Harbor Freight Fuses

[MarksMG]

My brother works at a GM dealership and he was telling me today that they are being told to watch out for people using fuses from Harbor Freight. I guess they are not blowing at the rated amps and causing damage to the vehicles. Just thought you all might want to know. This could be dangerous in a TD or TTT. I have cheap fuses in mine and I will change them out.

[ssrjim]

My brother works at a GM dealership and he was telling me today that they are being told to watch out for people using fuses from Harbor Freight. I guess they are not blowing at the rated amps and causing damage to the vehicles. Just thought you all might want to know. This could be dangerous in a TD or TTT. I have cheap fuses in mine and I will change them out.

The have recall notices on their cash registers.

[ferociousllama]

I think he is only trying to sell overpriced GM fuses...that are probably made at the same factory.

I believe it, if there is a recall notice at harbor freight but I was there last week and I didn't see anything.

[mechmagcn]

I don't know if they are the same ones that are available at HF, but I have seen some cheaper fuses lately that didn't blow but melted the plastic completely off of the metal. Some have even lit up like a light bulb without blowing.

[MarksMG]

I think he is only trying to sell overpriced GM fuses...that are probably made at the same factory.

Yep I make a ton of money selling fuses. Sorry for trying to save someone trouble or injury.

[ferociousllama]

I'm not saying you're lying. In fact I am sure you posted as an act of public service to help everyone avoid problems...However I don't trust anyone who works at any car dealership or repair shop. I am saying that I would not be surprised to find that the person you heard it from either doesn't have the whole story and came to an early conclusion, or is just making stuff up.

Nothing personal to anyone here.

[ninerhb]

The OP's brother wasn't making anything up, although it's a specific set of fuses to look for.

More info direct from the HF website.

HenryB

[Woodbutcher]

Thanks for the heads up on the recall. I just changed all mine with new Buss fuses. The old HF ones will get returned.

[Mstro]

Thanks for the heads up about a possible problem with the fuses. The biggest problem all consumers have is the quality of the products on the shelves at all stores. The fact of believing an endorsement from anybody about a certain supplier or where to purchase should be taken with a big grain of salt. Just check an see who has most of the major recalls for bad product replacements. Buyer Always Beware

[ARKPAT]

Yep ! ! !

I have made the same mistake several several months ago and used them.


I now have an inoperable 12 DC power outlet on my dash ( looks like a new rewiring job - after removing the dash ).



Pat

[Lesbest]

The funny thing about fuses.....ANY fuses....is that to do quality control checks on them you have to measure the amp load as you increase it to failure. When your production process is set then you can be somewhat sure they will be consisent and dependable. The cheap looking fuses are that--cheap fuses. If you went for good plywood why would you cheap out on something that protects your EXPENSIVE electronics. Spend the dollar on the fuse.
Buss and Littlefuse are the only brand I will use, if the are noname fuses or are Failrites they stay in the store.

Also most tailight problems are caused by Chinese bulbs. If you have problems that don't make sense make sure they are a brand name--even if THEY are foreign, it will fix 95% of the problems without getting involved too deeply.

Les

[mechmagcn]

Also most tailight problems are caused by Chinese bulbs. If you have problems that don't make sense make sure they are a brand name--even if THEY are foreign, it will fix 95% of the problems without getting involved too deeply.

Les

Funny you should mention tail light bulbs, I have seen problems with several cruise control systems because of cheap "Chinese" bulbs being used for replacements.
Sometimes it is best to stick to OEM to keep unwanted problems away. Cheap parts are just that, CHEAP!