How To Change A Fuse
Its very common that when electrical equipment doesn't work it is due to the fuse being blown.
The reason we have fuses is to protect us from getting an electrical shock and to protect the equipment from getting damaged from an overload.
Amps is the measurement we use to measure the amount of current and how strong that current is flowing through the circuit, its the Amps that kill you. As a rule Amps is drawn from a circuit, the equipment connected only takes the amount of amps from the circuit that it needs, this is different from voltage as voltage is feed into the equipment
So the job of a fuse to to make sure that there isn't an excessive amount of amps drawn into the equipment to where it can be dangerous.
A fuse works by a wire inside the fuse overheating when the current gets to high, which melts the wire and breaks the connection.
Disclaimer - Please Read Carefully
Working with electrics can be dangerous, if your in any doubt contact a qualified and registered electrician to carry out the work. Always make sure the power is off and disconnected before attempting to work with any electrics. In a lot of cases there are regulations prohibiting non qualified or registered persons from carrying out the work. This guide is for reference and to educate readers only.
All images marked with fig will enlarge once clicked!
Domestic Plug Fuses
There are many different sizes of fuses, from as little as 1cm to as large as 1/2 a metre but in domestic plugs you will only find one type a 'British Plug Fuse'.
These come from ratings of 1a up to 13a but the 3 most common are the 3, 5 & 13amp.
The colours used on these fuses never change (colours are never shared between ratings) So a 3a fuse is always red, a 5a fuse is always black and a 13a fuse is always brown. See Fig 1.
It is important to use the correct rating of fuse as not to cause damage to the equipment or to make sure enough current can pass through.
When replacing fuses always use the same rating as you just removed.
Replacing a Fuse
Now days modern plugs are supplied as one molded piece to the equipments cable, this is a safety issue, we will cover how to replace the fuse in both modern type supplied plugs and the old style plugs.
Old Style Plugs
First remove the centre screw to reveal the insides.
Placing your thumb over one end of the fuse prize it out with a flat head screw driver from the other side.
Place a new fuse of the same rating into the empty slots and fit the cover back on.
Modern One Piece Molded Plugs
Very simple, you will see a rectangle shaped insert on the plug side, using the two small slot each side prize out the fuse with a flat head screw driver.
Remove the fuse from its carrier, place in a new fuse of the same rating and push the fuse carrier back into the empty slots.
Do you have any Hints & tips or even information that might be useful on this page?
Tell us using the form below: