120 Amp Alt Fuse Blown
03-14-17, 11:22 AM
#1
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120 Amp Alt Fuse Blown
I have my car in the body shop being worked on -- it has been in there for nearly a month now -- this 3/16/17 will be 30 days exactly. On Friday I got a call that my car would not start -- they tried to charge the battery but it still would not start so I had the battery replaced -- still under the free replacement warranty from Lexus. I took them the battery on Friday and thought all was well. I got a call today that the battery replacement did not help -- the car still will not start and they noticed that the 120 A fuse was blown --- I believe that is the alternator fuse. So I found a fuse at Autozone and they are going to pick it up to put in my car.
My question is why would that fuse have blown -- does that mean my alternator is about to go? Do I need to have my alternator replaced immediately? I do not know if that fixed the problem yet as I just paid for the fuse and the body shop is picking it up for me. I am just concerned about why that fuse would have blown -- does the car sitting up for that long have anything to do with it? They said there were no problems with the car as they were moving it to do the different work but when they were taking it around to be painted it would not start for some reason -- they suspected it was the battery -- now we know it is more than just a dead cell in the battery.
My question is why would that fuse have blown -- does that mean my alternator is about to go? Do I need to have my alternator replaced immediately? I do not know if that fixed the problem yet as I just paid for the fuse and the body shop is picking it up for me. I am just concerned about why that fuse would have blown -- does the car sitting up for that long have anything to do with it? They said there were no problems with the car as they were moving it to do the different work but when they were taking it around to be painted it would not start for some reason -- they suspected it was the battery -- now we know it is more than just a dead cell in the battery.
03-14-17, 06:12 PM
#2
I had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me while I had my car at a body shop for 2 months. The primary way to blow that fuse is by putting the negative jumper cable to the positive terminal and positive jumper cable to negative terminal. Good news is the fuse did its job and stopped any further problems to your cars electrical system. Replacing the fuse should be the end of your problems. Good luck and hope you get your car back soon.
03-15-17, 03:17 PM
#3
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Dogwisper,
Thank you for the response -- I was told the same thing by the Lexus parts department with regards to the likely reason why it was blown. The body shop told me they tried to jump it and tried to charge the battery so it is likely they did place the wrong jumper cable on the battery. I hope you are correct about the relay solving the problem since that fuse costs about $20.
Thank you for the response -- I was told the same thing by the Lexus parts department with regards to the likely reason why it was blown. The body shop told me they tried to jump it and tried to charge the battery so it is likely they did place the wrong jumper cable on the battery. I hope you are correct about the relay solving the problem since that fuse costs about $20.
03-17-17, 03:11 PM
#4
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Dogwisper,
I am curious, when your fuse blew was the top of it cracked -- is that what happens when it blows from being jumped improperly? I am trying to see if the body shops explanation about the cause of it making sense -- they are I believe trying to imply that the fuse was already cracked and that is the likely reason it blew.
I am curious, when your fuse blew was the top of it cracked -- is that what happens when it blows from being jumped improperly? I am trying to see if the body shops explanation about the cause of it making sense -- they are I believe trying to imply that the fuse was already cracked and that is the likely reason it blew.
03-17-17, 04:20 PM
#5
Dogwisper,
I am curious, when your fuse blew was the top of it cracked -- is that what happens when it blows from being jumped improperly? I am trying to see if the body shops explanation about the cause of it making sense -- they are I believe trying to imply that the fuse was already cracked and that is the likely reason it blew.
I am curious, when your fuse blew was the top of it cracked -- is that what happens when it blows from being jumped improperly? I am trying to see if the body shops explanation about the cause of it making sense -- they are I believe trying to imply that the fuse was already cracked and that is the likely reason it blew.
03-18-17, 05:11 PM
#6
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Thread Starter
Dogwisper,
Thank you I will let you know what happens. My car has been at the body shop for over a month now it was supposed to have been finished more than a week ago. The work is being done under my insurance policy but the rental was only for a month so Thursday was the last day for the rental. On Monday afternoon March 13, I called the body shop just to see how it was going because it was supposed to be finished on March 10, they said they were just about to call me because they said the car would not start. They told me they had tried to jump start it and even charged the battery but it would not start -- they said the lights would come on but not for long when they tried to start it. So I said ok maybe there is a dead cell in the battery -- I assumed someone at the shop left something on and ran down the battery completely. I called Lexus because I knew I had the battery replaced less than 2 years earlier and they said it was covered under the free replacement period. I drove to the body shop got the old battery, drove it to the Lexus dealership, got the replacement battery and took it to the body shop -- its end of day so I figure no work will be done but everything should be fine now.
