[Pythias]

30 amps will make the wire itself the fuse link, unless you mean a LUCAS 30 which is really about 17 amps. Most of the wiring is 14 gauge so nothing more than a Bussman (AGC) of 20 amps. ... but I agree with Bill M on this. Take his trouble shooting trick and put in a circuit breaker rather than a fuse. You'll be able to see if it popped, and it
can be easily reset.

 

[dklawson]

Not much to add to the above. Fuse the circuits leaving the switch, not the wire going to it. Also, if you are going to add fuses, try not to add fuses inline with existing fuses. It can make troubleshooting challenging when you have to remember there is more than one fuse on a circuit.

 

[Sarastro]

Here's what I did on my Bugeye:

https://www.nonlintec.com/sprite/electrical/

You might want to take a look at the part about the design of fused branches. You don't need to do as much as I did, of course, but the principles still apply.