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Blowing fuse #34

H

hetfield

or hetfeild
Joined
Jul 7, 2002
Messages
2,970
Location
Port Washington, WI
When I got #1900 I was told the interior lights don't work. The fuse was blown, and putting another one in blew within 10 seconds, but not immediately. My fear is that there is some bad wiring somewhere. I want to make sure I understand the routing and accessories that are fed from that circuit. From what I've read it runs up the driver's footwell and feeds across to the footwell lights and the radio. It also runs up the A-pillar and feeds the power mirrors, dome lights, and the passenger visor lights. Being a 2000 it doesn't have a clock, but is there wiring on that circuit that still runs to the panel with the PATS light on it?

I've removed the dome lights and that didn't help. I'm going to disconnect everything on that circuit and try another fuse. If that doesn't work I'll need to check the wiring. To try and make things simple and not have to tear out the entire dash I'm thinking I could use a multimeter to test continuity from each plug back to the fuse panel. Does that make sense? I'm not the best when it comes to wiring...
 
Not sure if this will help, but my interior lights, clock and radio didn't work.

I'm not sure what fuse of mine is completely blown, but what I found was that there was a short in the interior lights.

You need to keep them to the OFF position. Not to turn on when the door opens and never turn them ALL on.

This keeps the fuse from blowing in my car. You can turn on the individual lights the one on the drivers and passenger side, but the switch cannot be turned in the "door open on" position or "all on" position. Must be off.
 
Ugh. That's a lot of stuff to power off of one 7.5 amp circuit. I also forgot to mention that there's some kind of aftermarket alarm system installed, but I have no idea if it works or if it was even wired properly The indicator light that was installed by the mirror control is lit constantly. I'm thinking my first thing should be to yank all that crap out.
 
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Yeah I was surprised all that stuff was on that circuit, but sure enough, after I turned the interior lights to the off position, my clock, radio and interior lights all work again.

Sucks getting into the car though at night. Just have those foot lights to light up the car.
 
tanisloray said:
Yeah I was surprised all that stuff was on that circuit, but sure enough, after I turned the interior lights to the off position, my clock, radio and interior lights all work again.

Sucks getting into the car though at night. Just have those foot lights to light up the car.
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maybe you could test the actual interior light switch. Maybe the "12 sec" position has a short.
 
FYI, my #34 fuse was 10 amp:shrug:. #1902 2k svt. My alarm light is also by the mirror knob.....
 
projectSHO89 said:
Check the bulb sockets in the overhead light console first. They have been known to melt.
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hetfield said:
I've removed the dome lights and that didn't help.
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I saw you mention that in a different thread when I was searching, so I tried it. I pulled the whole assembly. When I removed the cover there was debris in it. Before Elky or I owned the car it sat under a tarp for a long time and my fear is that some critters made a home in there somewhere and maybe chewed up a wire.
 
I removed the alarm system (which was spliced into the driver's footwell light) and disconnected pretty much everything on the circuit. I tried putting in a fuse with the doors closed and it still blew. I swear I'm smelling something burning, especially when it blew with the doors closed. I just can't tell where it's coming from. All of the wiring that I can see appears to be in good shape; I even pulled the a-pillar cover off.
 
Hey, the thing sat for how long under a tarp before you owned it and it was abused by the previous owners. The only real "issue" is that it likes to eat fuel pumps which is a known problem for returnless Contours and Cougars. If I can get the wiring fixed and the fuel pump stable I will be fairly happy with the car as a daily driver. Wiring issues suck, even for experienced mechanics (which I am not). :mad:
 
Today I started opening up the headliner. I pulled the wiring back all the way across and down the a-pillar. Everything looked ok, though I didn't pull off any wrapping. Pulled the plug for the dimmer dial, removed the PATS light and removed the last footwell bulb. To my surprise, I put in a fuse and didn't hear it pop. I opened the door and heard the relay click. Closed the door and 12 seconds later I heard the relay click again. Put the footwell bulb in and opened the door. I had it like that for at least 30 seconds. Plugged the PATS light back in and snapped it back into the dash. Then I heard the fuse pop. Removed the PATS light again but still blew another fuse. Now it's almost immediate instead of taking a few seconds to blow. I can't see anything wrong with the plug or the wiring leading up to the PATS light.

The frustration level is a little high now. I'm going to enjoy my weekend and hopefully come back to this next week.
 
hetfield said:
Today I started opening up the headliner. I pulled the wiring back all the way across and down the a-pillar. Everything looked ok, though I didn't pull off any wrapping. Pulled the plug for the dimmer dial, removed the PATS light and removed the last footwell bulb. To my surprise, I put in a fuse and didn't hear it pop. I opened the door and heard the relay click. Closed the door and 12 seconds later I heard the relay click again. Put the footwell bulb in and opened the door. I had it like that for at least 30 seconds. Plugged the PATS light back in and snapped it back into the dash. Then I heard the fuse pop. Removed the PATS light again but still blew another fuse. Now it's almost immediate instead of taking a few seconds to blow. I can't see anything wrong with the plug or the wiring leading up to the PATS light.

The frustration level is a little high now. I'm going to enjoy my weekend and hopefully come back to this next week.
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when you unpluged the pats light(not knowing how it connects) did the wires it connect to possibly touch a ground when they "fell" into where they are?
 
The two wires (12V and ground) are isolated by the plug which just clips into the light assembly (pretty typical automotive setup). I believe the light itself is powered from the PATS system, so it shouldn't getting power from the same circuit as the interior lights. PATS is working just fine because I have no problems starting the car. The wires meet up with a bundle in the dash which likely include wires for interior lighting. Either it was a fluke, or jostling it caused the culprit wire to move away and back to where it's shorting out.
 
Well when my #34 popped, my pats light also went off. It is on the same circuit.
 
Now that you mention it, you're right; my light is out. Crazy how an LED that flashes based on the PATS system is somehow powered by a different circuit :crazy: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it really is that set of wires that is causing the problem so I can start tracing it back.
 
Maybe the relay that switches the pats light off is bad :shrug:. If there is even a relay for that.
 
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