F50 no start- dome light fuse- Fix

[cablemn]

I learned a valuable lesson today. I was doing some upkeep on my Q and decided to finally change my dome lights because they were flickering on and off. I guess over the years the positive part of the bulb had flattened out or wore down and was not making good contact. They werent out but they were dim. So i buy replacements and started to install them when i noticed the contact had lost its springiness. I bent it back just a bit to improve contact and slipped in the new bulb. It was kind of a tight squeeze for my fingers to push in the tiny bulb and twist it at the same time so i used the tip of my screwdriver. The interior lights went out and i thought i had hit the switch. I go to start the car to turn the lights on and my key wouldnt turn in the ignition. My remote worked for everything else though. Then i tried to hold down the open button and my windows went down. Did i mention it was raining??? and i couldnt turn on the ignition to bring the windows back up??? My running lights also stayed on and i couldnt shut them off. Long story short i had blown the fuse to the interior lights and it was directly connected to the chip recognition on the key!!!I wouldve never guessed. I was ready to call for a tow to the dealership until i decided to check all fuses. There it was the 10 amp fuse the bane of my existence and the cause of several new grey hairs. I hope this helps someone someday. Who wouldve ever thought that you can disable a car by pulling out the fuse for the dome light. Sheesh. I changed the fuse and after the computer reset the car was back to normal.

[Woot!]

Thanks for the info. Maybe a mod could change the title so that other members will be able to find it later by searching?

[elwesso]

THanks for the info. I changed the title, let me know if you'd like something different.

[cablemn]

thank you for changing the title. Whatever works is fine.

[Desmoquattro]

It's more common than you think, I used to be a Triumph motorcycle mechanic and few models had the starter wired through the headlamp circuit. So if a headlamp burned out, the bike wouldn't start! That caught quite a few people off guard.

[mlawre10]

man this happen to me today....good info!!!!

[Lokim]

Nice tip on guaranteed anti-theft for those that live in less-than-reputable neighborhoods...