I walked out to my 300D this evening and noticed that my antenna mast was up even though the car and the radio had been turned off for over an hour. I also noticed that upon opening my back door that the rear interior light does not work. The door lights do work.

This led me to check the fuse box, and both the antenna and the light seem to be on the same fuse. The fuse is fine. I opened the trunk to check the trunk light, since the trunk is on the same fuse, and it was on but very dim. This suggests that at least some current is getting to it.

Does anybody have any idea why these things are happening?

__________________
Ben

The MBs:
1976 300D (W115) - 330K and still going (sort of)
1991 300D 2.5 Turbo - Sold at 221K
1983 280SEL - Sold at 206K
1981 300SD - Sold at 232K

A suggestion:

Remove the old fuse, burnish the contacts in the fuse box (using either a nonconductive material, or disconnect the battery first) and install a brand new fuse. Don't let the appearance of the old fuse lull you into a sense of security. They can go bad without completely failing. If you have the time and a few bucks, it wouldn't be a bad idea to burnish all of the contacts in the fuse box and replace ALL fuses as a preventative measure.