QuestionQUESTION: 4Door Sedan/4cyl DOHC. 40a "Ignition Switch" fuse (underhood) blows on startup. Symptoms
were AirBag Light on/Windows & Blower inoperable....The 1st time it happened, I changed the
fuse & started & drove about 10 times before it reoccurred. Now it blows each time. It blows
when the ign sw is turned on, before you even get to start. I can also tell you that
everything else works, including the Air doors for the heat...you can hear them move when
you change the Temperature or Airflow settings...just no Blower. I am in dire straits now
because my window was down when the fuse started blowing constantly. I live in NY & need the
car for work (in The Bronx)....it's cold & unsafe. Any ideas?
ANSWER: Hi Andy,
I infer that this is fuse #1 in that box (front row, outside-most). The fuse feeds 4 fuses hidden behind the left end-cap of the dash: fuses 1,4,16, circuit breaker no. 2 (the one closer to the narrow end of the box). Together those can draw 85 amps without blowing if they all took their max so something(s) are drawing too much but not enough to blow any one of those. Fuse 1 powers the blower motor, fuse 4 powers the compass/mini-trip computer and the brake/transmission shift interlock solenoid, fuse 16 powers the airbag control module, and the circuit breaker #2 powers the power windows/sunroof. You could begin by removing all 4 items and then see if fuse #1 in the underhood box blows. If not, then try putting them back in one at a time to see at what point it blows and thus infer which of the items(s) that draw on those circuits is overloading the 40 amp fuse. Then inspect the suspects for repair.
Let me know how it works out for you and good luck on getting some heat.
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi Roland,
Thanks for your inciteful answer. May I ask you to describe the Amperage values of the 4 fuses you described? I have only the key on the fuse cover to go by & the descriptions don't match yours. Furthermore, I have another issue: these fuses are hard to come by around here & EXPENSIVE!!! I have already gone thru 6 of them @$7+ each. As a solution, I am thinking of finding a 40amp Circuit breaker & soldering it to one of these fuse casings to use as a test device. Can you think of a Chrysler part (or any automotive part) that would fill the bill? I think the cost would be justified: it can't be that much more than multiple fuses.
btw: I am perfectly competent to do this....I have extensive DIY experience.
PS: This is not actually my car...it's my buddy's. It's in my driveway now, as I had to drive him to work today due to this problem. The weather is turning cold again here & I won't be able to give him a lift every day, so I need to resolve this for him today, while I'm home.
Thanks again for your input!
AnswerHi Andy,
I am working with an '03 factory manual for the Sebring sedan which I have reason to believe accurately reflects the wiring diagrams for the '01 you have there. The junction block in the cabin has 17 fuses, 1-8 on the top (numbered from the wide to the narrow end) of the block and below that is 9-17 (similarly from wide to narrow). 1 is 30 amp, 4 is 15 amp, 16 is 10 amp, and the c.b.2 is 30 amp; thus the total current carrying ability is 85 amp all drawing on the 40 amp fuse underhood that is blowing. Their purposes are as I listed them. One of them is drawing more than it should but not enough to blow or 'break' it such that all four are asking for more than 40 amp. That is why I suggested the approach that I did. It may be the power window c.b.2 is not 'breaking' as it should. If you have a digital ohmmeter you could test the resistance to ground of the 'cold' (e.g. the 0V) side of each of those devices when you turn the ignition to run (having begun by removed all 4), and that way you can use I=V/R to see how much current each circuit is drawing. Let me know which is drawing a good fraction of the 40 and I can tell you how to get around/repair that circuit.
I would not modify anything, repair it.
Roland
