So I added DRL's just over 2 years ago on my 2006 TL. I noticed just today that they were not coming on so I investigated. Check out what I found:



This is the fuse between the positive battery terminal and the DRL module.

Thoughts? Is this a warranty issue with the DRL module? It is REALLY close to my two year warranty.

 

holy smokes!! that is an ugly sight!!!

 

damn...i am glad nothing else is wrong?

 

Nothing else. I just had a thought, if the car went up in smoke would insurance cover it because it is a modification?

 

What do the lights look like? I want to see a pic of those.

 

the 2006 TL did not come with DRL's. They look the same as 2007 and 2008.

 

 

To me it happen worst. I had a 2001 jetta and i put some lights the burned the conector so bad that it was white.

 

i suggest putting in a higher amp fuse to correct this problem

in all seriousness, im glad it didn't turn into something worse. thats not a fun problem to have as something is most likely shorting causing that damage. good luck!

 

I'd suggest trying a better quality fuse holder rather the the piece of garbage that came with the DRL module before you start messing around with a higher AMP fuse.

 

Ahmen...that fuse holder is flippin terrible...what happened is that over time either corrosion or a weak mechanical hold of the fuse terminal itself increased the resistance at the connection causing it to heat up and melt the fuse-holder itself...

R+R That fuse holder with one of quality and you won't have that sort of problem again...

-Jason

FYI...Never replace a fuse with a larger one than the wire is capable of supporting...a fuse is there to protect the wiring...not the load...

100 amp fuse makes no sense on a 22 AWG wire...

 

The way I see, something caused the fuse to blow. Replacing the fuse and fuse holder might fix the problem but does not necessarily address the issue. Could the fuse and the fuse holder go bad and melt without the module causing it?

 

Not necessarily, if the fuse was to blow, just the fuse would blow. not melt the fuse holder.

In this case, a meltdown is caused by a faulty connection. Happened to me once on my fuse for my amps, the fuse holder melted because of a loose connection. Like mentioned above, replace with a higher quality fuse holder

 

Yikes! Scary. Good you caught it when you did. You are using the DesignTech module, am I right? It's not the module, it's the fuse holder. If it was the module the fuse would have simply blown. It must be corrosion/loose contact as you said. I had a similar problem with a cheap fuse holder on my HID fogs but I bought a high quality fuse holder and all is well. Get one with a cap that is waterproof. I've seen that blue one there that they package with all kinds of electronic acessories. There are GARBAGE. I know the fuse was under the hood but I am curious why you wouldn't smell the burnt plastic through the HVAC vents?

Whenever I am working on my car, and I am in a specific area without readily visible access, I always do a quick check on my old mods/wiring for this exact reason. You never know when something can go wrong.

 

100% agree. Be sure to use a little bit thicker wiring as well. Solder all connections and a good fuse holder will resolve the issue.

I have seen poor electrical decisions in car wiring burn cars to the ground. 4AWG wire run through the door jams with no fuse!! Things like this scare me!!

 

Well, it does look like it was a bad fuse connection. I cut out the fuse and replaced it with a new assembly. Everything appears to be working the way it is supposed to. The only issue I have is that the fuse assembly is a water proof one and came prewired with 10 gauge wire and the connecting wire is 16 gauge. I soldered them together and then used heat shrink. Anyone have a better idea how to connect these two dissimilar wires? I was thinking a wire nut after solder and black tape.