[amtct]

Hey guys here is the issue with my 300M ,I took the entire dash apart because I had no power at the cigarette lighter and I found that the wire is fine but there is no power from the fuse panel itself. What does this mean? Wires have continuity .

Also fuse 19 the one that its 10amp on 99 -2001 and 15amp in 2001-2004 pops if I put anything under 25amp. WTF happens in that fuse panel? Every wire is factory correct ,nothing is butchered or aftermarket. Is there a main ground from the fuse panel I should take care off?

I got a spare fuse panel /BCM from my 2000 300M. Are they a direct swap and what can I screw up when I change them...because with these cars there's always fix something and break 2 things while fixing one lol

Oh and since my 300M is made for Europistan I have the stupid 433Mhz RKE . Can I install a US one for the better keyfob range?

 

[peva]

What US model year is your Eurotrash car equivalent to?

I'm just going to address the cigarette lighter problem for now.

On the cigarette lighter, you probably know that Fuse 6 can be put in either the "always on" or "ignition on" position. Is Fuse 6 installed? Is Fuse 6 good? (Don't go by visual inspection of the fuse to see if its blown - measure it with an ohmmeter.) Are the fuse holder's two power source terminals getting power (of course only when ignition is on for one of them)?

The cigarette lighter ground wire goes to ground point G200, which is on the console floor near the gas pedal.

If your cig. lighter ground wire is connected to G200, Fuse 6 is good and installed, and the fuse socket is getting power, you should have power at the cig. lighter since you said you have continuity of the wire (assuming you meant from Fuse 6 socket output terminal to the cig. lighter).

Is Junction block connector C1 connected and fully mated?

 

[amtct]

Well I tried to check for voltage in the fuse panel itself....yes of course the fuse is in there and its good ,checked both locations ...
Also checked for power at the pin itself in the fuse panel where the connector with the wire goes in. It has no power. I'm no electrician but even with a bad ground it should have power at the pin itself right?

I don't understand the first question. I got a 99 300M 3.5 v6 which is clearly made for Europe because it has the kmh dash and the 433mhz RKE and keyfob. I wanted the 315mhz one for the US cars....but heck this is an upgrade I want ,not something needed. The fuse thing is a serious problem ,especially I also have something weird going on with fuse 19 ....maybe that is ground related too.

 

[peva]

Well I tried to check for voltage in the fuse panel itself....yes of course the fuse is in there and its good ,checked both locations...
Also checked for power at the pin itself in the fuse panel where the connector with the wire goes in. It has no power. I'm no electrician but even with a bad ground it should have power at the pin itself right?...

I think what you're saying is that you measure 12 volts at the panel's two optional power source terminals for Fuse 6, but not at the panel terminal for the load side of Fuse 6. Of course Fuse 6 has to be installed to transfer the voltage to the load terminal. If the fuse is installed and there is no voltage on the panel's load terminal, either the fuse is blown or one of the panel terminals is not making good electrical contact with the fuse's terminal (corrosion, or panel terminal fits loosely on the fuse's terminal rather than being a spring pressure interference fit). As I said before, do not rely on visual inspection of these fuses - use an ohmmeter to determine if fuse blown/not blown.

...I don't understand the first question. I got a 99 300M 3.5 v6 which is clearly made for Europe because it has the kmh dash and the 433mhz RKE and keyfob. I wanted the 315mhz one for the US cars....but heck this is an upgrade I want ,not something needed. The fuse thing is a serious problem ,especially I also have something weird going on with fuse 19 ....maybe that is ground related too.

My first question is because (from what I've been told) the official year assigned to a vehicle in Europe is based on the date it was first registered (I assume to a private owner - company or a person) vs. by date of manufacture as in the U.S. The actual manufacture date is what matters when looking up parts and wiring diagrams. If your car is 1999 by the US model year system, the 10th VIN character would be 'X'. (My saying "Eurotrash" was not directed at you or your car - just my attempt at humor.)

I think you're saying the Fuse 19 blows if you put in anything smaller than 25A fuse - right? If so, that is something that would have to be troubleshot to see if there is a short in the wiring or if one of the loads on Fuse 19 is pulling more current than it is supposed to. For example, you could remove the BCM and disconnect Junction Block connectors C4, C7, and C11 and verify that Fuse 19 does not blow, then, one at a time, install the BCM and connect C4, C7, and C11 until the fuse blows (or measure Fuse 19 current as you add each load branch back). That's all assuming the fuse doesn't blow with all loads disconnected due to a short within the fuse panel.

