Help! Crazy Electrical Problem!
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1
Help! Crazy Electrical Problem!
Jesus I don't even know where to begin. 1993 300E 3.2.
Had the car about 1.5 years now and it has been mostly fine But a few months after I bought it, the indicator light for "light out" started coming on intermittently when I pushed the brake pedal. It would come and go.
Fast forward a year and a half. Fuse #3 starts blowing all the time. This fuse controls rear tail light on right side, instrument cluster lighting, HVAC lighting, window button lighting, etc. Put in a new fuse and when I flip on the lights, it blows. Keep lights off and it's OK.
I removed the rear light panel on the right side. Disconnected it from harness thinking this must have been the problem because the dummy light went on when I hit the brake pedal. Put in new fuse. Still blows fuse when light goes on.
A few months ago this problem led me to remove the instrument cluster and mess around with the rheostat but I put it back in and it seemed to be just fine. I am just completely out of ideas.
Anyone?
Had the car about 1.5 years now and it has been mostly fine But a few months after I bought it, the indicator light for "light out" started coming on intermittently when I pushed the brake pedal. It would come and go.
Fast forward a year and a half. Fuse #3 starts blowing all the time. This fuse controls rear tail light on right side, instrument cluster lighting, HVAC lighting, window button lighting, etc. Put in a new fuse and when I flip on the lights, it blows. Keep lights off and it's OK.
I removed the rear light panel on the right side. Disconnected it from harness thinking this must have been the problem because the dummy light went on when I hit the brake pedal. Put in new fuse. Still blows fuse when light goes on.
A few months ago this problem led me to remove the instrument cluster and mess around with the rheostat but I put it back in and it seemed to be just fine. I am just completely out of ideas.
Anyone?
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 11
From: Los Angeles, CA
RE: Help! Crazy Electrical Problem!
Does not sound like fun! Did the fuse blow with the cluster lights disconnected?
I read that one way to troubleshoot is to disconnect as many things on the circuit as you can (not just one or two things at a time) and then see if it still blows the fuse. Remove bulbs or totally disconnect things. Also, just clean all the sockets, switches, connections, etc. (someone said using WD40 but you should do some additional research on what's best. If you can get the circuit NOT to blow with things disconnected, then start adding things back one by one.
Sorry man... electrical issues are not fun. Good luck. Search around and maybe you'll find additional electrical troubleshooting tips.
I read that one way to troubleshoot is to disconnect as many things on the circuit as you can (not just one or two things at a time) and then see if it still blows the fuse. Remove bulbs or totally disconnect things. Also, just clean all the sockets, switches, connections, etc. (someone said using WD40 but you should do some additional research on what's best. If you can get the circuit NOT to blow with things disconnected, then start adding things back one by one.
Sorry man... electrical issues are not fun. Good luck. Search around and maybe you'll find additional electrical troubleshooting tips.
Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 53
RE: Help! Crazy Electrical Problem!
First thing don't use WD 40 on Electrical circuits. It is an anti-rust and lubricant.
There is a 'Contact Cleaner' available for cleaning electrical contacts.
Ensure that you are using the right lamp/bulb (wattage). Also, ensure that you
are using a single element lampfor a single element socketand not a double element
lamp there andvice-versa.
Lastly, use the correct fuse amperage.
Regards
Syed
There is a 'Contact Cleaner' available for cleaning electrical contacts.
Ensure that you are using the right lamp/bulb (wattage). Also, ensure that you
are using a single element lampfor a single element socketand not a double element
lamp there andvice-versa.
Lastly, use the correct fuse amperage.
Regards
Syed
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