Fuse Problem

[WahooSteeler]

So the fuse to the lights on my gauge cluster and tail lights keeps blowing. What's weird is that sometimes it will go awhile, i.e. days/weeks, before blowing and other times it will blow fuses like it's popcorn. Add to that is is a 15a slot and sometimes it will work with the proper fuse and other times I have to bump it up to 20 or 25 amps to get it to hold for any length of time. I know not to normally run a fuse substantially above what the slot is rated for, but, more info to consider. The PO was "justtappahot" guy, so I figured it may NEED more than 15amps. Because it's inconsistent though, I have figured it is more likely there is a wire somewhere that is shorting out vs. that slot having an inline hot tap somewhere drawing more amps. Over the past several months that I had my dash apart, I searched high and low for a wire that was either rubbed through and touching something or a wire that had broken or been clipped and was touching something. While I still could have missed something, I never found anything. I pulled out some of the unused wires left over from the PO that he had for fog lights, bed cap lights, etc. Now that I've finally had time to finish installing the stereo and put the dash back together, I hate to have to take it apart again. Suggestions please..........

[mfpdm]

You can check the harness going to the tail lights. The part in the cab that runs along the drivers side rocker then across to almost the tranny tunnel then out the floor. The part that is under the truck is a pain as it runs up over the gas tank and squeezes through a tight spot by the crossmember then on to the tail light harness. Bad thing about that one is that to get it out without cutting the ends off, you need to undo all the bed bolts to lift the bed up about an inch. I found this out after I put my bed on and gas tank in before I put the wire back.

 

Reason I suggest this as it sounds like you have a short. If a wire in the rear harness is fraid and if water is getting in it, it would cause and intermittent problem. Since you had the dash apart, you might as well check the somewhat easier part before pulling it again.

 

:cheers:

[johnnyc]

I had this EXACT same problem. I was replacing that 15 amp fuse all the time. Sometimes it would blow right away. Sometimes it would last a couple of weeks.

 

I replaced the headlight switch and thought that had fixed it. But sure enough, the fuse blew in a few days.

 

What it turned out to be was some ghetto-fabbed trailer wiring that the PO had installed. There was a jumble of wires behind the rear bumper, including a couple of exposed wires. When one of these wires touched the bumper, the fuse would blow.

 

I removed as much of the wiring as I could. And I haven't blown a fuse in two months.

[deziped]

I had a similiar problem with a parking light. It turned out that the bulb socket wiring in the socket was shorting out. Can't remember if this affected the rear lights. But it popped fuses.