Hello all,
I'm on the road and my 240DL has started giving me serious power problems. Turning on anything electronic reduces power from the rest of the system; the car just stopped being able to keep up with the power demands. For example, hitting the brakes causes the lights to dim. Turning the climate control fan on dims the lights- every step up brings quite a noticable drop in brightness. Also, high beams get stuck on, I have to turn the lights off, flash my high beams, and then turn my lights back on to disenguage high beams.
I've been running a 300 watt 120v inverter and a decent sized stereo for two weeks now off the system. They tap onto the positive terminal of the battery, and are grounded onto the chassis; I've disconnected them from the system but that made no difference in the cars performance. I still feel its notable, since they've undoubtedly been applying more stress to the alternator and voltage regulator.
The other thing I'm terrified about is that it could be a short. I've already replaced a bunch of wires with degraded insulation, but I wouldnt be suprised if there are more. Still, the problems dont seem symptomatic; I'm not blowing fuses.
I really havent the foggiest idea whats going wrong. I had my battery checked and NAPA told me it was ok. Still, these problems started not more than a day or two after I left my headlights on + needed a jump start. On the other hand, I have been stressing the power supply system in my car a little more than normal. If anyone has thoughts for what to check, what to try, whats going wrong, I'd really love the help.
Thanks
-Rektide