Lexus Repair: Fuse, copper piece, fuse block

Question
Lexus 1995, ES 300.

I started my car, and had the a fuse blow causing the Auto-Temp system and stereo to go out.  I checked the fuse box and found it to be that exact fuse. That question i had for you is :  I've had this car about 1yr and 1/2 and have never gone into the fuse box.  When i went in this time i found the fuse for the stereo/heat to be wrapped with some sort of copper piece. This will be hard to explain but the foot of the fuse had a thin peice of copper around it. I didn't understand why untill i took it out and tried to put in another fuse, with out this piece. It seemed not to stay in, it was very loose. The copper piece seemed to be holding it in place. I then replaced the fuse with copper on and everything worked for a min then popped again. I'm sure if this could be the source of the problem?  Also the copper is only on one side of the fuse, maybe it could be on both sides for better contact in place?....any ideas would be great, it about 10degrees here in New England and I could use some heat. Thanks for your time

Trevor  

Answer
Trevor,

Thanks for the question.

There really isn't any easy way for me to tell you this, so I'll just come right out and say it....

Somebody along the line got hold of your car at some point and installed what is know in the aftermarket car stereo installer circles as a "fuse spreader."  This is what is left of the copper piece you mentioned.  Apparently, they either didn't know the damage they would cause, or knew but didn't care.

The reason that an aftermarket alarm, stereo, etc. company uses these fuse spreaders is because it's an easy way to hook into your fuse block, use the existing fuse and not have to do any real wiring connections, in order to plug into a power circuit.

The really bad news is that once a fuse spreader has been used, it actually bends the fuse contacts so far out of shape that a normal fuse blade no longer makes a proper connection.  Also, it is quite possible that the fuse block has been damaged internally, and shorting out the power wire, causing the new fuses to blow.

Unfortunately, now it's time to have a qualified technician remove the entire damaged fuse block and replace it.

Ah, the price of “harmless” aftermarket stuff.  Just one of the reasons I dislike aftermarket stuff and would never let one of those guys touch any of my cars...ever.

Most importantly, DO NOT try and bypass this fuse. Proper fusing and other circuit protection is critical.  I can't stress this enough.  Trying to make a “quick fix” the easy way could easily lead to a serious problem in the future, even a fire.

Trevor, I'm sorry I couldn't give you much good news on this, but perhaps knowing what happened (and why) may help a little.  Hopefully when others read this, it will keep them from experiencing this same unfortunate experience.

Leonard