My guess is, given the location, somebody wired up the radio with NO FUSE on the main power feed. Usually there are two feeds to a car stereo- one is on all the time and actually powers the stereo's main power electronics; the other switches on and off with the ignition and turns on relays or whatever devices inside the radio.

Probably someone wired up the main feed straight from the battery, used no fuse, and it shorted against the wiper mechanism- it's right behind that area, and I've seen a lot of cases of the wiper linkages damaging radio wiring.

All it should cost to fix it is whatever a junkyard gets for a used dash ($100 tops??) plus a new stereo and a bit of work to put it all right. It could be done at home without special tools, and I'd plan on being down two weeks just in order to get everything apart, find used parts and get it back together right. Probably you'll find a few extra things that burnt or melted, and need to be pulled from the parts car in the junkyard... but there's nothing really terrible about the job.

I imagine it'll need a windshield too? Or was it not that bad? That would add another $200 or so to the repair. However, having it out may make a bit of the interior work go easier, though it's not necessary.

Either way, good luck with it!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!