crxaddikt

90 crx si, no lights in gauge cluster & no running lights, everything else on car is fine.


the fuse in the #8 slot in the underdash fusebox was blown, ..............its a 10amp fuse that supposed to go in there but i only had 15, 20, & 25 amp fuses on hand, my friend mechanic said it does'nt matter if you put a little higher amp and that it should work.

so i put the 20 in, gauge lights came on & running lights, then a second later they were off, and the fuse was blown.

i then put the 15 amp in and stuff came on again, then i went to leave and turned around a corner and they went off again, and fuse blown again !!??

so do you think this would work if i put the 10amp fuse that supposed to go in there? or does it sound like a different problem ???

just wanted to get some direction on solving this, thanks

4g4dcruisin

DO NOT USE A HIGHER AMPERAGE FUSE. You will allow voltage down the wire with the short, which will heat up, and possibly melt, cause an electrical fire.

You either have a bad bulb socket, or a bad bulb somewhere. Remove the running lights, unplug the cluster, then turn your headlights ON, and see if the CORRECT AMPERAGE fuse still blows.

It is also possible you could have a problem with the under dash fuse panel itself.

adrenalinesaint

my sister is having this problem with her 88 EE wagon, mechanic said her under dash fuse panel was the culprit.
Getting one out of my parts wagon to replace it.
Don't use higher amp fuses, big no no.
Great advice from 4g4cruisin, right on!
Wish you the best getting your car sorted out.

crxaddikt

i have had a funny bumper light that sometimes blinks fast or just has a loose connection, if you wiggle it or move it just a little the light goes off, etc...

but right now its working.

btw, what is the definition of "running lights"??, what are all the ones that make them up?


also i had a hazard fuse blowing several years ago, and this electric shop solved it by putting a "re-setting fuse" or "circuit-breaker", its in the slot where the fuse would be in the under-dash fusebox, its worked for several years, but i just wonder if that is anything to check?

also i've had funny alarm issues in the past years, where i arm the car and it makes the corner lights get stuck in the on position, sometimes if i don't see it do it i come back and the car's battery is drained, so i just took my transmitter off my keychain and don't use the alarm at all, but it is still all hooked up and everything, don't know if thats anything?

crxaddikt

question about using circuit-breakers to solve "blown fuse" issues?


i put the correct fuse (10amp) and the gauge cluster lights & running lights came on,
car idled 5 mins, i thought i fixed it, but then i back out of drive-way and fuse blew again!!

but i thought of something, and wanted to ask people on here:

about 6-7 yrs ago i had a hazard fuse in underdash fusebox that kept blowing and the shop i had looking at it just put a "circuit-breaker" (self-setting fuse) in place of hazard fuse, and its been working all this time ...........

So could i just put circuit breaker in place of the #8 fuse that keeps blowing for the gauge lights & running lights? , cause the one works for the hazard fuse?

and if i was to buy one where would i buy a circuit-breaker, and how would i know which type to get exactly for replacing that fuse ?

4g4dcruisin

Do not ghetto rig anything electrical on your car.

As for the running lights, when you turn your headlight switch to the FIRST POSITION, one tail light on each side will illuminate, and one light in your corner lenses (the amber/clear just next to the headlights) will illuminate.

You have a faulty socket, frayed wire, or possibly broken bulb (im assuming you havent taking the bulbs out of their sockets).

If that isnt the problem, replace the underdash fuse panel with one from the junk yard, very easy fix, 2 10mm nuts and disconnect a bunch of plugs.

blasterman87

thats weird because the cluster lights are on the same fuse as the tail lights, not running lights

4g4dcruisin

But a bad dimmer switch can be the culprit of that. Or, i've done this, the dimmer switch could be turned all the way down, haha.

Another thing to think of is the combination switch could be missed up, controlling the headlights/running lights/cluster. I know they're on different fuses, but the switch is the same.

crxaddikt

ok thanks for the info & tips to check out,


on one of my corner lights (next to headlight), it is missing a bulb & the other one that is still there is kind of loose (the orange one), would this be something to cause all of this?

also on one of the bumper lights it is real touchy and loose where the wires connect to the bulb, it has tape around it but if you wiggle it or move it then it sometimes goes off, but lately its been staying on.


also what about the random seatbelt warning sound that goes on here & there ? is that linked to anything that has to do with this?

4g4dcruisin

is the glass portion of the bulb loose? or is the whole bulb loose inside the socket?

Either way, replace the bulb first, if it doesnt work, replace the socket.

Check underneath your seats for the seat belt plugs.

crxaddikt

i fixed it (sort of), heres what i did, i had a hazard fuse that kept blowing about 6 yrs ago and the shop i took it to put a 15amp circuit breaker in place of where the 10amp fuse went in the underdash fuse panel, and it has worked ever since, by just re-setting itself instead of blowing the fuse, it just protects itself.

so for the current problem i have with the fuse blowing for my running lights and dash/gauge lights (no.8 fuse in underdash), i did the exact thing and replaced the 10amp with the 15amp circuit breaker fuse like them, and sure enough it did work and i drove around and running lights were on and gauge lights, and i was happy, but................

only thing that sucked is somehow now the turn signals don't work ???

all four blink when you press the hazard button but just the turn signals don't work now.


does anyone have any idea what could of caused that?? is it cause i'm running two circuit breakers in the underdash fuse panel in place of normal fuses?? is it too much juice??

should i try putting 10amp circuit breakers instead since they match the fuse its replacing ??

any direction or thoughts would be cool, thanks
-Jon

crxaddikt

i've never bumped before, but ...............bump

ctrdriver

i had the exact same thing happen to my 90 hatch i had got water in one of my light sockets from a hard rain i took all the running light and tailight bulbs out sprayed the sockets out with brake parts cleaner and let it evaporate put new bulbs in it with electrical grease and havent had a problem since

crxaddikt

its fixed, like i mentioned before, i had a hazard fuse that was blowing several years ago and this electrical shop put a circuit breaker (15amp) in place of the (10amp) fuse that was blowing, and it resets itself and protects itself from blowing protecting the circuit, that has lasted all this time.

my problem recently was i had a (10amp) fuse blowing that controls the dash lights, tailights(running) & license plate light, ......... and i did the same thing the shop did and tried putting a (15amp) circuit breaker fuse in place of the (10amp) fuse that was blowing & sure enough it worked and lights are on again and i drove around and still works !!!


but then after doing that my blinkers did'nt work, so i thought i fixed one problem and got a new problem, but later on i realised i put one of them in the wrong fuse slot, instead of putting one in fuse slot #1 for blinkers i was'nt paying attention and put in #9 (blank slot).


i was stopped by highway patrol on way to austin from dallas a week ago and its cause the rear of the car was dark cause no running or license plate light, luckily he only gave me a written warning and said to fix it, now i can drive back to dallas tomorrow worry free finally.


i know some people say putting circuit breakers are a temporary ghetto fix but to me if it works, it works, and thats all i care about cause i am unemployed right now and can't afford paying a shop to troubleshoot electrical problems.