Auto Circuit Breaker

Automotive Circuit Breakers for Power Surge Protection

An automotive circuit breaker provides a safe and useful way to protect your vehicles from an electrical power surge. These breakers have internal switch mechanisms that can be tripped when there is an overload of electricity. These units are often used in auxiliary and accessory circuits for cars, trucks, buses, RVs, and marine applications, and they are easily found in the vast eBay electrical category.

eBay includes helpful search options that allow you to find a breaker according to your specifications. Circuit breakers come in different types, such as magnetic, thermal magnetic, vacuum circuit, miniature, molded case, and common trip, and they also come in three basic styles. The style that is chosen depends on the amps and the regulatory requirements of the item that is being protected. The three basic styles include:

• Auto resettable - Once tripped, these breakers will cycle until the surge is found and corrected, and then it will turn the item back on automatically.
• Modified reset (trip and hold) - When the unit is tripped, it will cycle until the power source for the surge is removed, and then it will operate again.
• Manual resettable - These styles of breakers will not cycle to come back on until it is manually reset.

If things are not working in your vehicle, a simple volt meter can help you test the circuit breakers to see if they are working properly. It is much easier and less expensive to change a faulty circuit breaker rather than a headlight or a stereo. If you are not simply replacing a unit, you must determine what is to be protected and how the power surges can develop in the items. Another thing to consider is the number of poles and the voltage rating of the item to be protected. Next, decide on the placement of the breaker, and then determine the maximum voltage requirements of the items, and consider the environment that the unit will be exposed to. Then, determine what the breaker will be connected to. Lastly, determine the regulatory requirements of the breakers, specifically whether they are Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) rated or Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rated.