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Originally Posted by frosty
say that a 30-amp fuse was placed in a slot requiring a 20-amp fuse. and say that fuse blew. what is the possibility that it could fry wires/electric components and/or cause a fire because too much current passed through before the fuse could break in time?
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One thing that is being overlooked here is time. If there is a dead short, the fuse blows instantly because the instantaneous current is way over 30 amps. It might even be 500 amps for a fraction of a second.
This cannot start a fire and it cannot damage any wires.
Now, if the circuit is overloaded with devices (you added a stereo and some additional wattage on the headlights, etc.) and the current draw is 28 amps or so, then you are looking at some problems. The wires in the circuit are designed for a maximum of 20 amps and you are now running 28 amps. This will eventually overheat the wires and/or connections, but, it won't happen instantly. It might take five or ten minutes for the temperature to climb up to dangerous levels.
In most cases, the larger fuse will not cause any problems, although it is not adviseable to keep it there.