Welcome to the thoughts and photos of FLYDDW. Texas, New Jersey, and Arizona living.

Well, I bought this portable DVD player.  It plugs into the cigarettes lighter in the car.

The other day, we tried to use it, but it would not turn on.  So, I check the fuse.  Yep, burnt out.  I remove the fuse and go into an auto parts store.

"Do you have this fuse?"  Went over to where the fuses were, and, NO, they don't have it.

"It's a 3 amp fuse, I could get by with a 4 amp."  No, it's not the amps, it's the physical size.  I look at the fuse, and the fuses on the wall.  Yep, my fuse is LIKE their, only smaller (shorter and smaller in diameter).

"You could get one from Radio Shack, across the street."  I bet I could - for five bucks.

So, I stopped into a Walmart.  Did they have it?  Nope, but they did have a replacement plug - fuse and all - for $1.50.

Tools:  wirestripper, solder, soldering gun, multi-meter.

Cut off end, find the polarity, solder on new end with same polarity.

- Fixed the plug.
- Now, I can use standard, off-the-shelf fuses in the future.

Simple tools can help a lot.