What is a fuse and what types can you find for your Dualis? (2024)

What is a fuse and what types can you find for your Dualis?

In short:
The fuses are the elements that protect the electrical circuits. They are cheap, disposable and there are different types according to their usage and the amount of amperage they transmit.
There are Bosch fuses (or torpedo or GCB), cylinder fuses (or cartridge) made of glass, blade (or spade) fuses, cartridge fuses (JSCASE and MCASE), and high current fuses. The same car may have up to 3 types of fuses for its different circuits.

Fuses are pieces that protect the electrical circuits. That is to say, every time an electrical component of your Dualis suddenly stops working, there might be a blown fuse. The good news is that fuses are really cheap and easy to replace. For this reason, before you mourn the loss of your stereo, air conditioner, or other devices, you should first check these little pieces.

All of them work in the same way and, the other good news is that they have no front or backside, so they are easy to put into place. Despite their small size, they have a calibrated conductor for the highest current they can withstand, and if the current goes over this value, the conductor breaks, which interrupts the circuit and makes it impossible for the current to keep on flowing. The visible result is that the system stops working, but it is just because there is no current, not because of a serious problem.

Each type of fuse has a normalized value that can be easily recognizable because it is engraved in its body.

You can see where the fuse box of your Dualis is located and what each fuse protects in the owner's manual.

⚠️Every time you change a fuse, you should do it while your Dualisis turned off.

Fuse types

There are many fuse types, but these are the most common in the automotive industry:

Blade (or spade) fuses:

They are used in vehicles manufactured since the year 2000 up to now.

They have a rectangular shape, a flat contour, and a plastic, transparent body.

Cartridge fuses (JCASE and MCASE):

They usually have a female connector, but there are also male ones. They can withstand currents between 20 and 60 A. They have different sizes; the most common ones are MCASE and JCASE. The latter can be of standard size or low-profile (LP).

High current fuses:

They are used for high currents. They are usually present in charging and ignition circuits. They can be found close to the battery. They may have a plastic cover or not (bare fuses). They can withstand up to 500A. You can find them in two sizes; MIDI® fuses are tightened with 5mm bolts, while MEGA® fuses are tightened with 8mm bolts.

Since they are metallic, they are more resistant than the other types of fuses, so they do not usually get blown.

Cylinder or cartridge glass fuses:

They are generally used for electrical equipment because they can receive very small currents (0.03 to 50 A). In cars, they are used in stereos or electrical installations after the car was acquired, such as auxiliary lights and any other accessories that are not original.

Bosch, torpedo, or GBC fuses:

They were used many years ago in European vehicles. They are 6x25mm in size, and their ends are conical. They accept from 5 to 40 A. We can still find these fuses in cars manufactured before the year 2000.

How can you check if the fuse is blown?

You can see it just by looking at it. You can do this with all types of fuses. You just have to check the electrical conductor, like you can see in the following picture:

The other way to check if the fuses are blown is by using a multimeter. Its advantage is that you will not have to take the fuse out of the box. You have to set the multimeter in “continuity” and use its probes to check between the contacts of the fuses, the way you can see in the picture. If the multimeter does not make any sounds, that means that the fuse is blown, and you will have to replace it.

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