[R129 SL] Another electronic nightmare?

[Oldbenz1 at aol.com]

I recently had a mishap whereby the radio antenna on my '92 500SL was  
broken.  It was the next morning when I found I had the  problem.  My battery 
was stone dead.  Apparently, since the antenna  was not able to retract fully 
when I shut down the engine the day before,  power was continually being 
applied to the antenna motor.  I found a blown  fuse on the small fuse block 
that is adjacent to the right decklid hinge, but  when I replaced it, that 
fuse also blew.  I removed the antenna and  again replaced the blown fuse- this 
time it did not blow.  I then bench  tested the antenna and found it to be  
inoperative- probably due to a  blown component on the circuit board in the 
antenna case or the antenna motor  itself.  I then charged the car's 
battery and expected everything to be OK  except, of course, for no antenna, and 
no radio.  No such luck- now my  instrument panel is inoperative- gauges do 
not work.  All other fuses are  OK.  What's wrong?   ALSO- anyone know of a 
source for a  replacement antenna at a humane price, or can my present one be 
repaired?
Rich Splaine
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