How to replace a fuse in a 2003 Honda Civic

Occasionally, a fuse will blow in your car, causing the door locks, power windows, or another component to fail.  Replacing the fuse is a simple procedure, and you can save money by doing it yourself rather than taking the car to a mechanic or auto shop.

To replace a fuse in a 2003 Honda Civic:

1. Open the hood

With the car off, pull the hood release lever, located to the left under the driver's side dashboard.  The lever has picture of a car with a raised hood on it.  Pull it toward you to release the hood lock.

Once you've pulled the lever, get out of the car and stand in front of it.  Feel under the slightly-raised hood for the latch that will release it the rest of the way (just to the left of the center).  Push up on the latch and raise the hood, then use the stabilizing bar (it lays along the front of the engine compartment, parallel to the bumper) to hold the hood in place.  The bar's white plastic tip fits into the hole on the right underside of the hood.

2. Open the fuse box

The fuse box is located on the left side of the engine compartment (as you're standing in front of the car, looking at it).  Push in the two clips on either side of the fuse box cover and lift it off.  There is a diagram of the fuses and locations on the underside of the fuse box cover.

3. Remove the bad fuse

For larger fuses, you can simply pull them out with your hand, but for smaller fuses it helps to have a fuse extractor or a pair of tweezers.  Pull the fuse straight up and out.

4. Install the new fuse

Gently push the new fuse into the spot vacated by the old fuse.  Make sure to push it in all the way, in the same orientation as the old fuse.

5. Close everything up

Reattach the fuse box cover, then put the stabilizing bar back where it was (there is a clip toward the front of the car that holds it in place) and close the hood.

6. Test the fuse

Start the car and test whichever component wouldn't work before.  If that component still doesn't work, either the new fuse is bad, the fuse isn't installed correctly, or there is another faulty part (such as a motor or a switch) causing the problem.

🛈 Always replace a fuse with a new fuse of the exact same size and type.

🛈 You can use a circuit tester to verify that a fuse is faulty and needs to be replaced.

(Originally published on Helium.com, 2011)