Wasted $350 on a no-start diagnosis that was just a blown fuse

Spent 3 hours chasing wires on a 2012 Ford Focus that wouldn't crank. Turns out the 30-amp fuse for the PCM power relay in the under-hood box had a hairline crack you couldn't see without a test light. Bought a $8 fuse, car started right up, but I'd already billed the customer for diagnostic time. Anyone else ever get burned by a hidden fuse issue like that?

1 comments

1 Comment

beth_butler751mo ago

Check your test light first before pulling fuses every time. A cheap test light would have shown power on one side and nothing on the other, even with that hairline crack. I've seen guys waste hours because they just look at fuses instead of actually testing them under load. The crack might not show up with a meter either, but a test light pulling a little current will find it every time. You gotta add that to your routine, it saves a ton of headache.