97LXAcc0rd

Hello all. I have a dilemma in which the "small lights" 15A fuse keeps blowing on me. It's the fuse under the hood and when it blows it kills the lights on my taillights, the odo, along with the temperature gauges. I recently installed a system, does that have anything to deal with it?

P_Adams

Of course it could have an effect, depending on where you tapped in for power etc. If I'm going to drive amplifiers etc (systems), I'll always run a new power circuit directly from the battery thru a universal Fuse Box. That way I'm insured an unfettered, clean power supply without futzing up the OEM circuits of the car having the installation.

P

97LXAcc0rd

Can I please get more information about it? Im Running a straight wire from battery to amp, without the fuse thing. Is that the cause of my problems/??

P_Adams

No. By running a seperate wire to the Amp, you've eliminated it as a sourse of your dash illumination fuse problem. I would seriously suggest you insert either a Fuse or circuit breaker in that feed line to protect not only the battery, but the car if ever the Amp should develope a short circuit. It could save you from a car fire. what we have to do now is determine what is on that circuit and what could be shorting out the fuse.
Let's see:
1) Cluster Illumination
2) Cruise / Sunroof switch illumination
3) Dash Dimmer control illumination
4) Rear Defogger switch illumination
5) Hazard switch illumination
6) Heater/A-C Control head illumination
7) Glove Box illumination
8) Radio Display illumination
9) Shift Quadrant illumination
10) Clock display

What I would ask of you; think if there's anything listed here that may have been worked on or disturbed that cooresponds with when you first noted this problem.??

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97LXAcc0rd

Number 1 through 6. So what do I need to get? A fuse for the independance wire that is connected to battery to amp??

P_Adams

Did the LED upgrade huh? I'd pull both the Cruise/Sunroof and Rear Defogger switches and make sure their harness pigtails weren't pinched/pierced by the dash trim retained screws.
The Amp fuse? Good idea. I'd beat up on a local 'system' installer and ask what they'd use. Even Best Buy might have the hardware needed to install a fuse/circuit breaker holder.

P

97LXAcc0rd

I bought and installed a fuse holder on the 4gauge wire that goes from battery to amp. Still the same problem though, the 15A fuse for "Small Lights" keeps blowing on me!

deserthonda

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97LXAcc0rd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I bought and installed a fuse holder on the 4gauge wire that goes from battery to amp. Still the same problem though, the 15A fuse for "Small Lights" keeps blowing on me!</TD></TR></TABLE>

if problem start occuring since the installation , i would double chk the work you did.. chk the wiring ,you might have pinched a wire and it is shorting out causing fuse to blow.........

P_Adams

As I said in my second post on this thread; fusing the amp was not a fix for the dash light problem. I didn't want your car ending up as "Road Toast" if the amp shorted out.
My third post gave you a couple of places where a problem from previous work may have occurred.
Also take Desert "Buns" Honda's suggestion as well and check where you nay have run your systems' wiring. You may have pinched a wire - possibly in the console (if you ran any thru there)

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97LXAcc0rd

What does pinching mean? Where do i start? Im a total novice and installed the system myself and just dont know where to go from here. Thanks for the help though!

P_Adams

The word 'Pinched" means just what it sounds like. Generally, it's when a wire or harness is caught under a neighboring component, bracket or screw; and the insulation is damaged if any of the previously mentioned should squeeze the wire to the point that the plastic insulation splits, exposing the conductor to a ground source (causing a short circuit/fuse blows).
As an example, I'll discuss the console area.
There is a fused wire which supplies power to the shift quadrant illumination lamp. It is on the same circuit (or 'branch' of wiring) that controls ALL of the dash illumination. IF during reassembly (after running your systems' wiring), this wire was mis-positioned and was inadvertently pinched and damaged, it may blow that circuits' fuse, and ALL the dash lights would go out....

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97LXAcc0rd

So i should check the wiring of the amp and to subs right? Also where do i check. Im sorry if i sound newbish, but i really appreciate the help.

P_Adams

I believe, what deserthonda was trying to say (actually he just came out and said it) was:
If you believe that you're dash lamp system failure occured at the time of the system installation, you should inspect the wires and wiring located in such areas that you disturbed during that installation. Not so much the systems' wiring, but the vehicles that are located in the same areas.

P