By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Replacement Fuse Holders
- Cartridge-fuse Puller
- Continuity Tester
- Flashlight
- Replacement Fuses
Identify and test a blown fuse
Step1
Open the door to your service panel and examine it with a flashlight to identify the blown fuse. Typically lights are on 15-A circuits. Receptacles may be either 15 A (for 14-gauge wiring) or 20 A (for 12-gauge wiring). A large fixed appliance, such as an electric range or a water heater, should be on its own circuit, protected by fuses as specified by the appliance manufacturer (see the appliance's rating plate for amp requirements). In addition, one or more main fuses protect service lines coming from your power utility.
Step2
For light and receptacle circuits, look for a break or blackened area visible through the glass of a screw-in plug fuse. If all the fuses look good, identify the fuse according to the circuit label (map) printed on the door or next to each fuse.
Step3
If the circuits are not mapped, locate the fuse by trial and error: Remove the fuses one at a time and either insert a new fuse to test the circuit, or touch the pointed probe of a continuity tester to the fuse's tip and the clip to its threaded shaft. If the tester does not glow, the fuse is bad.
Step4
For fuse blocks, which protect an electric stove and the main circuit, pull straight out on the handle, then remove the individual cartridge fuses from the block using a cartridge-fuse puller. Test the fuses with a continuity tester by probing the two ends.
Install a new fuse
Step1
Screw in a new plug fuse, or install a new cartridge fuse in the fuse block and press the block back in. The replacement should always have the same rating as the original.
Step2
If all of the circuits have stopped working, remove and test the cartridge fuses in the main fuse block, usually located at the top left (occasionally it's reversed with the stove circuit on the top right). Replace any faulty ones.
Replace a fuse holder
Step1
More often than not the problem with cartridge fuses is related to loose clips or rivets in the fuse block or fuse box, not the fuse itself. Replace a faulty cartridge or have an electrician make other necessary repairs.
Comments
pahchay said
on 4/4/2008 I went to a repair site called "Repairfaq.org" and they had great advice. My issue was handled perfectly and only ended up costing me $3 for new fuses. A door latch interlock switch was loose and that actually caused the failure! snapped the switch back into place and Voila! Couldn't believe that was all it took
pahchay said
on 4/4/2008 I went to a repair site called "Repairfaq.org" and they had great advice. My issue was handled perfectly and only ended up costing me $3 for new fuses. A door latch interlock switch was loose and that actually caused the failure! snapped the switch back into place and Voila! Couldn't believe that was all it took
pahchay said
on 4/4/2008 I went to a repair site called "Repairfaq.org" and they had great advice. My issue was handled perfectly and only ended up costing me $3 for new fuses. A door latch interlock switch was loose and that actually caused the failure! snapped the switch back into place and Voila! Couldn't believe that was all it took
ncblu66 said
on 7/27/2007 hold the new fuse tight and have someone rotate the whole world
ncblu66 said
on 7/27/2007 hold the new fuse tight and have someone rotate the whole world