Q: Car cranking problem being a bad fuse box?
Our 2010 Buick Enclave has an issue that started with the starting motor cranking slower and slower. The battery was OEM so I went ahead and put a new one in to take that out of the troubleshooting. I checked the DC voltage for drops, couldn't figure it out. So I made an appointment to take it to the dealer. When I tried to start it to take it to the dealer, the car wouldn't start. With the key turned to Aux, all of the lights and indications light up, but no crank. And while turning the key to start it blanks all dash lights until the key is placed back in Aux. Dash indications show the check engine light on and blinking really fast. Cheap OBDII reader shows fault 0100. Tow it to the dealer and they are saying it's a bad fuse box. It seems to me that a fuse panel is go/no go for power, not a drop in power over time. I fear that they are going to replace the fuse box and then realize the cranking motor is bad. Have you heard of a fuse box going bad?
My car has 95981 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Fuse boxes can and do go bad every once in a while. While it is rather rare, it is not unheard of. If there has been any sort of damage in the area, these are more likely to fail. The starter is a more likely cause for a "no-start" situation like this. It should have been one of the first components they checked. While the fuse box can be intermittent, these problems are usually due to a bad connection or terminal. In this case, the need for a new box would depend on the details of the damage. Make sure the grounds for the battery, starter, and fuse box are all clean, tight, and in good condition. As far as the code that was set, was there a letter in front of the number? A P0100 is usually for a mass air flow sensor. While a U0100 is for a connection error with the engine control module.
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