How To Fix A Blown Fuse? 2023 Best Guide

With the appropriate equipment, experience, and safety considerations, repairing a Blown Fuse in your home is a simple DIY activity that may be quickly carried out. We’ll teach you how to turn the power back on by assisting you in finding your electrical box, determining whether you have circuit breakers or fuses, discussing basic safety precautions, and demonstrating how to fix a Blown Fuse.

Table of Contents

Locate Your Electrical Panel

Find the location of the electrical panel in your house. The panel, frequently concealed behind a tiny metal door or box, serves as the electrical system’s command center. These panels can also be found in the utility, basement, laundry, storage, or hallway. Older residences could have their electrical panel outside, sometimes close to the electric meter box. There may even be multiple electrical panels in certain huge homes.

If you can’t find it and you had a home inspection before buying the property, consult the inspection report, which can provide the location of the electrical panel. Or, if you’re not sure who that is, you can query the builder. A licensed electrician can assist you in locating the panel if everything else fails. Make sure not to obstruct your electrical panel with furniture, shelves, or boxes wherever it may be. If something goes wrong, you’ll want ready access to it immediately. To see what you are doing in the event of a power outage, it is also advisable to maintain a battery-operated flashlight or lantern close to the electrical panel.

See What’s Inside

Fuse or circuit breakers are visible when the door to the electrical panel is opened. In contrast to circuit breakers, which resemble a series of levers or switches, fuses are circular and screw into sockets. Regardless of the circuit breakers or fuses your electrical panel uses, ensure they are all marked with the zone or section of the house they are in charge of. You’ll spend less time looking for and repairing a Blown Fuse thanks to clear, thorough labeling.

How do you recognize a Blown Fuse? Here are a few pointers:

Typically, only a portion of your home loses electricity rather than the entire building.
The area frequently loses power when you turn on another electrical item while using multiple others. A fuse might blow as a result of this overload.

It’s critical to keep in mind that tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse interrupts electrical flow and assists in preventing a fire from being started by overloaded wiring in your home. What could appear to be an annoyance or an inconvenience contributes to your property’s security.

Safety Precautions Before You Start

Before you begin working inside the fuse box, you must take a few safety measures.

Shut off all the lights in the space where the power went off, and unplug a few of the electrical devices. If you used a vacuum, hair dryer, microwave, or other large, power-hungry appliance when the power went out, that item probably caused the fuse to blow. If you replace the fuse and leave the appliance plugged in and on, it will quickly overload the circuit and blow another fuse.
Work in the fuse box with dry hands and rubber-soled shoes while standing on a dry surface.
Stop working with a damaged fuse if you are worried about your safety or don’t feel comfortable doing so, and call an electrician instead. Your safety is not worth sacrificing to save a few dollars.

What Does A Tripped Circuit Or Blown Fuse Look Like?

Fuse sockets are circular and fit into them, while circuit breakers resemble switches. Metal wires can be found inside glass windows found on fuses. A Blown Fuse may have burn marks on the glass, be filled with melted metal, or have discolored glass.

A tripped circuit is relatively simpler to spot because the switch will be flipped. Search the switches for the one that has flipped to the middle, between the on and off positions.

3 Potential Causes for a Fuse to Blow

Overloaded Circuit

A circuit will be overloaded if a more significant electrical load is applied than it can handle. When you overuse a circuit, you overload it. The main offenders of circuit overloading are extension leads. If there are too many connected appliances, they are likely to heat up quickly, which could cause the fuse to burst.

Your home’s fuse size and load capacity are matched. The fuse will burn out under a heavy load. Indicating that your electrical requirements are too great for your circuit is a fuse that blows too frequently. If this happens, you should contact an electrician to improve your circuitry or shift a few appliances to separate circuits.

Faulty Appliances

A single appliance can blow the fuse box even if its wiring is defective or connected loosely. Appliances that are broken should be replaced right away. Contact a licensed electrician if unsure which appliance is blowing a fuse.

Short Circuit

A short circuit develops when two wires carry current contact, or another component has current. A risky electrical short circuit resulting in the fuse blowing could endanger people and their equipment.

Numerous things can contribute to its occurrence, including weak connections, poor insulation, and rodent-chewed wires. Instead of attempting to repair something yourself, call in a professional.

Steps on How to Fix a Fuse:

In The Area Of The House Without Electricity, Switch Off The Lights And Disconnect Any Appliances

This makes it more likely that the new replacement fuse won’t be overloaded. Always use electrical safety precautions when making house repairs, and avoid taking on an electrical fix if you are unsure of your expertise or skills. Calling a skilled electrician is preferable to getting into an accident.

When working with electricity or gaining access to your electrical panel, you should ensure your hands are dry and not submerged in water. When working near the electrical panel, it’s also a good idea to take off any jewelry, wear gloves, and wear shoes with rubber soles. You should wear safety glasses to protect your eyes if you come into contact with electrical sparks.

Flip The Main Power Switch Off, To Turn Off Power To The Fuse Box

You must now find the blown-fuse. Verify the designated area and match the house’s location where the electricity went out. A Blown Fuse may appear foggy, discolored, or even contain a piece of fractured metal or melted. Just get of the Blown Fuse by unscrewing it but always ensure the main power source is still off. Using a new fuse with the same type, size, rating, and amperage as the old one is crucial.

Never swap out a Blown Fuse for one with a higher amperage; doing so could be hazardous or harm the wiring in your electrical panel. An exact replacement can be obtained by bringing the Blown Fuse to a hardware or home supply store. To ensure extra fuses when needed, think about having extras on hand. The identical electrical panel socket should receive the replacement fuse. (A fuse should only be placed in the holder or socket.)

Now, Reconnect The Main Power Supply To The Electrical Panel.

You’ll need to contact a licensed electrician to inspect if the fuse blows again. Plug in a few electrical devices or turn on a few lights in the electrical zone that the new fuse controls. If it checks out once the main power is reconnected, the fuse blows again, there may be a problem with the device, or you may have used too much electricity and put too much stress on the fuse. Unplug some appliances or contact an electrician to discuss your growing electrical requirements.

If your fuses keep blowing, you should hire a qualified electrician to evaluate your house and find the source of the issue. If you have doubts about the situation’s safety due to electrical wiring issues, it is best to avoid risking a fire or electrocution. It’s especially advisable to have an electrician examine the wiring in a home over 50 years old to determine whether it is secure and sufficient to meet all of the needs of a modern homeowner.

How To Prevent Blown Fuses

There are a few things to check to avoid further issues if fuses in your home keep blowing.

Overloaded Circuit

The most typical cause of a fuse blowing is an overloaded circuit, which is also one of the simplest home repairs to solve. The breaker will trip when a circuit is overloaded as a safety measure to safeguard the remainder of your home’s wiring and avert a house fire.

You might need to relocate certain high-demand appliances to different house areas if you’re constantly overloading a circuit. To fulfill your home’s electrical needs, consider improving your circuitry.

Ground Fault, Short Circuit, And Arc Fault

Each of these wiring problems is related to your home’s wiring and is a more profound reason why fuses keep blowing. It’s crucial to get in touch with a qualified specialist to diagnose and resolve these electrical issues if you notice that you keep blowing the same fuses and have relocated high-energy drawing equipment to other outlets.

Conclusion

Do not be intimidated by a blown-fuse. Replacing a fuse with a bit of knowledge and basic electrical home safety know-how is a reasonably simple, do-it-yourself project. The greatest suggestion if your home has a fuse box is to be prepared and familiarize yourself with the electrical panel and the kinds of fuses it requires.

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