Even the most modern and technologically advanced vehicles on the road today still rely on a few flimsy little parts that are prone to breaking.
Fuses are one of those flimsy little parts. If you have a long-lived vehicle, at some point or another, one of your fuses will blow and you’ll be left with the challenge of figuring out how to replace a blown fuse.
Does this mean that the first step is a trip to the auto parts store to buy a replacement fuse or did your vehicle come with a spare fuse?
Some cars do come with spare fuses that you can find inside a fuse box located somewhere in the car. Newer cars generally have two fuse boxes, one in the passenger cabin and the other located beside the engine under the hood. Consult with your owner’s manual to find out where exactly your spare fuses are located.
Spare fuses are the ones that aren’t being used, and you can use the manual or the sheet inside the fuse box to identify which is which.
There should also be a fuse puller or some extraction tool with which you can easily remove a fuse.
What are spare fuses for?
Spare fuses are used to replace blown fuses in your car.
Cars run on electricity as well, since they need to power the different electrical components, down to the little cigarette lighter in your car.
When a circuit has a surge of electricity, a fuse is used up by melting the thin wire you see inside it. This keeps the wiring and the other components safe by shutting off the flow of electricity.
Some spare fuses are provided in a new car’s auxiliary fuse box.
You can take out the worn fuse and check whether it has been used by looking at the thin wire in the middle of the fuse.
If this wire is burnt, that means the fuse has been used up.
Is it safe to leave a fuse out?
A fuse basically functions as a connection within a circuit, so removing a fuse will effectively disable the device or appliance, and it won’t be able to be used.
This is safe in some cases but can be very dangerous in some other cases.
For example, if you remove the fuse for the car’s radio, you won’t be able to use the radio.
That’s not that dangerous, but removing the car’s horn can cause an accident later when you want to warn pedestrians or other drivers and are unable to.
Aside from this, if you remove the fuse for the ignition or any of the fuel injection mechanisms in the car, you won’t be able to start the car at all.
Removing fuses doesn’t damage your car, since you’re just removing a part of the circuit.
You can remove a fuse for a non-essential part of your car, like the radio, and drive your car without any issues.
But we’d advise you to not do this, and instead, keep all fuses installed.
Do cars have more than one fuse box?
Most, if not all, cars come with two fuse boxes or fuse panels. These control different parts of the vehicle, and are located accordingly on the vehicle.
One fuse box is located beside the engine in the front of the car and helps protect different parts of the engine such as the cooler, the hydraulic brake pump, and fuel injection systems.
Another fuse box can be found within the vehicle’s passenger cabin, usually under the dashboard on the driver’s side.
This fuse box protects different parts that are found within the interior of the car.
This may include the radio, air conditioner, interior lights, and a collection of other interior items.
Where to buy replacement car fuses
You can always go to your nearest hardware store to get some fuses if you’ve run out.
Chances are, the fuse panels in your car might have some spare fuses that aren’t being used, so you can make do with those.
Once you run out of those, either check out the nearest hardware store or go to the local mechanic or AutoZone to get what you need.
Make sure to take any used fuses with you so you don’t forget what type you need.
This is also important since using the wrong fuses can damage your car, or cause a fire!
Ordering fuses online is also a great way to get them delivered to your home, hassle-free. Several websites specialize in providing you with the easiest solution to your car-related problems.
Some even have a support specialist you can chat with to explain your problem better.
You can look for spare fuses on websites like Amazon, or AutoZone.
Both of these have pretty good prices and provide pick up and delivery as well.
Are car fuses universal?
Unfortunately, no. The type of fuse depends on the vehicle. Different factors come into play, like the age, model, and make of the vehicle.
Aside from this, the size and amperage rating of the fuses is also important in differing between various types of fuses.
However, different fuses can be used in different cars, if the same type of fuses are being used in them.
You can determine the different current ratings of fuses with their corresponding colors, which we’ve provided below.
| Black | 1 Amp |
| Grey | 2 Amp |
| Violet | 3 Amp |
| Pink | 4 Amp |
| Biege | 5 Amp |
| Brown | 7.5 Amp |
| Red | 10 Amp |
| Blue | 15 Amp |
| Yellow | 20 Amp |
| Clear | 25 Amp |
| Green | 30 Amp |
| Amber | 40 Amp |
There are also different types of fuses, which are:
- Micro2 fuse: these are the smallest and are tall and thin in shape.
- Micro3 fuse: these are the only fuses that have three terminals instead of two.
- Low Profile: these fuses are small and compact. Their terminals are also very small.
- Mini: these are small and compact, but the terminals are much longer.
- Regular: Standard-sized fuses.
- Maxi: larger fuses that are designed for appliances with high current.
Replacing a car fuse
If a fuse has been used up in your car, follow these steps to change the fuse safely.
- Locate the fuse box, and check which fuse isn’t working. You can refer to the manual and check which fuse matches with what component of the car.
- Get a new of the same type and size.
- Carefully remove the used fuse with the pliers provided in the fuse box.
- Insert the new fuse in the location where the old fuse was.
Hopefully, this will get your car component up and running in no time!
