Hey Y'all, I am trying to figure out what fuse to power my new CB radio with. I am thinking fuse 29 it's a 15a that powers the cig lighters but also sends power to the OBD plugin. Any advice is appreciated. 2004 Ford Ranger xlt 4x2

 

Welcome to the forum

OBD power is not a concern, its only needed when you plug in an OBD "reader" and they don't need much power

So that should be fine, but it is a full time power fuse, so CB would be on all the time, you would have to remember to turn it off or battery will run down

You could use Fuse 6, Radio fuse, with a Tap like this one: https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-a...rcuit-fuse.jpg
Thats just one type

The Tap replaces the fuse, the original fuse is used in the TAP(for radio) then a second fuse for the Added circuit on that wire, the CB, so it has its own fuse
This is a key on/off circuit, but works in ACC or RUN

So not cutting factory wiring just adding a new wire
And you can remove it when you sell vehicle

 

Thank you so much! What fuse should I use for the CB? A 10A?

 

10amp should be fine.

CB should have a watt or amp draw on it somewhere or you can look up the model on line to see what its maximum draw is.

Fuses are really there for the wiring, so fuse size should have a lower amp rating than the size of wire you are using

If you are using an 18guage wire that has a 12volt amp rating of 15amps and you use a 30amp fuse then the WIRE becomes the fuse, fuse won't blow, the wire will melt first, not a good thing, lol.

So use correct size wire for the circuit(watt/amp draw of device) and a fuse with a lower rating than that wire, so in the above case a 10amp fuse would protect the wire and the device its powering