"Current" Affairs (Blown Fuses)
May 17, 2020
You may be driving along and find that suddenly your radio stops working. There are no numbers on the display. Then when you get home, you notice the garage door opener doesn't do a thing when you press the button. Hmm, this was working just fine this morning. Are the two problems somehow related?
No, your vehicle doesn't need an exorcism. This has all the signs of an electrical issue, and when you experience symptoms like those, you've probably blown a fuse. Most vehicles have fuses just like most houses have circuit breakers (some houses still have fuses). They cut the power when it reaches a pre-determined threshold that could cause major damage if it was allowed to continue. You might say fuses take one for the team.
Most modern automotive fuses are plastic with a thin strip of metal in them designed to melt when a calibrated amount of power passes through. The philosophy is it's better for an inexpensive fuse to be destroyed than your sound system or your engine's main computer.
It can be tricky to figure out what fuse has blown and why. Modern vehicles have many computerized electronic components; they can easily be damaged if too much electricity gets to the wrong spot. At Tire Warehouse Depot in Lake Orion, we have technicians trained to trace which fuse has blown and why.
While sometimes a simple fuse replacement will fix the problem, other times there may be some other electrical component that has failed, causing the circuit overload. Our technicians have special equipment to track down where the power problems are, get to the root of the problem and fix it at the source.
Keep in mind, fuses are there to protect your vehicle. And when they shut down your radio, garage door opener, vanity mirror or anything else, just be thankful they're doing their job. They may have saved you from a much more expensive repair. They've sent an important signal to you about your electrical system. That's why it's good to keep up with "current" affairs.
Tire Warehouse Depot
250 N. Lapeer Rd.
Lake Orion, Michigan 48362
248-929-0699
Need Service?
More articles from Tire Warehouse Depot
Knowledge is Power (Battery Testing)
November 30, 2025
Its likely happened to you once or twice. You head to your vehicle, open the door, turn the key and lo and behold, your battery is dead. Now youre stranded, may have to get a jump or a tow, and youll definitely be late for wherever you were headed. While your vehicle may sometimes give you warni... More
Don?t Meddle with the Pedal (Brake Caliper Replacement)
November 23, 2025
If you drive a newer vehicle, chances are it has disc brakes, and one of the components of that type of brake is called a brake caliper. The caliper allows the pressure from your foot on the brake pedal to eventually move brake pads against discs in your wheels, which then slow and stop your veh... More
Smooth Operator (Shock Absorbers)
November 16, 2025
When you are comfortably headed down the road, you may not realize how many of the imperfections in the driving surface are being smoothed out, so you hardly feel most of them. You can thank your shock absorbers for a lot of that comfort, and its important to make sure you keep your shocks in go... More