How To Change a Fuse in 4 Steps
Your car has a number of electrical components. If one of them suddenly stops working, you may not have to worry right away: a blown fuse may be the cause. Fuses are small components with the big job of preventing electrical damage. If too much current is flowing through one of the circuits in your vehicle, the fuse will blow and break the circuit. Changing a fuse is a relatively simple task; we'll walk you through how to do it below. If you're not comfortable with doing this task yourself, you can always ask the technicians at an authorized Volkswagen dealership for help.
Step 1: Locate the Fuse in Your Owner's Manual
Before you can replace a fuse, you have to find it! Most VW vehicles have two fuse boxes: one in the engine compartment, and one on the driver's side of the instrument panel. Your Volkswagen owner's manual will have a list of the different fuses and where they're located.
Step 2: Turn Off Your Vehicle & Open the Fuse Box
Before you change a fuse, it's important to make sure that your vehicle is turned off. In addition to removing the key from the ignition, you should make sure that anything that consumes electricity is also turned off, including the headlights. After you've done this, locate the right fuse box and carefully remove the lid. If the fuse you need to replace is in the fuse box that's located in the vehicle's cabin, it might be a good idea to open the engine compartment fuse box, too. This is because the engine fuse box has fuse pullers.
Step 3: Remove & Inspect the Fuse
The fuse pullers in the fuse box are an ideal tool for removing a fuse, but needle nose pliers can work in a pinch. Once you have the right tool, locate the fuse based on the diagram in your owner's manual. Grip the fuse firmly with the puller, and then remove it. A quick way to test a fuse is to hold it up to the light. Blade-type fuses will have a filament on the inside that's easy to see in the light. If this filament is broken, the fuse is definitely blown. If it's hard to tell, it may be wise to replace the fuse anyway.
Step 4: Replace the Fuse
If the fuse is blown, it needs to be replaced by another fuse of the same amperage. Different amperage fuses are marked by color, and they're also generally labeled. Inside the lid of the fuse box, you'll find a few spare fuses. After you've double-checked and made sure that you have the right amperage, place the new fuse into the slot where the old one came from.
There's a chance that the new fuse might not work, either, or that it too will fail after a short time. In cases like this, the fuse itself likely isn't the problem, but is rather the sign of deeper electrical issues.
