Fuses protect all the electrical devices in your car: In case of a power surge, a fuse will "blow" so that the extra electricity doesn't reach the device. Replacing a fuse is easy, and you'll feel good diagnosing and fixing something yourself.

• Turn off the car before beginning work.
  
  
• Look under your car's dashboard, just below the driver's left knee.
  
  
• Find the fuse box. It's usually a small square or rectangular plastic box. There will be a cover that pops open, with perhaps a tab keeping it closed. It can be opened without any tools. Many cars have a second fuse box inside the engine compartment. If the fuse you're looking to replace isn't in the fuse box inside the car, check for a second fuse box.
  
  
• Remove the cover from the fuse box. The cover should contain a chart telling what each fuse controls, or there may be a clear plastic cover over the fuses that gives this information.
  
  
• Find the blown fuse. It will look like the filament in a burned-out light bulb - the metal strip will be broken and the fuse may look a little blackened.
  
  
• Grasp the burned-out fuse on either side with your thumb and forefinger, and pop it out with a small pinching motion. Most cars have a small, plastic "fuse remover" in one of the slots. If it hasn't already been lost, you can use this to remove the fuse, or even a small screwdriver if you can't get it out with your fingers.
  
  
• Take the fuse to a hardware or auto parts store. Get an identical replacement.
  
  
• Replace the fuse by seating it in the slot from which you removed the burned-out one and pressing firmly with your thumb. It should snap into place.
  
  
• Start the car and test the feature that had burned out - the headlights, the fan or the interior lights, for example.
  
  
• Replace the fuse box cover.

It is important to remember that most car batteries have a 60 month lifetime. With that being said, if your battery is giving you problems, i.e. dim headlights, dim interior lighting, or low horn sound, you should take your car to a battery sales shop and ask them to test it for you. If you are encountering any of the issues mentioned, most likely you need a new battery. If your battery has died, you can try and resurrected it but if it won't charge you may or may not need a new battery. Look for signs pointing to low battery before a dead battery gives you trouble. Better yet, you can purchase a battery tester to test your battery voltage. Replacing a battery is easy but if you don't notice any battery related problems prior to a dead battery, you may have bigger engine troubles.

If it has not already happened it will happen to you - a flat battery it is a pain in the neck but actually the easiest thing to fix.

Starting via jump cables - very easy

• You need a set of jump cables (black and red thick wires with clips at each end), essential to have in every car
  
  
• Ask another car driver to help as you need to connect the jump cables from your car battery to the running car battery
  
  
• Position running car so its battery will reach your battery with the jump cables
  
  
• With both cars off - open the bonnets, make sure cars are near enough for jump cables to attach between both batteries
  
  
• Attach one clip on the red wire to +(positive) terminal on one battery (that's the bit that sticks out of the top of the battery and is marked with a +) and attach the clip at the other end of the red wire to the +(positive) terminal of the other car battery.
  
  
• If you have an engine management system (i.e. a car younger than 1985ish) Attach the black cable to the -(negative) terminal of the battery of the working car and attach the other end of the black cable to the flat car engine mounting or chassis.  It must be clipped onto a thick metal part of the engine, mounting or chassis
  
  
• If you do not have an engine management system (i.e. a car older than 1985ish) You can simply attach the black cable to the -(negative) terminal of the battery of the working car to the -(negative) terminal of the battery of the non working car
  
  
• Start up the running car and let it run for a minute or so
  
  
• Then start up the car with the flat battery as normal, you may need to try to start it a couple of times, If it is not responding then wait another minute and try again
  
  
• You car should then burst into life, don't switch you car off at that point as the battery will need some time to charge up again from the running engine.

Jump start from a push or going down a hill - not so easy but manageable.

• Find a helpful person to push your car
  
  
• Engine off, in neutral gear and handbrake off get him to push the car
  
  
• When the car is moving well, put yourself into 2nd gear but keep the clutch down
  
  
• Turn on the car and at the same time, release the clutch
  
  
• Your should lurch forward alarmingly then the car should burst into life
  
  
• Again you may need to try a couple of times.