I had an alternator go on me, so I took it out and had it rebuilt. Everything was working fine, and I sent my wife on her way--about 200 miles down the road, everything quit working. I figured it was that alternator. A shady mechanic screwed me with a $450 repair bill with a new alternator and a fuse--come to find out well after the fact that it was just the fuse.

Which big fuse is it? I had the doors open and the radio playing for several days while I gutted the interior and insulated it out better, and now the batt's dead. When recharging the dead batt (all I have is a booster), I want to make sure that I don't pop another fuse, but to be safe, I want to get a spare in case I do.

Ideas as to which one it is?

 

Well, apparently no one here runs the '97-'04 trucks anymore, but in case anybody cares, I believe it's a 175 amp fuse located behind a barely-mounted cover to the rear passenger side of the engine compartment, between the battery and the firewall.
I seem to recall back in the day when people were driving these trucks that someone else had posted that they had had a similar problem, where the alternator had gone, they ran the battery down, and the trucks voltage regulator shoved maximum charge at the battery and did that monster fuse in, with a shop sticking it to them for all kinds other nonsense instead of just the fuse.

This was not one of Ford's better design ideas.

 

No I would not take this to be "no one here runs the '97-'04 trucks anymore", but more so the fuse is not as notorious as you claim it is.

Still not sure what you are referring to with your post, there are 2 fusable links ( parallel ) from the battery to the common point of the generator output ( from 2001 EVTM cell 13-1 ). Is this what you are talking about ?

If you are sure of this not being the 1st time, and there is an existing thread on it, please post it.
As to "back in the day when people were driving these trucks" that is still today if you read any of the threads this forum.