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Mercedes-Benz has a reputation for being a designer of cars with elegance and style. They are cars that drive down the interstate as if it were a fashion show runway. With their sleekness and power, you would expect them to be an indestructible kind of vehicle, outside collisions of course. Unfortunately, Mercedes-Benz cars have their own faults, just like the rest of us, and the older models especially often have problems with their fuses.
REASONS FOR FUSE FAILURE
Why do they have problems with their fuses? Their aluminum fuses suffer from three factors that cause them to break down:
DESIGN PROBLEMS
The first problem is how they initially were designed, and they are essentially elemental in nature. It is a fact that when you have dissimilar metals touching one another, conducting electricity, and you add heat and environmental moisture over time, you will get corrosion. Aluminum matched with copper in your Mercedes-Benz is simply a cocktail for corrosion waiting to happen.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
What are the environmental factors that play into this problem? Your car fuses may be covered and locked away out of reach for you to spill your drink on, but they are not airtight, and the humidity from the air outside will find a way into it. When you add the rise and drop of temperature with that humidity, you get condensation forming on and around those fuses as well. Moisture on most metals leads to corrosion.
NATURAL WEAR AND TEAR
The last factor is time. Over time, your entire vehicle experiences natural wear and tear, and your fuses are not exempt. Too many bumps in the road may shake them loose or cause small parts to break away. Those who drive their cars more often or on rougher terrain will likely experience these kinds of problems sooner than those who use their car less and only on better-paved roads.
SYMPTOMS OF FAILURE
How do you know if your aluminum fuses are going bad? The symptoms for bad fuses are easy to identify. They all have to do with a loss of power to your extra (accessory) electronic functions in your car. These include:
● Power door windows and locks
● Windshield wipers
● Navigation and radio
You may experience erratic behavior, low power, or total loss of functionality in any or all of these accessories as your car reroutes the power from those fuses to make sure the engine can still operate.
HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM
Fixing corroded or otherwise broken fuses is not a difficult or expensive task, but it takes a little bit of time to get to them. There is no “fixing” a fuse that will not function. It needs to be replaced. Instead of replacing it with another aluminum fuse, creating another problem waiting to happen, you should replace it with a more durable fuse, such as a ceramic fuse.
This is a task that is best left to the experts. If you are not trained in vehicle electronics, you could potentially injure yourself, and you could burn out the circuitry in your car, which would escalate this small job into a complete overall of your car’s electronic system. It is far better to spend a little more money to get it done right the first time than to have a catastrophe on your hands that break your bank.
AUTOBAHN AUTOMOTIVE HAS THE ANSWERS
The European automotive specialists here at Autobahn Automotive served the areas of San Antonio, Longhorn, TX, for over 40 years. We have expertise in all of the maintenance issues common to Mercedes-Benz vehicles so you can trust your car into the hands of our certified technicians. Autobahn Automotive will handle the care of your car with a preventive agenda to keep you safe and save you money. We perform regular inspections as part of our typical maintenance plans for all our clients, and if repairs are necessary, our labor rates are 35% lower than dealerships.
If you notice any problems with your Mercedes electrical systems or want to have your fuses checked out – or if you just want to learn more about our qualifications for working with Mercedes-Benz cars, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We are ready to provide you with premium service and offer you the best driving experience in your Mercedes-Benz.
* Mercedes Benz Sign image credit goes to:SUNG YOON JO.