Electrical fuse for use in motor vehicles

A fuse apparatus for selectively interrupting a load current flowing between a pair of associated conductor leads, the fuse apparatus comprising:

• at least two spaced apart electrically conductive contact elements operatively connected with the associated conductor leads;
• a fuse element;
• a heating portion generating a heating current through said contact elements and said fuse element to develop heat, the heating portion including a regulatable switch connected to at least one of said contact elements and responsive to a switch signal from an associated control unit to close and generate said heating current;
• and,
• an electrically conductive connection material selectively holding the fuse element across the at least two contact elements to allow the load current to flow between the pair of associated conductor leads, the connection material selectively disconnecting the fuse element from at least one of said at least two contact elements when the load current exceeds a predetermined threshold based on said heat and an ambient temperature of said fuse apparatus.