How to Change a Car Fuse

It is important to know how to change a fuse in a car. Fuses can blow in your car and completely disable you from driving at all, or at least shut off something important. To change a fuse in a car, follow these easy instructions.

Things You'll Need

• Car
• Fuses
• Flashlight (if it's dark)
• Test meter or voltmeter

Instructions

1. 

   Locate fuse box

   If you don't know where the fuse box is on your car, check your owner's manual. In my experience the fuse box has been either somewhere near the driver's left side or in the glove box, but you never know.

2. 

   Get a voltmeter

   Don't have a voltmeter? You have to get one, they can help you do a lot of things. For instance, you need one to check which fuse has blown in your car before you can change it. If you don't have a voltmeter, it's about time you get one! Check out the resources section below for a link to my personal favorite model.

3. 

   Figure out which fuse has blown

   To do this, connect the test lighter or voltmeter to a chassis point, or somewhere on the car with exposed metal. Then touch the voltmeter to the conductor of whichever fuse you think might be blown. and then have the voltmeter touch the fuse's conductor.

   How do you know if a fuse is working? A working fuse will have voltage coming out of both sides. But if a fuse is blown, it will only have a charge on one side. So use your voltmeter and find the fuse or fuses that only have charges on one side. These are the fuses you need to change.

4. 

   Buy the right replacement fuse

   Make sure the new replacement fuse you're installing has the same amp as the faulty fuse. If the new fuse's amps are too high you could actually start a fire in your car. Fuses come in three sizes, a miniature size, a normal size and a maxi size range. The miniature and normal sized fuses are usually color-coded, so all you have to do is get the right color that matches the blown fuse. If you need to replace one of the largest or maxi size range fuses, again, make sure you check and double check the amperage to make sure you aren't screwing this all up.

5. 

   Change the fuse

   Now all you do is yank out the blown fuse and replace it with the new fuse. If you got the right fuse, everything should be working properly now.

Tips & Warnings

• Feel free to take your blown fuse into a nearby auto parts store and ask the people there to get you the right replacement fuse

• Get the wrong fuse and you could start a fire, so make sure!

Resources

• Actron CP7605 Dwell/Tachometer/Voltmeter Analyzer
• Regular Dude vs. The American Dream