This is my first post here, and as much to introduce myself as it is to seek opinions. I owned a 2010 RDX a couple of years ago and loved the car, but was having turbo issues and got rid of it. I've since been trying to find another RDX to get fixed up and back on the road before my leased VW gets turned in, while also scratching the "project car" itch.

Enter the 2015 RDX I bought, sight unseen from an auction at a "if I can't fix it, I should be able to sell it and get my money back" price. Very clean car, except that the drivers door and dash has fire damage inside:


It looks like the electrical in the drivers corner of the dash has largely been spared (I'll be sure to verify when it gets here and I remove the affected panels). From the other photos, the gauge cluster doesn't appear to be waking up and the start/stop button doesn't do anything.

Before bidding I did my research here and found the power distribution PDF that was posted here in another thread. My suspicion from following the diagram is that the fire got into the door wiring and shorted something connected to fuse 29 (Page 5, top left) which looks like it serves a whole lot of things that could cause this, and also serves the window switches in the drivers door. I'm wondering if someone with a bit more experience can offer some thoughts on how far off I may be in this thought process. I'm very good with electronics and circuits (I work with low voltage electrical in my day job), but the power diagram doesn't go into theory of operation of things like the backup control module, MICU or any of the other things that are fed off of fuse 29.

My hope is that this is a relatively easy fix, and the plan is to disconnect the wiring harness for the drivers door, check for and clear any other ground faults and replace fuse 29, cross my fingers and see if it starts up. If that works, It'll be a trip to the pull-a-part for a new door panel, in-door wiring harness and whatever else got damaged. Does this sound like a solid plan to start? I suppose it's possible some modules were damaged in the process, but my hope is that the fuse did its job and protected everything else in the car.