Well, at about 3:00pm on the next day they say car still won't start and that one of their guys noticed the cracked fuse when they were putting in the replacement battery -- I wonder how that would be possible if I think about it because I don't believe that fuse is visible. Well I call around trying to find a fuse because I know after Thursday the rental is coming out of my pocket -- autozone said they had the fuse but it did not fit. Found a Toyota dealership who said they had a fuse but it was the wrong fuse too -- the only option was to order the fuse and that meant it would not be in until Thursday morning. I picked up the fuse from Lexus and took it to the body shop before 9:30am -- I got a call about 30 minutes later that it fixed the problem and the explanation that the crack must have been the reason why it blew. I had already asked the Lexus parts guy what could cause it to blow and he said the same thing you said that the only time he has seen that is if someone tried to jump the car and put the terminals on incorrectly. We will see what they say when I tell them what I believe happened and whether they own up to it or if I have to resort to your suggestion.
The body shop is Maaco and I went with them only because they were able to paint the entire car, remove all of the dents/dings and chips for more than half the price of all the other body shops. When I spoke to them on yesterday (3/17) they said the car was painted and they were waiting for it to dry before putting it back together -- I don't know what that means either because they don't take all of the parts off to paint it they usually just tape everything up -- that is why they are so much cheaper. The other reason they are cheaper is because as a large chain of body shops they buy all of their stuff in bulk like paint so they are able to under price most of their competition. My car is black so there is no special paint required for black so I do not know why it took them so long to paint it to begin with -- that part makes no sense either. In their defense they did go to pick up the 2 fuses that did not fit after I paid for them over the telephone but I suspected that was because they knew they did something wrong to blow the fuse.
Thank you I will let you know what happens. My car has been at the body shop for over a month now it was supposed to have been finished more than a week ago. The work is being done under my insurance policy but the rental was only for a month so Thursday was the last day for the rental. On Monday afternoon March 13, I called the body shop just to see how it was going because it was supposed to be finished on March 10, they said they were just about to call me because they said the car would not start. They told me they had tried to jump start it and even charged the battery but it would not start -- they said the lights would come on but not for long when they tried to start it. So I said ok maybe there is a dead cell in the battery -- I assumed someone at the shop left something on and ran down the battery completely. I called Lexus because I knew I had the battery replaced less than 2 years earlier and they said it was covered under the free replacement period. I drove to the body shop got the old battery, drove it to the Lexus dealership, got the replacement battery and took it to the body shop -- its end of day so I figure no work will be done but everything should be fine now.
Well, at about 3:00pm on the next day they say car still won't start and that one of their guys noticed the cracked fuse when they were putting in the replacement battery -- I wonder how that would be possible if I think about it because I don't believe that fuse is visible. Well I call around trying to find a fuse because I know after Thursday the rental is coming out of my pocket -- autozone said they had the fuse but it did not fit. Found a Toyota dealership who said they had a fuse but it was the wrong fuse too -- the only option was to order the fuse and that meant it would not be in until Thursday morning. I picked up the fuse from Lexus and took it to the body shop before 9:30am -- I got a call about 30 minutes later that it fixed the problem and the explanation that the crack must have been the reason why it blew. I had already asked the Lexus parts guy what could cause it to blow and he said the same thing you said that the only time he has seen that is if someone tried to jump the car and put the terminals on incorrectly. We will see what they say when I tell them what I believe happened and whether they own up to it or if I have to resort to your suggestion.
The body shop is Maaco and I went with them only because they were able to paint the entire car, remove all of the dents/dings and chips for more than half the price of all the other body shops. When I spoke to them on yesterday (3/17) they said the car was painted and they were waiting for it to dry before putting it back together -- I don't know what that means either because they don't take all of the parts off to paint it they usually just tape everything up -- that is why they are so much cheaper. The other reason they are cheaper is because as a large chain of body shops they buy all of their stuff in bulk like paint so they are able to under price most of their competition. My car is black so there is no special paint required for black so I do not know why it took them so long to paint it to begin with -- that part makes no sense either. In their defense they did go to pick up the 2 fuses that did not fit after I paid for them over the telephone but I suspected that was because they knew they did something wrong to blow the fuse.
