How to Properly Change a Blown Fuse

Imagine your traveling through the countryside at night on a long stretch of almost deserted highway. As you’re going along both your headlights completely shut off and now you are driving in the dark. Whether this has every happened to you or not, it’s always a good idea to have a basic understanding of fuses so that you will know how to fix it when things go awry.

Now it can’t be blown head lights or a dead battery because you changed the head lights just last week, plus the indication of your interior lights being on tells you that the battery can’t be dead. What are the chances that both your head lights going out at the same time? It’s time to check your fuse box to see if anything blew.

When you go to purchase fuses from the local store, you will find that there are two types available. They are either glass tubes or blade styles.

Glass Style

Glass Type Fuse

If you own a vehicle that was manufactured before 1990, you might have tube type fuses. They are made up of either a glass tube or more modern plastic mounts. They look like miniature torpedoes and are simple to install.

Blade Style

Blade Style Fuse

The other type, the one most likely in your vehicle, is the blade style fuse. They plug into your fuse box in a similar fashion as plugging your laptop power cord to an outlet.

It’s a good idea to observe what type of fuse you have so that you can have some lying around for spares. Let us move on to the proper installation method for these fuses.

There are always two locations for a fuse box. The reasoning behind this is that it keeps things more organized and less cluttered.

One of the locations of the fuse box is always going to be under your dashboard. Usually, if you are sitting in the driver’s seat, it’s located in front of your left knee. The fuses are behind a plastic cover that is always marked clearly. When you open the cover, there should be different colored fuses marked with numbers and, hopefully, a fully labeled diagram on the cover itself.

Most modern cars will provide you with a small fuse puller and at least 3-4 spare fuses. If you wish to replace your head light fuse, locate the slot on the diagram that indicates the head light fuse. Grab the fuse with the fuse puller, or your hands, and pull it out to see if it is blown. You will know if the fuse is blown by observing the metal “bridge” between the two blades. If it is broken or burned, you have a blown fuse. If the fuse is not blown and it is the correct fuse, you might need electrical repairs for your car.

Remember to replace a fuse that has the same color, number, and amperage as the original.

If you cannot locate your blown fuse under the dash, it will be located under your hood. There is a second fuse box located under your hood, usually near your battery. There is also a fuse diagram located on top of the fuse cover. Follow the same procedure as you did under the dash. Find the appropriate blown fuse, take it out, and install the new one.

There you are. Replacement of your blown fuse in less then 10 minutes. Now all you have to do is get back in the car and check to see if the fuse is working properly.

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