replaced headlight 10amp fuses with 15amp fuses...any problems?

[jc411]

I had a problem with my new HID kit I installed. It was a custom kit with philips ballasts and some 6000k korean made bulbs.

The passenger side kept blowing the red 10amp fuse. So we replaced both sides with 15amp fuses. Everything works fine now but I would like to make sure 15amp doesnt burn any wires later on. Can anyone confirm that this will not harm anything in the future perhaps running it for a long period of time? I drove it back home 25mins and everything was fine and still is fine.

They look great BTW

 

[-FROG-]

I wouldn't worry about it. If you went to 30Amp, then begin to worry, but no, it should be cool. I'd probably grab hold of the wiring associated with the HID's to see if they are abnormally hot or anything. If they are too hot to feel on, then something may be wrong.

 

[Vman455]

I installed HIDs a few months ago. The instructions actually specified use of a 20 amp fuse, so I installed one for each headlight. Haven't had any problems.

 

[dave6666]

Fuses are of course meant to provide downstream protection of the devise they are powering as well as the connecting wire or buss itself. I think in this case it's all wire and no bussing. Your main concern here would be the load the wire is carrying and the heat it is generating. Like Frog pointed out you can check the wire to see if it is getting hot, but unfortunately the area of greatest concern would be where the wire in enclosed in a larger bundle and cannot dissipate heat. And you also can't check it there.

I looked in my '01 wiring diagrams and the low beam wire is 2.0 mm c/s which is the equivalent of 14 ga in the US system. Some reference charts I found on automotive wire say 15 amps for that wire. So it looks like you'll be fine, but if you go higher you risk melting an expensive wire bundle known as your car's electrical system.