03-23-17, 06:17 PM
#7
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Dogwisper,
You were right and I still don't have my car. So I went to pick it up at the time they said it would be ready (right at closing at 5:30pm) and it was not even close. They obviously had just rushed the job to get me to take it -- the battery had not been properly put back in because the bracket was not bolted down. I heard it grinding in the radiator fan when I started the car and there was so much dust all over the engine bay from when they must have wet sand blasted it.
The first thing I saw when I looked at it was the hood was not flush to the bumper and I could see they did not use the original bumper screws across the bumper where it meets the hood. I have a black car and they did not use the original black screws -- I now wonder if they even know what they are doing. The radio would not play, the head lights would not come on or the fog lights -- I had them check and there was at least another fuse blown. The head light would flick briefly when turned on but would not come on.
Now I know I gave them a used OEM front bumper but I paid them to get all of the dings and chips out of the car -- they charged me extra for that so why would I have damage on the bumper? They did not bondo and sand the bumper to remove all of the previous imperfections. I did not look at all of the problems because I was too upset to discuss them all and the manager had already left so I was only talking to the guys in the shop. The guy who put it back together admitted that he was rushed to get it ready for me before closing on Tuesday and did not really know what to do because he did not take it apart.
Very disappointing to say the least. I will need to go back and really look at the car before they finish it so I can see what they are doing because they are horrible. Avoid Maaco.
You were right and I still don't have my car. So I went to pick it up at the time they said it would be ready (right at closing at 5:30pm) and it was not even close. They obviously had just rushed the job to get me to take it -- the battery had not been properly put back in because the bracket was not bolted down. I heard it grinding in the radiator fan when I started the car and there was so much dust all over the engine bay from when they must have wet sand blasted it.
The first thing I saw when I looked at it was the hood was not flush to the bumper and I could see they did not use the original bumper screws across the bumper where it meets the hood. I have a black car and they did not use the original black screws -- I now wonder if they even know what they are doing. The radio would not play, the head lights would not come on or the fog lights -- I had them check and there was at least another fuse blown. The head light would flick briefly when turned on but would not come on.
Now I know I gave them a used OEM front bumper but I paid them to get all of the dings and chips out of the car -- they charged me extra for that so why would I have damage on the bumper? They did not bondo and sand the bumper to remove all of the previous imperfections. I did not look at all of the problems because I was too upset to discuss them all and the manager had already left so I was only talking to the guys in the shop. The guy who put it back together admitted that he was rushed to get it ready for me before closing on Tuesday and did not really know what to do because he did not take it apart.
Very disappointing to say the least. I will need to go back and really look at the car before they finish it so I can see what they are doing because they are horrible. Avoid Maaco.
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03-23-17, 10:32 PM
#8
I'm sorry to hear that they have treated you that way. I don't know if you had the car running but when they are doing that kind of work on the car it is likely the battery went dead again which would account for the radio etc not working. Give it another day and see if they make some more progress tomorrow before you get too upset. Unfortunately Maaco does not have a great reputation for quality work. Let us know how things work once the car is running Take notes of conversations and Keep your original estimate in case things don't get rectified.
03-29-17, 11:59 AM
#9
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Dogwisper or anyone,
So I finally heard from Maaco today and they are saying there is a short circuit in the ground wires for the fender that is causing the problem with my lights -- according to them the lights are now working and have been for several days now so they think it is fixed. I am wondering how that could have happened since it was all working before this started. What I do not understand is how they could have shorted while the car was just sitting there or could that be the result of the amp being blown when it was being jumped? They have sent me a picture of the headlights working but not a picture of the fog lights working too so I wonder if they are working at all. I have not gone to see the car yet because it is such a long drive to the repair shop and if I go there and all is not right I will probably blow a gasket. I had not called them because I did not want to hear more excuses so I patiently waited for them to call me while the rental car is being charged daily.
