This post is a follow up to this one. It appears that Kane was the first one to get the problem right.

The car is back and apparently working fine, but I'm not completely at ease with the process required to get it to that condition.

The stalling and towing and all of that stuff is fine; I'm over those issues now. What bothers me is that I think had the exact problem as chuck b, as described in this post. The 25 amp fuse was what took it out of commission.

Now, when all of these things happened, I had no knowledge about this fuse. It wouldn't have mattered, either, because I thought the problem was the timing belt, despite it being replaced relatively recently. The symptoms pointed to an early failure. However, the shop to which I took the car figured out that that wasn't the problem and instead determined that the fuse and its holder were the culprits.

So, the shop replaced both, for a parts total of just over $10, and replaced them. My final bill was $82, due to the hour of labor charged for that repair.

I trust my shop and I think they charge their customers fairly, but I am frustrated at this event. I didn't know what to do at the time, but if I had had the know-how, I not only could have fixed my "disastrous" problem for under $20 but also may have been able to do it that night, when I stalled!

For the future, I am definitely going to try to consult you guys before these repairs are done. I mentioned this problem less than an hour after I had gotten home from the stall, but by that time the car was virtually on its way to the repair shop (parents and I agreed to call AAA first thing in the morning to tow to the shop). Still, if I had really been thinking and not so bummed that my car was dead (making me want it back IMMEDIATELY), it is very possible that I could have found the problem and fixed it myself. Hopefully next time I'll be more deliberate to act.

But, this experience is over, and I've learned from it (if nothing else, I now know of the *existence* of the fuse). I fortunately had some money left over from my college checking account, and so $80 out of it isn't much. Coupled with a well-paying summer job, I think I'm in pretty good shape compared to some teenagers driving somewhat repair-prone cars (anything over 10 years old is, honestly), but that's still a quick buck to save if you fix stuff yourself.

I hope everyone who was like me and didn't know about this fuse now knows to check it if the car ever stalls, and that those who were aware of it realize that a failure of the fuse creates the symptoms (at least to a moderately-knowledgable person) of a broken timing belt. The more you know . . .

Thanks to everyone who had input for my problem and followed my progress. You guys are the reason the board is so great!
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'89 244 GL--25/22 ipd sways, Volvo truck amber turn signal lenses