4g4dcruisin

alright my instrument cluster/tail lights/licence plate lights is going crazy on me...the fuse keeps blowing everytime i turn on my head lights and i have no idea why.

there are no frayed wires in the underdash fuse panel area and none at the headlights / tail lights. i checked the wire harness that goes along the driverside carpet area and everything seems to be intact so i have no clue.

i've been searching for a fuse panel diagram for the SI and i THINK i have the right one, it says to use a 10amp in this slot but im not too sure.

4g4dcruisin

bump for help....

namewasdallas

check for a blown 15amp fuse under dash

waaBAAH

what fuse is blowing? i have schemetics. and dont say 10 amp...which fuse is it...

more then likely it is either a bad connection somewhere on that circuit (need to know what fuse is blowing first ) or a component is shorted out. very rarely is it a broken wire touching ground so no need to rip yoru interior apart chasing wires.

once you find out which circuit this fuse keeps blowqing, you can then disconnect certain components on that circuit to pinpoint where the short is.

lets say you have on one circuit...RF headlight, LF headlight, Headlight switch,Dimmer switch. you would start at the end of the circuit and disconnect your RF headlight. does the fuse still blow? yes..ok...disconnect your LF healdight...does the fuse still blow? yes you now know your actual headlights are not shorted out.

moving up the schemetic...disconnect your dimmer switch...fuse still blow? yes...ok disconnect your headlight switch...fuse still blow? no.. well your short is somewhere in between your headlight switch up to your dimmer switch and more then likely it will be the component being bad..ehadlight switch in the above example

i hope this makes sense

Former User

Check whether disconnection of the dash dimmer switch stops the fuse from blowing.

4g4dcruisin

Like i stated above, the fuse for the Cluster Lights, Tail lights, and LP lights pops everytime i turn on the headlights.

10amp fuse under dash controls all 3 of those functions, this is the only fuse that pops.

Former User

Not sure what point you are making. A short in only one of the several functions protected by fuse 19 is sufficient to blow the fuse. Does this fuse stop blowing if you unplug the dimmer switch?

4g4dcruisin

im going to try that and i'll get back to you. quick question tho, if the dimmer switch is unplugged, whats the default brightness for the cluster? all the way bright or all the way dim?

ok well imma go try this, i wasnt tryign to make any point, just letting you know which fuse is blowing and when the fuse blows.

Former User

Completely off. The unplugged dimmer switch will get no power. The same for the cluster lights.

If unplugging the dimmer switch prevents fuse 19 from blowing, then jump the red wire to the black wire in the connector. If the cluster lights turn on without blowing fuse 19, then replace the dimmer switch.

4g4dcruisin

alright no such luck with the dimmer switch. i had it unplugged but the fuse still popped. i checked each headlight and each brake light and nothing was worn down or frayed or blown or any other word describing something wrong with it.

im completely lost now because everything seems to be in order. the front corner lights dont work, no cluster / climate control lights, no tail lights and no LP indication lights.

this happened ALL OF A SUDDEN, one day it worked and the next day nothing worked.

Former User

Which specific fuse under the dash (see diagram below) is blowing? If it's fuse 19, then carefully inspect the bulb sockets and wires for the front parking lights, taillights, and license plate light.

jdeemseerx

check the connector at the headlight switch unplug it, check for any burn marks or the wire color doesnt look darker at the connector.. ive had this problem with a customer car and it ended up being a wire burnt out.. if that is the case repair the wire, replace the connector and/or get a pigtail and replace the headlight switch..

4g4dcruisin

are you talking about the headligh switch on the combination switch? on the steering column? if thats NOT what you mean then please let me know what you're talking about.

RonJ@HT, YES it is fuse 19...i have checked all the bulbs/sockets all around the stupid car.

SoL_ger

Did you hook up your aux lights to your parking lights?

SoL_ger

like re-wire them

waaBAAH

+1 and is the next logical step

since you unplugged the dimmer and fuse still blows then that means anythign before the dimmer switch (before meaning schemtic wise) is where the problem lies. in this case the combo switch/headlight switch on the steering column is most likely the culprit of your blown fuses and would be the next step. unfortunetly you cant really disconnect the switch like you did with the dimmer switch.

so i would just look around for burnt harnesses or a power wire touching a ground. if everything looks ok then i would just go ahead and replace that headlight/combo switch.

4g4dcruisin

ok well ill check out some more things on the car today and post what i find.

SOL GER, did i wire my AUX lights to Parking lights? what AUX lights? the EG has jdm headlights with city lights, the CITY lights are tapped into the corner lenses but these have always been wires this way. im starting to lean towards a faulty switch, not so much the wiring since nothing has changed since the problem has occured.

Former User

Because the combination switch on the steering column is upstream of fuse 19 (see diagram below), it cannot be the source of the short responsible for blowing fuse 19.

OP: Remove fuse 19 and then use a multimeter to check for continuity to ground (a short) from the Red/Black wire terminal at each parking light, taillight, and license plate light bulb receptacle. It looks like you should also check the receptacle for the heater control panel light. This procedure will identify the specific wire having the short.

4g4dcruisin

ok so unplug each bulb and test the inside of the plug right? im not too familiar with testing with a multimeter...what sort of reading will i be looking for?

heater control panel lights is the climate control lights right?

Former User

You are looking for low or no resistance (Ohms) (or continuity if your multimeter has this setting). With one meter probe, touch the bulb terminal inside the bulb receptacle corresponding to the Red/Black wire and the other probe to the body frame. If there's no short (=good), you should measure high or infinitely high resistance. If there's a short (=bad), you should measure little or no resistance.

Yes

4g4dcruisin

ok so ill do this to every socket thats not a problem, lets say i do find a low reading, whats my next step? do i just trace that wire all the way to the other end and see if its frayed?

Former User

If there are junction connectors between fuse 19 and the receptacle, you would disconnect them and redo the same test on each segment of the wire. This will localize the short to a specific section of the wire. Then you trace that section of wire to track down the short or alternatively rewire that section.

4g4dcruisin

hmm ok i gotcha, sounds like this is going to be fun!!

Former User

Good luck.

4g4dcruisin

hey man right rear running lights are reading at 0 on the ohms meter....every other red/blk connector was infinite.

i checked the MALE end of the connector on both the tail gate lights and the brake light area running light, i grounded both of them to the same bolt and sure enough both had a 0 reading.

so now what? the male end of the red/blk socket traces back into the body of the car and im assuming back to the fuse panel? either way this is my problem!