So I finally heard from Maaco today and they are saying there is a short circuit in the ground wires for the fender that is causing the problem with my lights -- according to them the lights are now working and have been for several days now so they think it is fixed. I am wondering how that could have happened since it was all working before this started. What I do not understand is how they could have shorted while the car was just sitting there or could that be the result of the amp being blown when it was being jumped? They have sent me a picture of the headlights working but not a picture of the fog lights working too so I wonder if they are working at all. I have not gone to see the car yet because it is such a long drive to the repair shop and if I go there and all is not right I will probably blow a gasket. I had not called them because I did not want to hear more excuses so I patiently waited for them to call me while the rental car is being charged daily.
03-30-17, 06:14 AM
#13
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Dogwisper,
It is the same model front nose as the original -- I have a 1997 SC300 and that front nose actually has the fog lights as opposed to the turn signal lights on most of the other models. I am not exactly sure of how they did what they did before they blew the alt fuse because I cannot get a straight answer out of anyone there. Initially, they said they tried to jump it and that they tried to charge the battery too -- I do not know in what order they did any of that. Additionally, I do not know if they removed the battery and/or the terminal posts when they were trying to charge it. They could have done that before trying to jump it which I am certain they tried to do several times before giving up on their efforts -- if I could get them to be honest I am sure we could actually figure out what happened so I have been extremely calm with them in just trying to get to the cause of the problems. The Lexus dealership told me there were likely more fuses blown as a result of the 120 amp fuse being blown by improper jumping so that is why I am wondering about the fog light relay.
If only they were not trying to be so protective then we could get somewhere -- they will not admit they tore my key fob off the key chain or that they lost the original screws to the front bumper that was being replaced. Because there was some unibody damage the car was taken to a shop they recommended initially to get that straightened out before it was driven to them by that shop. I saw the car before it was delivered to Maaco by the shop that did the unibody work and the key fob was fine. The shop that repaired the unibldy did have to cut the right fender some but that did not affect the headlights that Maaco is telling me were shorted out all of a sudden. Of course I did not check the fog lights at that time because the front bumper was removed from the car so I had no way to know if they were still working and they were being replaced with lights that I bought.
In Maaco's defense I did not get to check the fog lights prior to them being installed because I was having the bumper replaced so I was not going to install them on the original bumper. As I have said the problem is Maaco is trying to point fingers at I assume the original shop for any of the problems as I have described and I know that unibody shop is not the cause of the problems that Maaco is claiming. Like I said they were trying to lead me to believe all of the lights were working when they knew the fog lights were not working so my level of trust in them has been destroyed.
It is the same model front nose as the original -- I have a 1997 SC300 and that front nose actually has the fog lights as opposed to the turn signal lights on most of the other models. I am not exactly sure of how they did what they did before they blew the alt fuse because I cannot get a straight answer out of anyone there. Initially, they said they tried to jump it and that they tried to charge the battery too -- I do not know in what order they did any of that. Additionally, I do not know if they removed the battery and/or the terminal posts when they were trying to charge it. They could have done that before trying to jump it which I am certain they tried to do several times before giving up on their efforts -- if I could get them to be honest I am sure we could actually figure out what happened so I have been extremely calm with them in just trying to get to the cause of the problems. The Lexus dealership told me there were likely more fuses blown as a result of the 120 amp fuse being blown by improper jumping so that is why I am wondering about the fog light relay.
If only they were not trying to be so protective then we could get somewhere -- they will not admit they tore my key fob off the key chain or that they lost the original screws to the front bumper that was being replaced. Because there was some unibody damage the car was taken to a shop they recommended initially to get that straightened out before it was driven to them by that shop. I saw the car before it was delivered to Maaco by the shop that did the unibody work and the key fob was fine. The shop that repaired the unibldy did have to cut the right fender some but that did not affect the headlights that Maaco is telling me were shorted out all of a sudden. Of course I did not check the fog lights at that time because the front bumper was removed from the car so I had no way to know if they were still working and they were being replaced with lights that I bought.
In Maaco's defense I did not get to check the fog lights prior to them being installed because I was having the bumper replaced so I was not going to install them on the original bumper. As I have said the problem is Maaco is trying to point fingers at I assume the original shop for any of the problems as I have described and I know that unibody shop is not the cause of the problems that Maaco is claiming. Like I said they were trying to lead me to believe all of the lights were working when they knew the fog lights were not working so my level of trust in them has been destroyed.
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