Maintaining the Home:
Interior Maintenance
How to Replace a Fuse
What you need
- rubber mat
- flashlight
- new fuse of same capacity and type as the one that blew—either screw-in (Figure 1) or cartridge (Figure 2)
How to do it
- Disconnect all lamps and appliances on the blown circuit.
- If the fuse box is in a damp area, be sure your hands are dry and you are standing on a rubber mat.
- Turn off the power by lifting or pulling the main switch level (Figure 3-a) to the "off" position. If yours is like Figure 3-b, remove the pull-out section.
- Remove the blown fuse (the face is black or the metal strip is broken, see Figure 4). The screw-type fuse unscrews counterclockwise. The cartridge-type pulls out.
- Replace with a new fuse of the same capacity and type. (Never replace with a penny— this will complete the circuit, but it also may cause a fire!)
- Turn on the main switch.
- Throw away the blown fuse.
- Find out what caused the fuse to blow by plugging in appliances separately. If the circuit is OK with each appliance individually, you probably had too many things plugged in. If any one appliance causes the fuse to blow, get the appliance repaired or replaced.
Figure 1 |
Figure 2 |
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Figure 3 | |
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Figure 4 | |
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This material was adapted from publications produced by Iowa State University.
Next: How to Buy an Energy Efficient Home Appliance
