How Do I Repair A Blown Fuse?

Please note, we can only give you basic advice on this page to do the job yourself. Make sure you use the right tools and protective equipment to avoid hurting yourself or damaging your home.

Before you start, make sure all the electrical items/appliances in your home (including lights) are turned off – as your fuse has blown, you’re either overloading your sockets or an electrical item is broken.

1. Turn the main fuse box off. You can normally do this by turning the main power switch ‘off’

2. Open the cover that protects the fuses

3. Remove the fuse carriers one-by-one to determine which fuse has blown. It’ll be fairly easy to tell which one it is as the fuse will be physically broken or burnt through.

4. Use your screwdriver to loosen the screws in the carrier and remove the broken wire. You’ll need to replace it with fuse wire of the same amperage. Any higher and the fuse won’t do its job properly – this could result in electrical fire, so is important to get right.

5. Thread the new fuse right through the central part of the fuse. Wrap the fire around the first screw in a clockwise direction, then the second, before tightening the screws. If there’s any excess wire, use wire cutters to snip it off.

6. Insert the carrier with the newly fitted wire back into your box. You can now turn the master switch back on. Your circuit should now be repaired. If it blows again, it’s likely that you have a faulty electrical appliance.

If you have a modern fuse box:

These are called circuit breakers and are far more straightforward to use. These contain lots of mini trip switches and when there’s a fault, the switch for the affected circuit will move to a different position or pop out. All you’ll need to do is unplug your appliances, turn the trip switch back on and check the circuit is working again.