"Current" Affairs (Blown Fuses)
June 5, 2022
You may be driving along and find that suddenly your radio stops working. There are no numbers on the display. Then when you get home, you notice the garage door opener doesn't do a thing when you press the button. Hmm, this was working just fine this morning. Are the two problems somehow related?
No, your vehicle doesn't need an exorcism. This has all the signs of an electrical issue, and when you experience symptoms like those, you've probably blown a fuse. Most vehicles have fuses just like most houses have circuit breakers (some houses still have fuses). They cut the power when it reaches a pre-determined threshold that could cause major damage if it was allowed to continue. You might say fuses take one for the team.
Most modern automotive fuses are plastic with a thin strip of metal in them designed to melt when a calibrated amount of power passes through. The philosophy is it's better for an inexpensive fuse to be destroyed than your sound system or your engine's main computer.
It can be tricky to figure out what fuse has blown and why. Modern vehicles have many computerized electronic components; they can easily be damaged if too much electricity gets to the wrong spot. At Charlie's Fast Lube Anna in Anna, we have technicians trained to trace which fuse has blown and why.
While sometimes a simple fuse replacement will fix the problem, other times there may be some other electrical component that has failed, causing the circuit overload. Our technicians have special equipment to track down where the power problems are, get to the root of the problem and fix it at the source.
Keep in mind, fuses are there to protect your vehicle. And when they shut down your radio, garage door opener, vanity mirror or anything else, just be thankful they're doing their job. They may have saved you from a much more expensive repair. They've sent an important signal to you about your electrical system. That's why it's good to keep up with "current" affairs.
Charlie's Fast Lube Anna
1215 East Vienna St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
618-833-4999
http://www.charliesfastlubeanna.com
Need Service?
More articles from Charlie's Fast Lube Anna
Giving CV Joints the Boot! (CV Joint and Boot Replacement)
April 20, 2025
Ever wonder how your vehicles transmission is connected to your wheels? After all, when you hit a pothole or some other uneven part of a roads surface, there has to be something that can maintain the connection between the transmission and the wheel yet keep everything moving at the same speed. ... More
Wishy-Washy in Anna
April 13, 2025
Perhaps you've found yourself driving when something all of a sudden splashes on your windshield, obstructing your view. You know that sinking feeling when you try to turn on the windshield washers and no fluid comes out. Now you're blinded even more. What can you do? The best thing is to make su... More
All Lined Up (Alignment Inspection)
April 6, 2025
When you head down a straight road, does your vehicle pull to one side? Do you feel vibration in any of the wheels? If you've noticed any of these things, it's probably time for you to get your wheel alignment checked. When your vehicle left the factory, its wheels were parallel to each other an... More