Investigating that electrical glitch in your vehicle
It’s no surprise that a substantial number of vehicle owners shy away from attempting the sorts of repairs and maintenance items that their folks once handled with apparent ease.
Whether you put it down to time management, lack of confidence, or personal preferences, the biggest barriers seem to be built into the vehicles themselves.
Technological advancements have crept into just about every nook and cranny, making things almost unrecognizable from the owner’s standpoint and certainly indecipherable.
But being able to handle some basics involving common items is more than just being handy, it’s key to being a responsible and self-sufficient driver operating in areas sometimes remote with variable environments.
Even if you decide not to tackle a specific item, at least knowing how to check things out to help pinpoint a fault can make things easier when dealing with the pros at your regular shop.
LIGHTS
Exterior lights should be checked regularly. It’s an easy walk-around task and, if you have the headlamps fully turned on with the emergency flashers activated, you can verify every exterior bulb, save reverse lamps and highbeams. Reverse and brake lamps are easily checked when backing towards a reflective surface like a large commercial window.
Swapping out a bulb can range from the easy (good access, readily removable bulbs), to the ridiculous; requiring major panel or battery removal or hoisting.
Youtube is always full of demonstration videos, but you need do some weeding to find credibility. Look for videos either done by or sponsored by local garages or dealerships.
Compare the info with what might be listed in your manufacturer’s owner’s manual. These tomes often list the bulb type number for easy replacement purchasing. Don’t trouble yourself with those LED rope-style lights used to outline lamps; they’re usually only serviced with a complete lamp assembly.
When it comes to highintensity discharge lamps (HIDS), prices (even through competitive part stores) are astronomical and they’re not returnable if they don’t solve the problem.
HID lamps are equipped with individual ballast units that can also cause a projector to fail. If you can access the backs of both lamps, switch the bulbs between them to confirm whether the problem is the bulb or the ballast.
FUSES
Yes, vehicles still use fuse panels, though, as a rule, they’re not as user-friendly as they used to be. Few will have clear listings to indicate which fuse protects which circuits, forcing you to pull out the owner’s manual.
Many manufacturers also now place the main fuse panels under the hood, with a smaller unit hidden under the dash.
There are also some systems on vehicles that may not have fuse protection, instead relying on a relay or computer control.
Not every vehicle is the same, but you won’t often find a fuse for headlamps, wipers, heater blower fans or rear defrosters anymore.
If you’re checking for blown fuses and have narrowed down the search, use the small plastic pair of tweezers most automakers still supply (affixed to the underside of the cover). Also, bring a strong flashlight, as the conductive strips that break when the fuse is blown are often hard to see through the coloured plastic coatings.
And resist the urge to use a pair of metal pliers to pull fuses; they’ll often crack the case of the fuse.