Memorial Day tuneup: Top 5 easiest car repairs

2. Replace a fuse

Barnabas Honeczy/MTI/AP/File
OK, it might be a little hard finding the fuse box on this Lada 1200 (VAZ-2101), converted into a luxury limousine by custom car designer Attila Horvath in Budapest, Hungary, in this May 9, 2011, file photo. But for most standard models, the manual will tell you exactly where to find the box and how to replace a blown fuse.

Some car owners might shy away from anything having to do with electrical circuits, but replacing a fuse is one of the easiest and quickest repairs to do. If all of a sudden your headlights stop working, your windows won’t roll down, and your dome light goes off, and all of these things happen at the same time, it might be time to replace a fuse. Consult your vehicle owner's manual to locate the fuse box, and then look at the diagram on the box cover to find the fuse for the part that is not working. Inspect the installed fuse with a test light by touching each side of the fuse. If it lights on one side but not the other, the fuse is blown.

Easy Factor: The fuse box cover is labeled to identify the circuit just like on your home fuse box – and replacing the fuse is just as easy. Some vehicles include a plastic fuse removal tool and a spare fuse.

Tip: Location of fuses is in the vehicle owner’s manual.

Tool Factor: Many vehicles include a fuse puller. Flashlight (optional).

Time Factor: Less than 10 minutes.

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