When Your Battery Fuse Is Blown: Symptoms And Fixes

You get into your car, get your key out to start your car but no response. If you find yourself in this situation after you have ruled out any possible problems with your alternator, check your car battery and your battery connectors are clean and you have done nothing to drain the battery, then you may have a problem with your main battery fuse. Sometimes battery terminals could be wrongly connected voluntarily or involuntarily and as a result like every other electrical circuit, in order to protect other devices or electronics the fuse is blown or disengaged. Symptoms of blown battery fuse comes in various ways and in different forms in most vehicles. We will be looking at common symptoms and fixes to this problem.

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Signs that you have a blown battery fuse varies from car to car but narrowing these symptoms down, we have these:

1. Engine won’t crank or start properly.
2. Headlights and other lights are not working properly.
3. You smell burning plastic or electrical insulation.

When you notice or suspect these symptoms, first open the hood of your car, make sure that your car is in the park position, the emergency brake is up, and that you are in a safe location. Before popping the hood put a pair of rubber gloves on. Next, secure the hood with the hood prop. Remember that safety always comes first.

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Find your owner’s manual. The best source to find the main battery fuse is in your owner’s manual. Look in the table of contents or index to properly locate the fuse box. Go over diagram. Once you have located the fuse box look at the writing on the lid of the fuse box. Most fuse boxes have a clearly labeled diagram that lets you know what fuses are under the lid. There will be a label that reads “battery” that has a number associated with it. The number represents the amps of the fuse. The number is what you will be looking for when you open the fuse box.

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Open the fuse box with a screw driver. Compare the fuse box diagram to the actual layout inside the box. The fuse box should be laid out exactly like the diagram on the lid. Each fuse will have a number printed on top of it. Locate the one that is associated to the battery and you will have successfully located the main battery fuse to your car.

Change the main battery fuse if it has blown to get your car back on the road again.

You can download your vehicle’s manual in PDF online HERE