Fuses constantly blowing out!
03-17-2002, 04:56 PM
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Fuses constantly blowing out!
well actually it's only one fuse, but an important one at that!
this morning my no.11 fuse " the one for the horn, rear hatch switch, overhead light, and radio fuse" blew out, well I found this wierd since i replaced it abotu a month ago when i bought the car and it worked fine, well when i tried to replace it, not even a minute after i put it in it poped again! so i tried to put yet another one but this time it just started sparking and it wouldn't let me put the fuse in! well after melting the crap out of the fuse ends i gave up, what could be causeing this crazy spark, a short or something???
please help.
this morning my no.11 fuse " the one for the horn, rear hatch switch, overhead light, and radio fuse" blew out, well I found this wierd since i replaced it abotu a month ago when i bought the car and it worked fine, well when i tried to replace it, not even a minute after i put it in it poped again! so i tried to put yet another one but this time it just started sparking and it wouldn't let me put the fuse in! well after melting the crap out of the fuse ends i gave up, what could be causeing this crazy spark, a short or something???
please help.
03-17-2002, 05:56 PM
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Yes, there has to be a short somewhere. This pretty much means that there's a wire that's had its insulation melted off, rubbed away by vibration, or damaged by an inept person during repairs. There's always the possibility that an actual device in the car is defective and has an internal short circuit, but that's not likely.
The problem may be hard to find, but here are the two easiest things to check, which shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes and don't require many tools:
1. Look into the cigarette lighter socket. Has a penny fallen inside? This happens often, especially in Firebirds, and is, of course, easily fixed.
2. Sometimes, the cigarette lighter itself will fail...not the socket, but the actual lighter. If the fuse blows every time you push the lighter in, borrow a lighter from another car.....if that works, your lighter is bad......if that still blows the fuse, your lighter socket is bad.
3. Many amateurs, and even sloppy professional installers do a poor wiring job when installing radios. Remove the radio, even if it's a factory one, and inspect the wiring back there. You should make sure that all of it is neat, with no exposed wires......but the wire that will make the fuse blow, is orange. If there's an aftermarket radio in place, it should be installed using a plug-in adapter.....no professional would ever snip the factory plugs off and hardwire the radio. (Since you bought the car used, there's really no way of telling what's back there until you take a look.)
4. Sometimes, the cigarette lighter socket can become bent or otherwise damaged, so that it presents a short circuit all the time. Unfasten it from the dash and unplug it; see if the fuse still blows then.
The problem may be hard to find, but here are the two easiest things to check, which shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes and don't require many tools:
1. Look into the cigarette lighter socket. Has a penny fallen inside? This happens often, especially in Firebirds, and is, of course, easily fixed.
2. Sometimes, the cigarette lighter itself will fail...not the socket, but the actual lighter. If the fuse blows every time you push the lighter in, borrow a lighter from another car.....if that works, your lighter is bad......if that still blows the fuse, your lighter socket is bad.
3. Many amateurs, and even sloppy professional installers do a poor wiring job when installing radios. Remove the radio, even if it's a factory one, and inspect the wiring back there. You should make sure that all of it is neat, with no exposed wires......but the wire that will make the fuse blow, is orange. If there's an aftermarket radio in place, it should be installed using a plug-in adapter.....no professional would ever snip the factory plugs off and hardwire the radio. (Since you bought the car used, there's really no way of telling what's back there until you take a look.)
4. Sometimes, the cigarette lighter socket can become bent or otherwise damaged, so that it presents a short circuit all the time. Unfasten it from the dash and unplug it; see if the fuse still blows then.
03-17-2002, 10:30 PM
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that fuse contols the lighter also, i also have the factoy radio.
BUT i have a car cd player and the adaptor that plugs into the cigarette lighter, i will unplug the lighter tomorrow and see what happens.
BUT i have a car cd player and the adaptor that plugs into the cigarette lighter, i will unplug the lighter tomorrow and see what happens.
03-19-2002, 09:40 AM
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put some BIGGER fuses in there... lol no dont do that, you will know where your problem is b/c it would catch on fire. my friend did that, not fire but sure smoked him out!
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