You have a '99 FSM so you can refer to the wiring diagrams?

 

[amtct]

yes I have the FSM for my 99.

I removed the connector for the cigarette lighter and measured with the fuse in .No matter what fuse I install there is no power in the socket itself.

 

[peva]

Your mission is to find out where the break is in the path between the input terminal of Fuse 6 and the cigarette lighter.

With ignition switch on:
fuse panel +12V terminal verified @12 volts -> fuse source terminal -> fuse element -> fuse load terminal -> fuse panel load terminal -> bus frame (or wire?) -> C1 source side pin 5 -> C1 load side pin 5 -> wire -> cigarette lighter conector +12V terminal no voltage!

Where's the break in the connection?

 

[amtct]

Your mission is to find out where the break is in the path between the input terminal of Fuse 6 and the cigarette lighter.

With ignition switch on:
fuse panel +12V terminal verified @12 volts -> fuse source terminal -> fuse element -> fuse load terminal -> fuse panel load terminal -> bus frame (or wire?) -> C1 source side pin 5 -> C1 load side pin 5 -> wire -> cigarette lighter conector +12V terminal no voltage!

Where's the break in the connection?

with a good fuse in ignition on there is no power anywhere in the fuse panel socket. No idea if the break is inside the fuse panel itself or the wire that comes from the outside the car (whatever that wire is) but in the fuse panel socket the pin that should give power to the red wire that goes to the cigarette lighter has no power no matter what I do. I don;t know where the ground should be but then again it has no power so ground or no ground the fuse panel somehow gives no power .

Its weird because there are no butchered wires there ,nothing not factory.Could be the fuse panel itself be corroded inside ....I just don't know where to go further from fuse panel.

 

[Ronbo]

Could be a bad Junction Block...what you're calling the Fuse Panel. Or one of the connectors to it has issues.

 

[amtct]

Could be a bad Junction Block...what you're calling the Fuse Panel. Or one of the connectors to it has issues.

yea fuse panel ,junction block ...same thing lol
I have a spare one from my parts car but that's a 2000 model mine is 99. Both had same options . Do you think its a direct swap. The parts car had barely 80,000 miles but it has issues with the papers so I had to use it for parts. Is the swap "easy" or dangerous in any way? What can go wrong cuz this kind of crap sounds risky ,especially on these cars that are known for having their own mind when it comes to electrical systems.

Maybe you are right and that thing is the cause if you add the fact that my fuse 19 pops if I add any fuse under 25amp....factory in 99 was 10amp and in 2001 was 15amp iirc. Again no issues there ,I have a 25amp in that since 2014 and its "fine" ...no fires yet lol

Are these cars known for having problems with the junction blocks? This crap sounds harder than the rod knock issues ...that was "easy" to fix. This sounds like quantum physcis lol

 

[Ronbo]

I just checked both the 1999 and 2000 parts catalogs and the Junction Block is the same part number in both so they are interchangeable.

04760228AB

 

[peva]

I just checked both the 1999 and 2000 parts catalogs and the Junction Block is the same part number in both so they are interchangeable.

04760228AB

I was just getting ready to post the same thing.

Glad you joined us here, Ron. 👍

 

[amtct]

Thank you guys now the only problem remains what it going to fail during the swap/fix since we all know plastic from 99 become brittle .I'm always really careful and methodical but for some reason this job feels like something that can break the car worse than rod knock lol

 

[Ronbo]

Fuse 19 supplies a LOT of circuits. Interesting that it's only 10 amps on earlier cars. If it's popping below a 25 amp fuse you have a high current draw somewhere or the beginnings of a full short somewhere in the wiring. The only way you're going to find that one is with an ammeter connected and verify the current draw as you disconnect circuits one by one.

 

[amtct]

Fuse 19 supplies a LOT of circuits. Interesting that it's only 10 amps on earlier cars. If it's popping below a 25 amp fuse you have a high current draw somewhere or the beginnings of a full short somewhere in the wiring. The only way you're going to find that one is with an ammeter connected and verify the current draw as you disconnect circuits one by one.

believe it or not I did that back in 2014 when I bought the car. I disconnected pretty much everything and each time the fuse popped when one of the systems was used. Its like each system draws too much power but when they are combined they don't add up....that's why I gave up ...heck works like that since 2014 fine ,no fires ...yet lol

Thought about that stupid fuse because I thought maybe they are somehow connected .