Blown Dome Fuse....unique circuit?

[coolwind57]

I've got an electrical issue that, being honest here, I won't have time to begin physically troubleshooting till this weekend.  But I thought I'd go ahead and run this across you guys because I'm struggling to resolve this in my head as I continue to ponder it.  

 

Here's the deal:  My interior lights just quit working.  Also my radio.  Also my clock.  The clock is an XJ junkyard clock I installed a few years ago.  

 

First thing I did was pull my RADIO fuse at the fuseblock.  It was good.  I then pulled my CLOCK fuse.  It also was good.  Pulled the DOME fused and it was bad, so I popped a new fuse in there and it immediately blew (open door, engine off, key off).  Having a handful of fuses, I did a simple cold morning, parking lot troubleshoot and I installed another fuse, this time with the door jam dome light switch pushed in (as if the door was closed).  The fuse again blew immediately.  That's as far as I've gotten so far and again, I won't have any time to dig into it till Saturday.

 

I have an aftermarket radio that the PO had installed, so I don't really know which circuit he used.  I would assume he'd used the correct RADIO circuit.  But of course you never know.  I'm 99% certain that my XJ clock was plug-and-play if I recall the install correctly, with the MJ already having the correct wire and connector in place for a clock.  We can assume that this Jeep connector should have the clock on a separate circuit with a unique CLOCK fuse.

 

I'm a bit confused on why this single DOME circuit is effecting my other two circuits.  Am I wrong in assuming that Jeep truly separated these three circuits into 3 separate circuits?  Surely no partially joined or anything funky like that.

 

Pic below is my fuse block, identifying the DOME circuit with the bright yellow fuse that's sticking out a bit.  

 

Unless you guys chime in with something I'm missing, my plan it to pull my headliner to check wiring.  About a Month ago I installed a Lund visor.  Maybe one of the fasteners finally rubbed into a dome light wire.  I'll then probably pull the dash and check the radio and clock wiring for bad spots.  Regardless of this, I still can't resolve why my DOME circuit would effect the other two unless they are somehow.not truly separate circuits.

 

If circuits are sharing paths, then is this a inherent Jeep wiring thing or not and just a previous owner crazy wiring issue that is just now creeping up?

 

[Minuit]

Radio memory is on the DOME circuit, as is almost everything in the cab that must have power with ignition off. Dome lights, clock, radio memory, glove box light are what come to mind.

 

Most aftermarket radios will not turn on without both BAT and ACC. From what I know, the clocks are the same way. Most factory radios will turn on, but will fail to remember the time or station presets.

 

If I were you, I'd start at the radio. About 0.001% of people who install aftermarket radios in these things bother to do it properly. If you find a rat's nest of wire nuts, crimp caps, and other assorted crimes against humanity behind the radio, there you go. It's also possible that the radio is shorted to ground internally. I've seen that a time or two.

 

If the radio turns up nothing, it's time to grab the wire diagram and go hunting. Do you have aftermarket dome lights such as Euramtec that use bare quick connectors?

[coolwind57]

On 1/9/2020 at 2:15 PM, Minuit said:

Radio memory is on the DOME circuit, as is almost everything in the cab that must have power with ignition off. Dome lights, clock, radio memory, glove box light are what come to mind.

Good stuff.  This makes a lot of sense now.  

 

Well, I just read this reply only 30-minutes after I found and fixed the problem.  I popped the driver's side Euramtec dome light out.  AHA!  Red wire had worked its way out of the spade connector that installs on the back of the light.  I suppose that bare wire easily found some metal to touch.  I hadn't soldered that connector when I first installed my new lights.

 

I popped a new fuse in the block and wouldn't you know that I got lights, PLUS clock, PLUS radio back.  

 

What you said above make all the sense now and I thank you for schooling me on this circuit.  Power/Ignition OFF has to come from somewhere, right?  You're awesome, Minuit.  

[Minuit]

1 hour ago, coolwind57 said:

Good stuff.  This makes a lot of sense now.  

 

Well, I just read this reply only 30-minutes after I found and fixed the problem.  I popped the driver's side Euramtec dome light out.  AHA!  Red wire had worked its way out of the spade connector that installs on the back of the light.  I suppose that bare wire easily found some metal to touch.  I hadn't soldered that connector when I first installed my new lights.

 

I popped a new fuse in the block and wouldn't you know that I got lights, PLUS clock, PLUS radio back.  

 

What you said above make all the sense now and I thank you for schooling me on this circuit.  Power/Ignition OFF has to come from somewhere, right?  You're awesome, Minuit.  

I'm not gonna tell you how many times I've popped that fuse because of my Euramtec lights. I always forget about it until I need to pull those trim panels off for something.

[omega_rugal]

after a bump my dome lights got stuck on, had to pull the fuse out to keep them from draining the battery, is it the light switch or is there a relay that powers them