alt 100a fuse

There are basically 2 types of overload fuses in a car:

If it is a regular fuse, you pull the old fuse out and replace it with a new fuse of the same amperage.

If it is a fusible link, you have to remove the old fusible link and replace it with a new fuse of the same amperage. Some fusible links require soldering, some have connectors.

Depends - If someone foolish jump-started the car for you with the jumper cable polarity backwards, or shorted the battery, or the other dumb tricks that would blow this fuse, you are highly advised to have the car towed to a mechanic - they can screw up a whole lot of other things on the car with reverse polarity or a hard short in a bad spot, and that fuse can be the tip of a very expensive iceberg. Then you hand the final bill to the fool and accept easy monthly payments if needed.

If this was done to your car *by* a mechanic (real or alleged), you take it to a different shop to get it fixed - they might try to 'sweep a few of the problems under the rug' where you'll find them later.

If *you're* the fool that did it to your *own* car, on the other hand... ;-)

First, inspect the main wiring harness under the hood and the dashboard (where you can get at it) for signs of "meltiness" or odd crispy burnt odors, just in case there is internal damage - when you replace the fuse and reconnect the battery you could let the power surge from a short circuit start galloping through the wiring again, and finish the job...

And replacing a burned-up main wiring harness starts at $2K and up (Way Up depending on the car), so you REALLY don't want that to happen

- it quickly becomes cheaper to scrap that car and start over with a new one. (And no, electrical fire damage like that is usually not covered by insurance.)

If it's a big fuse in the fusebox, the ones I've seen bolt in from underneath, you have to remove the mounting screws from the fender and flip the whole thing over.

If any of the fusible links blew, they look like wires attached to funny lugs with molded-on insulators at the battery terminal, and a molded-on splice where it attaches to the regular wire of the car wiring harness.

You have to get a kit for these with the special fusible link wire, the special terminal rings and the special parallel barrel splices. And follow the special instructions, or you'll have to do the whole special job over again in a few special weeks.

And after you find and fix all the blown fuses and fusible links but BEFORE you connect the battery power again, you want to hook up a test lamp (a sealed-beam headlight bulb would be perfect) in series with the positive terminal, and a DC ammeter so you can watch the loads. If there are any shorts or grounds in the alternator or another component, you want to limit the current flowing to them.

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