I have a 300D and the ignition lock was not turning, I picked up another steering column from the salvage yard and changed out the steering column. During the process I had not disconnected the battery, and when messing with the wires for on the back of the ignition, a couple of them touched and the car started. During this process the instrument cluster was removed and I got lots of oil all over the place.

My Delima: Now that I have reassembled the steering column, dash, and etc. The wipers and all the items on the circuit with the radio (passenger rear view mirror, power antenna, and etc.) are not working. I have changed the fuses and still not working. Does anyone have any suggestions?

When looking at the driver side wiper arm, I noticed that the base cover is melted. Not sure if this happened recently or some time ago.


Thanks,



Ron

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and you seem to have had your share on this job. First of all, in the future, remember to pull the cables off the battery. Such a simple move! To work with the dash, column and ignition switch in various stages of dis-assembly, and not have the power disconnected is just plain being simple minded. But now to find the problem. Do you have a simple 12v electrical test lamp? They are very inexpensive and you will probably solve the mystery in a hurry with a tester. A 12v test lamp will probably cost $6.00 to $12.00 and you will own it for life. Hook the black wire with the alligator clip to a good ground, make sure the battery is hooked up and the item you are testing turned on. Start with checking the hot side of the fuse first. You have a new fuse in, still could be the problem. If there is no current at the hot side of the fuse, you will just have to continue up the wire harness until you find it. Simple, but takes time. I don't think there is a better way to find it. Make sure you have a good ground and hang onto it. It doesn't take much of a pull to pull that alligator clip off the bracket or nut or what ever it is attached to.

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Junqueyardjim
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. C.S. Lewis



1983 Mercedes W123 240D 4 Speed 285,000 on the road with a 617 turbo, beautiful butter yellow, license plate # 83 240D INDIANA

2003 Jaguar Type X, AWD. beautiful, good mileage,
Mom's car, but I won't let her drive it!

Hi,
first of all carefully compare the ignition switches.
I remember having had same issue once due to different switch.
Cheers, Dokta

Thanks to you both and I will follow-up on that this weekend. I already have a volt tester and actually purchased a new one last weekend to use. I will provide an update on this later....

On the thought of the switches being different, the replacement on was off of a later model car....Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Well I will do the test first and go from there.

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