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Dash/tail light fuse blows every time I turn headlights on.


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So, a while back I noticed my dash lights stopped working on my 210. Replaced the fuse, everything was good for a few minutes, then the fuse blew again. Replaced the fuse 1 more time, and it blew as soon as I turned the headlights on. The other day I got pulled over and apparently my taillights stop working along with the dash lights. Anyone have any thoughts on what may have happened here?

 

I know my alternator is going bad, but if that was frying something it would be more than just 1 10A fuse, right?

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There is a hot wire touching metal somewhere. Start lookjmg at yourr running lights. Follow the wires from the lights, thru the fenders etc. Then check your tails same way. The wires for the tails go thru the car on passwneger side floor. Look for bare wires there.

 

 

Go buy a mega pack of fuses. Install one. Have a friend turn the lights on. Find the light that's dim or doesnr come on. That'd be a starting point.

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Do the headlamps go out also???? or just the parking lamps??? Aren't the headlamps and the parking /running lamps on different fuses???

 

Does it have a plug at the back for towing a trailer? These are the worst causes of bare corroded wires.

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There is a hot wire touching metal somewhere. Start lookjmg at yourr running lights. Follow the wires from the lights, thru the fenders etc. Then check your tails same way. The wires for the tails go thru the car on passwneger side floor. Look for bare wires there.

 

 

Go buy a mega pack of fuses. Install one. Have a friend turn the lights on. Find the light that's dim or doesnr come on. That'd be a starting point.

 

 

reseat and clean the connection in back of dash and fuse contact area.

find the light relay and reseat the relay to clean the connection also

 

Thanks guys, I'll look for bare wires and make sure everything is good to go there.

 

Do the headlamps go out also???? or just the parking lamps??? Aren't the headlamps and the parking /running lamps on different fuses???

 

Does it have a plug at the back for towing a trailer? These are the worst causes of bare corroded wires.

 

The headlamps stay on, that's what throws me off. It's gotta be a short on the dash light circuit, or the taillight circuit. I haven't changed anything here though so that's what's throwing me off.

 

reseat and clean the connection in back of dash and fuse contact area.

find the light relay and reseat the relay to clean the connection also

 

I'll be sure to do this as well.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

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The headlights are on a different fuse than the park/dash lights (which are on the same fuse).  Usually the problem is one of the rubber grommets in the body where the wires pass through sheet metal has rotted off, causing the wires to chafe then short.  Look up front where the wires pass through the inner fender to go to the outer fender, that's a common place for problems, but the trunk wiring can be a problem area too.

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Although this may not help I'm going through partially the same thing.

 

when on our way back from canby we turned the lights on down a corner and everything cut out. 

 

so far i haven't traced where it's gone bad at, but another post talked about the blinker lever being corroded or another switch somewhere. 

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Turns out some electrical tape fell off on the sidemarker connectors and there were rubbing bare metal. Finally put some sidemarkers on, problem solved.

 

 

 

lol. I just went thru this the other day man..  Its in my thread The Next Episode...  I knew it was a bare wire :D

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Yeah, I had some bare wires from old emissions crap blow fuses before, but it never really hit me that I've been running no sidemarkers on the front and that the connectors could just be rubbing something up front. So now my electrical issues are fixed, and I have sidemarkers. A day full of win.

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So i am going to dig this one back up b/c redundant posts

 

I just swapped my spedometer from a MPH to a MPH/KPH; but while i was in there i, cleaned the plastic and metals and all the dust off, cleaned the contacts on the circuit board for the dash lights, etc etc went and put everything back together and drove about 20 blocks and the lights for my dash/park/tail lights went out...

 

question one, the blinker lights work, but the spade connectors on the cluster have no cover. is this ok? should i put some heatsink on them?

 

question two, i did the mph to kph/mph cluster swap before and i ended up frying the board because of some short. only difference is i lost all power to the dash (lights and gauges) and i think its b/c i pulled one of the signal spades off the board and tried soldering it back on... kind of fits with question one?

 

question three, this is a dash issue, not my other lights or rubbed through  wires. if i cleaned up the contacts on the cluster circuit board too much would that cause an issue? i have LED lights in my dash so i would think they draw less current and would be less likely to blow a fuse no? 

 

ill be up at 6 trying to figure this stuff out so we will see how she goes.

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1. A 210 cluster has bare terminals normal. No need to cover them.

 

2. It seems to me that it does not fit

 

3a. Cleaning the dash light connectors with a pencil erasor won't cause a short

 

3b. Yes, LED lights are less likely to blow a fuse than standard bulbs are

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