Fuses, Relays And Earth Points

Where The Boxes Live

Most cabin fuses sit behind the passenger glovebox cover: open the box, lift the cover. More fuses and most relays sit in the left-hand corner of the engine bay. Fuse pullers are usually clipped in the bay box. High-amperage links live in the main cabin box.

Circuit-by-circuit fuse maps are already published here: A-059 for 2001 to 2004 cars, A-049 for 2004 to 2010. This article does not reprint those tables. Use the year of your car, then confirm against the lid chart or the handbook if they disagree.

Changing A Fuse

Switch the circuit off, or the ignition. Pull the fuse. A blown element is broken or melted. Fit only the same amp rating stamped on the old fuse; colours help, they do not override the stamp. Never bridge with wire or a higher fuse.

If the new fuse dies at once, find the short before you fit another. When one fuse feeds several circuits, switch each load in turn until the fuse pops again. Keep a spare of each rating in the car; many boxes hold spares in the base.

Relays

Most relays sit in the bay fusebox. Operate the system and listen for the click. A click with a dead output points at wiring or the load. No click means missing supply, missing control voltage, or a dead relay. Ignition off, pull the suspect unit and try a known-good relay of the same type. Identical cases can still do different jobs, so match the part, not only the shell.

Earths Again

When lamps are dull or motors are lazy and the fuse is intact, strip the earth, clean back to bare metal on the body and the terminal, cut paint where it blocks contact, then tighten with serrated washers if the joint uses a ring terminal. Grease or a water-dispersant spray afterwards slows fresh corrosion. The usual body points are listed under W-480.