rnjcurtis(at)charter.net
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 Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 3:24 pm Post subject: AeroElectric-List: Re: Should a tripped circuit breaker be r |
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I would like to clarify one point. In this and other posts, people have referred to fuse panels which have "fuse blown" indicators in the form of red LEDs mounted next to the fuse. I think these are really neat!
But, keep in mind that the LED is only lit when the fuse is blown AND the device on the other end is turned-on or at least capable of conducting a few milli-amps to ground. This means that if the circuit w/ the blown fuse is turned-off, the LED will not light and the blown fuse may go unnoticed.
An example will help illustrate. Let's say that while taxing back to your hangar one night, the landing light fuse blows. No big deal - you're on the ground & home - you'll fix it next weekend. Then, next weekend you get out to the plane and you forget about the inop landing light. The "fuse blown" LED will not light up when you power-up the buss because there is no path to ground for the LED.
This is really not a big deal, however, if that had been a breaker instead of a fuse, the breaker would still be 'popped' and sticking up when you got back to the plane. The point being that a popped circuit breaker can be a conspicuous reminder of a problem.
The argument could be made that a popped breaker is easier to detect than a blown fuse as Mike points out.
If you consider this same exact scenario except that the bulb blew instead of the fuse, and you said “I’ll fix it later” and you forgot, the circuit breaker would be no help.
You cannot rely on having an indicator for every possible failure! If you are going to be landing at night, check your lights before you leave.
Roger
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