In the last post about this 2009 Toyota Camry, I had diagnosed a blown multi fuse link assembly. To see that post please click here. The next step to repair this vehicle was to remove the battery and battery tray. Once it was out of the way I started unbolting the underhood fuse box assembly. The bottom bolt had been under the plastic battery tray. It can be removed without taking the battery out but the fuse box cannot be disassembled with the battery in place. This same repair also applies to the 2007 year model so my assumption would be that it also applies to the 2008 year model. It also applies to the 2010 year model
There are two bolts along the upper edge as well. All of the bolts have 10mm heads.
Once the bolts are removed, the box still did not want to move very well and I found a peg that had a slight friction grip to the inner fender panel. A little gentle prying exposed the retention tab located towards the rear of the vehicle. Depressing that tab from the rear and pushing it towards the front of the vehicle allowed the tab to come right out.
The next thing I decided to remove was the alternator lead and the three white harness connectors. All of the connectors have latches that have to be depressed before they can be pulled loose. The cable was held on by a 10mm nut.
Once the wiring was loose, the panel that they were connected to would slide up and out of the main fuse box assembly.
Now the bottom bracket had to be removed.
There are two locking tabs that have to be released from the inner slot and then the bracket will slide down and off of the fuse box assembly. You can use a small screwdriver blade to depress the tabs from the outside of the box. The larger cover under the box also has to have it’s locking tabs released because both of the lower pieces have to slide down, out or off of the main box at the same time. I have added some new pictures to hopefully better show how this is done. Notice the vehicle paint color has changed.
The clips that hold the lower cover to the fuse box assembly. There are several that need to be released.
Now that the two halves are separated, the fuse box insert, which also happens to be a forward control body module, needs to be removed from the main fuse box.
After the latches on either end are released the insert will lift up and off of the main fuse box.
It will need to be pulled away from the fuse box to gain better access to the screws holding the multi fuse link assembly in place.
Since this was my first experience with this type of design I took my time and used a mirror to inspect the situation from underneath. I realized that the lower multi link would pull out of the fuse box. The only thing that had it secured was the 10 mm nut that had held the alternator cable in place.
Once that nut and harness assembly was out of the way that multi fuse link assembly can be simply pulled out of the fuse box. I was hoping it would allow access to the bolts that held the other multi link assembly in place.
It did not so I had to attack it from the other side. This cover looks like it will pull out of the way.
I decided to just move it enough to gain access to the mounting screws.
It was a little bit of a pain but not too bad at this point.
A little bit more pulling.
And the multi fuse link assembly was finally out.
The fuse link at the far right of the assembly is the one that had been causing all of the problem. It had been blown when the battery jump box was connected to the battery with the leads reversed.
Reversing the cables will also blow the following fuses and the engine will not run until they are replaced.
Sorry for the blurred picture.
I try to always check a sub miniature fuse circuit with a standard mini fuse in case there is still a short present. The regular mini fuse is less expensive if it blows. After clearing the ciruit as okay I go back and install the correct fuse.
Thank you for the helpful article. The main 120A fuse in my car was burned thru ( First fuse in part number 82620-33030). It was difficult to look at the window of the 120A fuse and see if it was still connected or not. I was able to finally see it by removing the 82620-07050 then while shining a shop light behind the fuse took a cell phone picture that after zooming in, could finally see it was burned thru. Another way to tell is by the large number of electrical components that were not working. The transmission would not shift to neutral, the radio would not turn on, the temperature gauge said E instead of 77 degrees F, the starter would not turn or click when starting the car, the front electric seat would not adjust; but the dash would light up and the alarm worked.
The only thing I could figure out was with removing this cover with the white and yellow wire in them. I cut it a little so I could remove the two wires from the cover. Then they slipped back in during reassembly. See this image.
This was a very challenging repair. Took 3 of us to unscrew the fuse and put a new one back in. One person held the light, another tilted it over, and the third person un/did the screws. Steps up to unscrewing the fuse is a 1 or 2 person job. Needed a universal joint on the 10mm ratchet wrench to allow any angle and an extension. Toyota needs to do better with their fuse design.
Thank you soooo much for posting this!!! I just had to deal with what was thought to be an alternator going bad on my moms 2008 Camry. We then discovered it was the water pump going bad. We fixed both issues but discovered the multi fuse had been blown somehow in the process. With this tutorial, I was able to fix it after ordering the part from Amazon. Once I got the car to start, it idles down and idled rough for a bit. I have checked all the fuses I can think of and cannot seem to find what is causing it. I also noticed the battery light is now on and do not understand why. I checked the alternator output and it is right where it is supposed to be. I have continuity from the alternator to the battery and the battery was good prior to this. Help please?
It has always been my experience when finding the multi link fuse blown that there are also several fuses blown in the underdash fuse box. However in the cases I have dealt with the battery cables were reversed temporarily causing the fuses to blow. Although I would still recommend checking all fuses, in your case the alternator plug may be damaged or disconnected or the alternator’s internal light drive circuit could have been damaged.
Thank you so much for posting this. It was such a great help and saved us a lot of time and money. Much appreciated!!
Thanks so much for the post Sparky. You definitely saved me a lot of time and headaches. I was able to get to the blown fuse closest to the drivers side out but the one next to it seems impossible to get out and I cant seem to get at it. Looking down from the top, I do see a clip on the firewall side of the fuse. Its where the copper connector is.I moved it out of the way but the fuse still wont budge so i am guessing that there may be bolts holding that one in as well but for the life of me I cant get at them if they exist. The good news is this fuse looks good and I don’t see any burnt out sections like I did on the other one. I am going back out to try one last time to get that bottom part of the housing off. wish me luck.
Which light was being repaired?
Were both multi fuse blocks in the underhood fuse box changed or were both the underhood and under dash fuse boxes changed?
What kind of scan tool is being used and when is the communication message seen?