Need help ASAP!!! Panel Illumination gone :(
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Need help ASAP!!! Panel Illumination gone :(
I have a '93 f150 flareside... yesterday I was at my buddy's house, I went to leave and my dash lights and marker lights did not come on. The 4A fuse for the panel illumination was blown, when I replaced the fuse it blew again. I drove home like that (a little stupid) and when I got home proceeded to check wires. I found a second blown fuse, the warning buzzer/ exterior lamps fuse. When I replaced this one the exterior marker lights came back on. I replaced the fuse for the panel lights with a 5A and it did not blow, but the dash lights are still off. I checked all of the fuses under the dash countless times and none are blown. I checked all of the small fuses under the hood (none are blown there either). I removed my dash and checked plugs going into the light-switch, gauges, and fuse panel, nothing worked... I'm hoping somebody could please help me soon, most of my driving occurs at night.
Thanks
Thanks
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Dead short
It almost sounds like a dead short, however, a dead short would blow any amp fuse or a wire smaller than the fuse you were using. I would pull that five amp fuse out immediately!!! I'm not sure on specific wires or anything as I own an '80 F150, however, I would begin by finding the power wire that leads to the dash lights and check continuity between that and your frame (ground.) That to me would indicate a dead short. Another thing to do would be to check wires for corrosion or decay. Finally I would check all the connectors for decay. If one happened to be decayed badly then you could be shorting there. I hate electrical, but my truck looked like the previous owner let his two year old wire all the repairs. Good luck.
Sgt_Pepper17
Sgt_Pepper17
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Well I have that fuse in... and the lights are not lit, so it's obviously cut somewhere... Other than the wires themselves the only places I could see the connection being cut is at the fuse box, light switch, or at the panel itself... also, if it was a dead short wouldn't I be getting some kind of indication of that? whether by a light show or just a draining battery?
I will definitely test for continuity... I beleive I read in another post that the power wire to the light switch is light blue with a red stripe... but after checking that I think I'm out of ideas... As for corrosion, I haven't seen any, but with the way the wires are packed in the truck I could be missing a lot.
I will definitely test for continuity... I beleive I read in another post that the power wire to the light switch is light blue with a red stripe... but after checking that I think I'm out of ideas... As for corrosion, I haven't seen any, but with the way the wires are packed in the truck I could be missing a lot.
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New idea
well you would only have a battery drain if the power wire was shorted before the switch. after the switch would result in a short only when the power was to the lights. also, if by light show you mean sparks, then not all the time. a wire may be pinched in the dash somewhere that shorts directly with no gap, thus no sparks. I don't think it is cut because there would be no reason for the fuse to blow if it is just split. Something i just thought of is the wire could be crossed with another wire, say the dashlights are crossed with exterior lights then the dashlights may not have enough power to run, but a five amp fuse will handle the load sufficiently. I don't know, I'm not an electrical pro but like I said I have had to deal with some two or three bottle jobs on my truck so I know what I've dealt with and a little more. Good luck.
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is it possible that I blew every single light bulb in my dash?
or possibly only the dimmer portion of my light-switch is messed up... I replaced that lightswitch about 6 months ago... I shouldn't be having problems with it already
or possibly only the dimmer portion of my light-switch is messed up... I replaced that lightswitch about 6 months ago... I shouldn't be having problems with it already
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well, i don't think so b/c if you had you would know b/c it would do the same thing a house bulb does. lights work b/c the tungstun filiment gets hot b/c of high current. if one light went bad, you would still have the other lights too it's not like an old strand of xmas lights. you could easily find out if the dimmer is bad by bypassing it. just hook your dash directly to 12v power and that will tell you if there is a problem with the dimmer.
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10-4... I have almost no time to do any of this stuff... between my trade school and a full time job I have only an hour or so to rip open the dash, test some stuff, and put the dash together... that's why I'm trying to find as many different possibilities as I can... so the next time I have the dash apart I can go to town testing everything in sight
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good call, what tech school are you going to? also, a multimeter would do wonders for ya if you have one. i would check continuity on everywire between connectors and also try to look for melted or damaged wires like i said earlier. If you can afford a manual, like a hayens or something like that with wiring diagrams that would help out a lot.
good luck again. if you have any more theories, you can run them by me and i'll let you know what i think.
good luck again. if you have any more theories, you can run them by me and i'll let you know what i think.
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I'm going to school for PC systems and Networking... I took a bunch of DC courses back in high school so of course I went out and bought my own multimeter...
By the way... last night when I last posted I went to my truck and checked the lights... still didn't work... I went to bed and this morning when I went to drive to school they worked.. and stayed on the whole way!!! This is really wierd
By the way... last night when I last posted I went to my truck and checked the lights... still didn't work... I went to bed and this morning when I went to drive to school they worked.. and stayed on the whole way!!! This is really wierd
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i bet there is a lose wire somewhere that is shorting out sometimes and makin good connections other times. Like I said check your connections and check for continuity in wires when the system is not working properly, this may give you a clue as to which wire is bad. Remember do it when the system is NOT working properly otherwise it will appear as normal.
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Dash And Running Lights Out
Hello,
Please let me know if you've found the cause of your lighting problem. I bought a '92 F250 Diesel a month ago, and have been having the same thing happen for the past few weeks.
Lemme know
Thanks
Jim
Please let me know if you've found the cause of your lighting problem. I bought a '92 F250 Diesel a month ago, and have been having the same thing happen for the past few weeks.
Lemme know
Thanks
Jim
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From: SD
When the dash lights go out, do the lights for the heater controls and radio go out too? If so, it would be in the switch or wiring. If the heater control lights stay on, then it must be in the guage cluster connector, wiring or sockets.
Marty
Marty
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Blown Fuses.....
Instrument cluster, radio, heater control, roof, and running lights are off.
I've disconnected trailer connections and problem continues. I replaced
the light switch this morning after figuring that none of the circuits can
be the problem.
I have not tested yet - ran out of fuses.....:-)
Thanks
Jim
I've disconnected trailer connections and problem continues. I replaced
the light switch this morning after figuring that none of the circuits can
be the problem.
I have not tested yet - ran out of fuses.....:-)
Thanks
Jim