Good Fuses, Bad Fuse Puller - Better'n Nothing for Emergencies
Written: Oct 09 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Handy to have for any blown ATM fuse
Cons: Fuse puller worthless, at least on my cars
The Bottom Line: A Bussmann KM-9 Emergency Fuse Kit should be in the glove box or tool kit of every car. You'll probably need something else to pull the fuses, though.
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| scmrak's Full Review: Cooper Bussmann ATM Mini Emergency Fuse Kit KM-9 |
There are a few emergency repairs that darned near anyone can accomplish on a modern car - replacing fuses is one. That, of course, presumes that you have a replacement fuse (and your owner's manual tells you where the fuses are). Having been at one time a Boy Scout (for maybe three weeks), I've long carried around spare fuses - a Cooper Bussmann KM-9 Emergency Kit for ATM mini fuses. As luck would have it, the Ms informed me recently that I had no tail lights on the '99 Tacoma. This has happened before; and I know it's a result of a blown fuse. After years of carrying the it around, I finally had occasion to unpack the Bussmann Kit.
As befits an emergency kit, the KM-9 includes an assortment of different fuses, all the "mini" blade type used in many late-model cars (confirm that your vehicle doesn't use the newer low-profile mini fuses, by the way). The fuses cover the range of common amperage ratings - 2, 5, 7½, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 amps - one of each, color-coded, packed in a little plastic box with a sliding metal lid. To sweeten the pot, Bussmann throws in a fuse puller, which is intended to make it easier to remove the little fuses - they're only about a third of an inch wide, less than half the width of a normal human's fingers (well, mine at least). If you're a complete dummy about fuses, there are instructions for using the puller on the back of the packaging - you'll have to look at the owner's manual to figure out how to recognize a blown fuse.
The assortment had the right fuse (a red-jacketed 10-amp), but the fuse-puller proved worthless. Apparently, it's designed for use with larger ATC fuses, like the ones in my '88 ‘Yota - which makes it the same width as an entire ATM fuse. In other words, it's too bulky to use on the smaller fuses, because it doesn't fit down into the slots (I checked both the Tacoma and the CR-V - same results on both). Fortunately, many cars (including both of ours) have a fuse-puller in the under-hood fuse box; and a pair of needle-noses works just fine (but be careful).
I ended up paying a couple of bucks extra for a fuse puller I couldn't use; not to mention an assortment that had four fuse sizes in it that aren't even in the vehicle... Ahh, well, it beats getting rear-ended by someone because I don't have tail lights! At four or five bucks, the emergency kit is still a worthwhile investment for those inevitable dark and story night malfunctions. Just make sure you have another way to pull fuses if you buy the Bussmann KM-9!
Recommended:
Yes
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