Re: 95 S6 electrical problems, only on long fast trip

["linus d. toy" <linust@interramp.com>]

At 03:35 PM 1/8/96 CST, Edward T Spire wrote:

[long trip description]
>
>On the way down, fuse 14 blew, disabling the cruise control (and
>phone).  Replaced fuse blew immediately, so I just forgot about the
>cruise control for the rest of the trip.
>
>On the way back, fuse 8 blew, killing the interior lites and the gas
>gauge.  Once again, replaced fuse blew almost immediately, so I ended
>up driving back guessing at my fuel level.
>
>The next day after driving back, I put new fuses in both spots, and all
>was fine for about an hour.  Then fuse 8 blew again and blew it's
>replacement quickly.
>
>I took the car to the dealer this morning, naturally when he replaced
>fuse 8 it worked fine and did not blow, even after I drove the car
>around a bit and then back to my office.
>
>Any suggestions as to what might be going on here?

Ed--

I was driving home one day shortly after acquiring my new (to me) '91 200q.  As I hit a small dip/bump in the road, about half the interior electricals went out--this included the dash lights, the trip computer, the radio, the interior lights, etc.  Instuments still worked.  At first, the dealer thought it was the trip computer--the diagnostics on it showed it was defective.  After a bit more examination, they found the computer worked, but that there was a short somewhere in the supply circuit.  Turned out to be the cigarette lighter--the heater element unscrewed itself from the handle, dropping about 1/8"  and shorted the power supply to ground.  You probably don't have the same problem, but I would not be suprised if it's something similar.
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* linus toy             email:  linust@interramp.com *
* seattle, wa                                        *
* wheels:  '91 200q 20v :) '89 Accord SEi (hers)     *
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