Fuses and Bulbs and the Radio, Oh My!

POP goes the fuse!

Opps!  You can't really tell in this picture but this small fuse, about the size of a quarter, was both a pain in, and saved, my ass. 

To start, let me catch you up.  A week ago I had the brakes done and the new muffler and pipe put on the Caddy.  The brakes took some work.  I needed a new solenoid and proportioning valve.  The solenoid was easy enough, off the rack.  The proportioning valve took a bit of work.  The one for my Caddy has been discontinued.  Thankfully, the 1985 Eldorado shares a lot with her sister cars of the time, the Oldsmobile Toronado and the Buick Riviera.  A quick search of the interned found the correct, five port valve. 

Now this was the first work I had done on the car.  Because I do not have the means or the knowledge to do the heavy work for myself, I needed a good mechanic.  This was a very big decision.  Whom ever I chose will hopefully be with me through the entire process.  My criteria was a shop that has a good reputation, honest service and has a passion for older cars.  I found that at Burien City Garage (http://www.buriencitygarage.com/).  I can tell you they did a great job!  The staff is friendly.  The work was done well and they have that passion for old cars, like I do.    

So on to my adventure that past Saturday.

The 1985 Cadillac Eldorado if filled to courtesy lights.  Courtesy light must have been the LED running lights of the day.  The Caddy lights up like noon in Dallas when you open the door.  Two of these light are under the dash.  Designed, I assume, to help you see where your feet are going as you get into the car at night.

My Caddy did not have these lights.  It was not just that the bulbs were missing; the entire socket was gone.  I could see where they were suposed to but so my goal for Saturday, bring back the light!

I first had to remove the Lower Instrument Panel cover.  It is an insulation and noise panel under the dashboard.  There are two, a left and right.  My Caddy is missing the left panel, so I only had to remove the right panel.  Once removed, I still could not find the outlet for the courtesy light!  For some reason, it was  tucked up under the dash with no bulb.

At this point, I am thinking, easy.  I twisted in the light and "POP"!  At first, I had not idea what happened.   I turned the key to "RUN," and the radio was fried.

Crap.

So I blew a fuse.   Thinking a simple bulb replacement would be straight forward, I did not undo the battery, my bad and lesson learned.  It was very strange; the radio was totally dead, not sound, no light, nothing.  I must admit I was totally confused.  How did this light and the radio have the same fuse?  Why are they connected at all?

None the less, a quick fuse change had me back in business.   So, this small fuse replacement added a bit of work but did save my ass.  At least the radio was not fried!

So now there is "more" light in the Caddy.

Done and almost done. 

I am hunting for the left panel today.  For the time being, I attached the light to the lower dash.

If you look close you can also see my next project in this picture.  Do you know what it is?