okay this has been happening recently, 1st it started off with the fuse for my interior lights (gauge cluster, AC lights, window switch lights) the fuse blew, so i replaced it.....bout 2 weeks later it blew again so i replaced it again only the fuse would blow almost instantly, like after 4 mins of driving it blows. im wondering what the hell it ould be cause i havent done anything to the car in a while, everything used to work perfectly. i do have indiglo gauges but those have been in for 3 years with no problems. nothing else is done.

now this pproblem happened like 2 days ago, i was pulled over with non working tail lights, the cop gave me a break but said next time im caught im getting towd. so i check all the connections 1st and every thing is okay, then i check the fuses in the cabin under the dash and again its okay, so i check the fuses under the hood in that lil compartment thingy and the tail fuse is blown. i replace it and tonight i went for my 1st drive with the new fuse. before leaving i checked and the lights were on, brake lights worked as well. well after 5 mins of driving i had a bad feeling and i get out to check it and sure enough the lights arent working again. so now im worried, i dont know what is goin on. i do have some altezzas installed but those have been in for almost 2 years w/ no problems. any idea what could be the problem

please help guys, i need to know what the hell is goin on, its hard driving with no visible speedo and i cant drive nights at risk of gettin pulled over.

 

You have at least one short somewhere... given that you put in altezzas - which affects the tail-light circuit and the indiglo gauges - which affects the inside light circuits, those are the obvious culprits and places to start checking. A loose wire/or connection that hasn't been insulated with electrical tape could touch the metal body of the car/frame and cause a short.

 

thanx, tomorow if weather permits im gonna have to rip the car up and try to retrace my steps, make sure i have no exposed wires and ill check my tails, and makesure the connections and all are okay. ill pull all my fuses as well and make sure there is nothing else blown.

 

okay so i pulled my dash off and checked the indiglo gauges to see if any thing came loose, checked various LED's throughout the dash (AC lights, etc) everything seems fine, tried new fuse but somethin wierd happened. the door lock thing moved back and forth on all doors then the lights went out again. that was strange. i dont know if its cause i had my door open, sometimes it does lock all doors automatically for some reason. but once again the fuse did blow. any ideas

i also tried the tail lights, disconnected all wires and cleaned them off, re connected everything and put a new fuse, it ran for about 10 mins then they cut off, the fuse blew. any ideas....should i get larger rated fuses, i jus replaced it with the same ratted size.

 

Nope - definitely do not get larger fuses (unless you want to start a fire, melt a harness, etc... you get the point).

You have an intermitten short somewhere, the problem is finding it. The door lock behavior is not normal (i.e. they should never open/close on their own), so maybe start looking there..

 

alright, i guess im gonna start with systematically disconnecting the door/window switches and see if that what the problem is. ive also found some new info, when the interior lights/gauge cluster fuse blows, the tail seems to go out at the same time. i tried it tonight and on both times after the interior gauge fuse went out, i ran out to the back and sure enough the tails were out, are these two things linked together some how. the fuses for each are in two different locations. this is gettin on my F'n nerves, i cant drive at night.

 

So thats good info - it looks like the two circuits might be getting crossed... or shorting with each other...

 

yea im gonna have to really get in there, under the dash and try to see if anything is crossing each other, it is REALLY cramped and cluster fcuked under there but ill try. i wish it happened with somehing i installed that way i can retrace my steps but its so damned hard when it comes outta no where, i dont even know where to start looking. and fuses arent that cheap lol. i bought a lil case of like 10-15 fuses for 5 bux lol.

 

You have to think logically about this.

Anytime the interior lights are on, the tail lights are on too... and they both turn on when you turn on your head-lamps... so even though each circuit is on a seperate fuse, they still share a common switch... do you have the schematics for the circuits? (FSM, Haynes, etc.)?

 

i have/had the haynes, i let someone borrow i and my guess is its long gone by now. im gonna have to look up the diagram online or see if i can find the book locally. was thinking about the tails.interior lights and how they all turn on at the same time, im gonna have to find some root of the problem and hopefully see what the culprit is.

 

For the FSM go to

p h a t g 2 0 d o t n e t

 

okay 4 hours, 18 fuses later i think ive got the problem, its the dash clock, i disconnected it, replaced the fuses and so far its been holding up for an hour, i think this might be it. no problems yet. im gonna drive around some more while its dusk so i wont get pulled over incase it blows. could the clock be the culprit, let me know if anything else i may need to look out for.

 

Yes the clock does dim with the lights on. It very well can be a short in the wiring. check the plug and make sure the inside of it is not corroded or melted. Def. let us know if that is it .

 

How is the clock the problem? just because you disconnected it doesn't mean there is still not a fire risk!! something is shorting out. If the clock is the problem you still need to find out where the short is.
I still think the gauges may be the problem they can start to have a higher resistance over time do to a bad connection/circut board and that higher resistance will cause a fues to blow after a bit of time. also you said that it will work for a while then blow if it was a dead short then the fuse would blow the second you put the fuse in right? so that means either something is getting hot do to high resistance (IE the gauges) or you have a loose/chaffed wire (could be the clock) that is vibrating and touching a ground causing dead short and an instant blown fuse. so you still need to find your problem. I've never seen the clock cause something like that (but I could be wrong)

 

i pulled the dash off and checked the gauges, they seem okay, it smelled normal, like it didnt have any burned electronic smell. the lights for the dash and what not didnt have any smell and didnt have signs of any stress or wear. not even the clock smelled, i actually smell nothing of the sorts of something gettin hot, or may be burning eveything smells normal. just reconnected all the door switches and drove around some more and so far the fuses are still ok. i took an hour+ trying to remove the fuse holder thing uder the dash to check for shorted connetors or exposed wires and by use of a mirror and some patience im 99% sure everything under there is okay. i was gonna reconnect the clock just as a test to see if it would indeed blow but ill do that later since i have some class work to do. im gonna reassemble everything tonight, put the gauges back in, the radio and all and ill drive around, if it doesnt blow ill check the clock and reconnect it and if it blows ill know its the problem. the clock is kinda tied into everything else cause when i turn the lights on, the gauges and instruments turn on, and the clock normally will dim. maybe while on the dim mode it messed somethin up. kinda wierd casue ive never had this problem in my 5 years of ownership. oh well thanx for all the help, i really appreciate it guys, you are my saviors. let me kno if u have other suggestions.

 

Good work so far (assuming you've found the problem).

Now test your theory, by running without the clock for a few days. If all is still good, reconnect the clock and see if you get blown fuses. If you do, it's likely that it's something to do with the clock.

The clock gets power as well as a dimmer signal (which is driven by the light switch). If it only happens with the clock connected, let us know and we'll tell you what to troubleshoot further.

 

I know when I had those crappy Alteezas in my '95 when I had it, I had a loose bulb in the harness. Well, this loose bulb caused my lights to short out everywhere on the car. I kept blowing fuses left and right until I found out this bulb was causing the short. If the bulb doesn't sit in the harness right, it will hit some metal or something and blow fuses. I would also check here. Also, a good thing to note is, anytime you want to check something electrical on your car, it's always a good idea to use a digital multi-meter. This will give you a reading where the possible short could be.

 

thats what you get for putting those ricer tails

 

who said it was the tails lol the tails own joo.

well i jus drove to my friends house, 20 min drive, and everything still works, i connected everything but the clock, ill wait a few days then reconnect and see what happens, ill be in touch thanx everyone, i appreciate it and yea i need one of those electronic multimeters, not only for my car but for other things as well