Help -- Electrical puzzle!?

[Ranger762]

OK, so I went today to have my windshield replaced since it was cracked all the way across. No problem -- the shop did a beautiful job.

However, when I started my 95 PA up to leave, I noticed (1) the rearview mirror compass wasn't working, (2) the dashboard lights aren't working, (3) the only gauge on the dash that works is the speedo and (4) the auto-locking mechanism no longer works.

I spoke with the shop mgr., who told me to bring it back in tomorrow and he'd have someone take a look at it.

I thought about it a little bit, and figured I might just be looking at a blown fuse, so when I got home from work tonight, I took a look and found fuse 1D (15) blown. I replaced it and turned the key to ignition. The dash lights came on, but nothing else seemed affected. Furthermore, as soon as I turned the engine over, I hear a small pop/crack from the exposed fuse panel, and look down to find the new fuse has just blown.

So, anyone care to wager what I may be looking at here? Is it possible the windshield folks rewired the electronics in the rearview mirror incorrectly in such a way as to cause all this, or does this seem unrelated?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tman]

The mirror should not have been disconnected, it should have been left dangling.

[Ranger762]

Ah, but it wasn't -- they removed it and left it in the back seat.

They called me after having the car for about an hour or so today, and said they couldn't figure out what had gone wrong, but somehow when they slammed the driver's door, it *MAGICALLY* started working again.

Apparently whatever magic happened also replaced the burned out 15vt fuse with a 7.5 and tightened the mirror so it doesn't shake all over the place.

Ya know, I can certainly handle when someone admits, "Hey, we did blah blah wrong, but here's what we did to fix it." But not wanting to admit wrongdoing and lying about it really hacks me off.

Did they fix the problem? Yes. Will I be taking the other two vehicles I need windshields in to that shop? No.

Honesty pays.