Not sure if this was caused by a Gremlin or my 2 1/2 year old (likes to play in the car), but I cannot figure this out...

2 weeks ago, I was driving the car and everythign was workign just fine. I parked the car, went overseas for a week and tried to drive it yesterday. The car starts fine and as expected. However, the following are not workign at all:

1. Radio
2. Fresh Air Fan
3. Hazard Lights
4. Headlights
5. Clock

I have checked the under dash fuses and all seem to be OK. The rear defroster seems to work correctly (at least the green knob light illuminates). All of my guages work fine. However, with the engine running and the parkign break on, the red light on the combo guage is flashing (normal), then when I pull the hazard lights, it goes dark.

Is there a common point that all of these things connect to which I coudl check? I've never had any kind of problem like this in the 2 1/2 years I've owned it. Any ideas are much appreciated as the weather is prime for driving and I've got to get this fixed...

Thanks,
Jason

just a shot in the dark, but did you rotate the fuses? sometimes, that helps, even if the fuses look ok otherwise ...

i know, not much help here ...
Andy

Jason,
On your model year car, would all those in-op accesories be on the same relay?

If you are using the ceramic fues you might want to upgrade to the glass tube ones made by Buss. They are a little more expensive but the fuse link is not exposed to corrode. Check you ground crown under the dash over the fuse block. All the grounds for the dash compartment are there.

do you a good source for the Buss fuse? all i can find here are the crappy ceramic ones.

thanks

Robin

Interesting idea, but which one and where? How can I test a relay to see if it is good or not?

--Jason

Take all fuses out and clean the contact base for each, bend the brass up just a little to make a better contact. Also remove the GRD wire pack to the left of the fuse panal on the wall and clean it up.Remove all power leads off the battery and the leads on the GRD side of battery clean it up. Lets see what happens. I use like 120-200 grit sandpaper or a small wire brush. If you are really handy clean all the contacts on back of the fuse box, make sure to mark or note the wires locations. Good luck

If you have a voltmeter and schematic, start at the non-working item and measure voltage. Follow the schematic back to the next place where you can measure and look for a voltage. When you find a voltage, then isolate where the voltage stops. As others have said, check grounds.

Spoke

OK, PO installed some additioanl fuses in the back next to the battery. I replaced them ~2 years ago with quick release barrel type fuses. I checked them tonight, and two of the four are "melted" around the fuses. Really strange. Perhaps the SEC drive a few weeks back helped to cook them or maybe my son pulled on something and caused it. Either way, it's off to AutoZone tomorrow to get replacements. I'm sure that should help clear things up.

Thanks for all of the input!

--Jason

The FIRST thing I do when I encounter the Buss glass fuses in a German car is toss 'em in the trash and install proper ceramic fuses of the correct length and amperage. Been doing it for 40 years, and my customers cars have few electrical problems, especially with the fuses. You want the similar metals in contact. The Cap'n