Question: My car has two fuse panels, one under the
instrument panel and one in the engine compartment. How come?
Answer:The fuse panel inside the vehicle is usually for
the headlights and electrical accessories such as the heater,
radio, power windows, seats, defroster, etc., while the one under
the hood (which is sometimes called the "power distribution
center") is for high amp systems such as the ignition circuit,
fuel injectors, starter motor, fuel pump and antilock brake system
(ABS).
Most domestic cars built up until the late 1980s had only
the one fuse panel inside the vehicle. The other high amperage
electrical circuits were typically protected by "fusible
links," special pieces of wire that were designed to melt
just like a fuse if the circuit was overloaded.
The Japanese and Europeans started using a separate fuse panel
under the hood for the engine-related circuits almost a decade
before the domestic automakers primarily because most of these
vehicles were fuel injected. As fuel injection became more common
on domestic-built cars, the need for a second fuse panel became
obvious and fusible links were soon replaced with fuses.
The fuses under the hood are typically large capacity fuses
(30 amps or more) while those inside a vehicle are typically
20 amps or less.
