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A fuse can clear a fault within a quarter cycle of the fault current, while a circuit breaker may take around half to one cycle to clear the fault. The response time of a fuse can be as fast as 0.002 seconds, whereas a circuit breaker typically responds in the range of 0.02 to 0.05 seconds.
A small circuit breaker typically has a manual control lever to switch the circuit off or reset a tripped breaker, while a larger unit may use a solenoid to trip the mechanism, and an electric motor to restore energy to springs (which rapidly separate contacts when the breaker is tripped).
Automotive fuses are typically housed inside one or more fuse boxes (also called an integrated power module (IPM)) within the vehicle, typically on one side of the engine compartment and/or under the dash near the steering wheel. Some fuses or circuit breakers may nonetheless be placed elsewhere, such as near the cabin fan or air bag controller.
Miniature circuit breakers and fuses may be rated to interrupt as little as 85 amperes and are intended for supplementary protection of equipment, not the primary protection of a building wiring system. In North American practice, approved general-purpose low-voltage fuses must interrupt at least 10,000 amperes.
As commonly used, 10-30 and 10-50 plugs required the frame of the appliance to be indirectly grounded via a strap connecting to the neutral blade. Safe operation relied on the neutral conductor in turn being connected to system ground at the circuit breaker or fuse box.
The failure of a neutral fuse would cut off power flow through the affected circuit, but the hot conductor could still remain hot relative to ground, an unexpected and potentially hazardous situation. Because of the presence of a neutral fuse, and in the event that it blew, the neutral conductor could not be relied on to remain near ground ...