Well, sort of. I had the chance to deal with the infamous fuse 16 in the 740s today. I was driving along, noticed a slightly electrical smell, and then smoke started pouring out from behind the ashtray. The original fuse in the board had melted, and the PO had it rewired by the dealer. The new fuse was put to the side of the fuse board, and now it too melted. I figure for now, I will just rewire a new fuse into there, but how can I prevent this from happening again long term? The blower motor makes a lot of noise [sqealling] when cold, so it could probably use a replacement...

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Blown fuses and melting wires indicate a circuit problem. "Quicky" fixes have no place in a car, unless you like putting out fires!

An electrical component is failing and putting out a tremendous amount of electrical resistance which increases the circuit amperage (translation: overheated wires). Since engineers know the limits of such circuits, the proper fuse ensures that when the circuit is overloaded, the fuse can burn out before the excess heat can become a smoldering inferno.

The proper way to solve this is to trace the circuit to the offending component. If the component is at fault, replace it. If the component is working properly, then the circuit was not designed properly (i.e., improper wire gauge, too small a fuse etc.).

You need to get a multimeter to test this and determine the best action.

BTW, the early MLs have a known problem where the aux AC fans blow the circuit fuse. The fix was a stouter wiring harness built for the added current and an upgraded fuse.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

The fuse in there was the recommended 30A. This is a very common problem on Volvo 740s. The orignal fuse for the heater motor did the same thing, and the previous owner took it to the dealer, where it was rewired using a new fuse holder. This picture is what is left of the fuse holder. I rewired a new fuse holder for the temporary fix, and as soon as I get home, I will be replacing the heater fan motor. I am at college right now and don't have a garage to work with.

You were lucky. Similar situation happened to my girlfriends 240 this past summer, but she wasn't so lucky...

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1982 Mercedes-Benz 300CD
1982 Mercedes-Benz 240D - stick

Go to http://www.brickboard.com and click on the 'features' pull down menu, click on the 700/900 FAQ. In there you will find a wealth of info on your car.

You can use a generic GM blower motor from a mid 80's GM car. I got mine from NAPA for about $20.

As for the fuse, I had problems with my old 740T. Two of the wires under the fuse tray overheated and melted a realy carrier. I also removed the lower left hand elay, for the power windows and aux fan, adding a 'Y' jumper so they always worked.

Read up on the electrical section. You can pull out the fuse/realy tray and flip it over to work on it.

You also need to resolder the fuel pump relay, the large white relay on the left side of the middle row. Pop it apart and resolder the connections.

I've had many of my postings added to the 700/900 FAQ. I think we need one for here on the various MB's.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

does this remind anyone of the problem with the W126 fuse holder? haha i know it does mine.....My blower motor fuse melted to all hell on my benz. What i did to fix it was made two fuses instead of the one. On mine the same fuse controlled the blower motor and the a/c clutch, and one wire wasn't enough to handle the current. Don't know if you could do the same on a volvo though...once you fix it let the motor run for a good while and feel the wires with your hand to ensure they aren't heating up too much.
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Just use a larger wire.

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Regards

Warren

Currently 1965 220Sb, 2002 FORD Crown Vic Police Interceptor

Had 1965 220SEb, 1967 230S, 280SE 4.5, 300SE (W126), 420SEL

ENTER > = (HP RPN)

Not part of the in-crowd since 1952.

Yea, I had already been to brickboard...

So, I rewired an inline fuse, and replaced the blower motor. Luckily I went to brickboard.com. I went to my local Autozone, and the cheapest one I could get for an '85 Volvo was $59 and they needed to order it. The blower from a mid '80's Chevy Citation is an exact fit though, as brickboard let me know...

$14 and in stock