Fuse Blown advice

[Lucient]

I have a fuse that keeps blowing in my S13. Its the 15 amp fuse (3rd from the bottom on the battery side of the fuse tray)that lights the rear tail lights, glove box, side markers, ash tray, gauge illumination, rear liscense, and the a/T, hazard, and rear defrost illumination. Any suggestions on how to track down whats blowing the fuse short of replacing every one of the bulbs? Any help would be appreciated

[s13rookie]

things like the ashtray and glove box light just unplug them, who needs em?
Instead of replacing all the bulbs, just remove them all and re-install one by one untill you blow a fuse, than thats the faulty one. you can always take a small piece of 18 gauge wire and use that in place of a fuse. That may catch your car on fire though- so its probably cheaper to just find the bad light. I used a wire in place of the "engine cont" fuse on my old s13 for many months-it wasnt the best fix but i was stranded and it got me home, than i figured what the hell, its working.

better to do it the right way though

[idlafie]

Electrical gremlins are usually a pain in the ass to track down usually because they can happen almost anywhere in the wiring harness. With that said, you'll most likely need a copy of the wiring harness diagram found in your factory service manual so you can trace the entire wiring harness to figure out where your electrical short is at. Things you may want to consider & look at are: 1). Have you added an additional electrical components to your car, such as an aftermarket stereo? 2). Updated or modified your vehicle lighting system? 3). Lowered your vehicle suspension??
Things that I've seen on fellow 240's members cars that I've worked on have varied from 1). A wiring harness that shorted out due to the driver side front tire wearing thru the plastic fender liner and wiring harness - the car had been lowered: the owner had coilovers on it. 2). Poorly wired stereo systems causing electrical shorts in the lighting system. 3). Poorly wired or improperly wired modifications done to the car's front headlights - like not running electrical relays or using too small of a wiring gauge for the electrical load being drawn - usually resulting in the wire or wiring harness melting. Or 4). Connector screws and/or ground screws coming loose in the rear brake light housing & shorting out the brake/marker lights...???...how the hell that happens I'll never know...but I've seen it happen!!!
Anyhow, get your hands on a Factory Service manual, along with a continuity tester, and check all the wires on that particular circuit. It's about the only way you'll be able to figure out what the cause of your problem is.
Good luck!!!
ID

[karl wasabi]

Electrical gremlins are usually a pain in the ass to track down usually because they can happen almost anywhere in the wiring harness. With that said, you'll most likely need a copy of the wiring harness diagram found in your factory service manual so you can trace the entire wiring harness to figure out where your electrical short is at. Things you may want to consider & look at are: 1). Have you added an additional electrical components to your car, such as an aftermarket stereo? 2). Updated or modified your vehicle lighting system? 3). Lowered your vehicle suspension??
Things that I've seen on fellow 240's members cars that I've worked on have varied from 1). A wiring harness that shorted out due to the driver side front tire wearing thru the plastic fender liner and wiring harness - the car had been lowered: the owner had coilovers on it. 2). Poorly wired stereo systems causing electrical shorts in the lighting system. 3). Poorly wired or improperly wired modifications done to the car's front headlights - like not running electrical relays or using too small of a wiring gauge for the electrical load being drawn - usually resulting in the wire or wiring harness melting. Or 4). Connector screws and/or ground screws coming loose in the rear brake light housing & shorting out the brake/marker lights...???...how the hell that happens I'll never know...but I've seen it happen!!!
Anyhow, get your hands on a Factory Service manual, along with a continuity tester, and check all the wires on that particular circuit. It's about the only way you'll be able to figure out what the cause of your problem is.
Good luck!!!
ID

Hey, sorry to barge into this thread but im having somewhat the same problem. But it is my windshield wiper fuse that keeps blowing. About what was said about lowering the car and rubbing against the wires in the fender. what are those wires for, cause my tires did grind through the plastic and it might have cut some of the wires. could that be my windshield wiper problem.

[MURPHY]

check for wires shorting to ground

[aznpoopy]

Hey, sorry to barge into this thread but im having somewhat the same problem. But it is my windshield wiper fuse that keeps blowing. About what was said about lowering the car and rubbing against the wires in the fender. what are those wires for, cause my tires did grind through the plastic and it might have cut some of the wires. could that be my windshield wiper problem.

are you kidding me? fix that harness and relocate it. there's a shitload of threads on moving that harness. it's not there for show.

I have a fuse that keeps blowing in my S13. Its the 15 amp fuse (3rd from the bottom on the battery side of the fuse tray)that lights the rear tail lights, glove box, side markers, ash tray, gauge illumination, rear liscense, and the a/T, hazard, and rear defrost illumination. Any suggestions on how to track down whats blowing the fuse short of replacing every one of the bulbs? Any help would be appreciated

that's a common one to blow.

i had the same problem. it was an orange wire behind the radio. there are some other common spots too. try search for 'tail lamp fuse' or something similar. should point you to the most probable areas.