While I was wiring up the light for my shifter I think I caused a short and killed the instument lights. I checked the fuse and it was good but the previous owner had put a 10A instead of a 5A. I tested the fuse terminals and got no power. Is there a fusible link before the fuse panel that could have blown?
thanks

 

You now might not have any marker lights on the outside. Check and see. If you don't, check your marker light fuse. I believe it feeds the instrument lamp fuse and circuit through the headlight switch dimmer.

 

The marker lights were out and the running lights on the taillight. I checked every fuse in the panel and it turns out the lights were running off a 20A fuse in the middle. My manual said it should be a 5A fuse on the top left side of the panel, so thats how I thought that I had bigger problems. Replaced the fuse and its all good.

 

Guys should NEVER install a larger fuse than the one called for in their trucks. This guy could have had a dashboard FIRE from overheated wiring due to that big fuse that wouldn't blow!

People in the old days had plug type fuses in their home wiring systems. Many different amperage ratings available with one style fuse... it just screwed in. Many housefires were caused by old charred wiring that had been cooked for years by oversized fuses.

I want all of our trucks to have as few problems as possible. Burnt wiring can cause incredible amounts of problems even before the smoke starts. We had an '81 F-150 that had been basically neglected since its purchase new at work. One of the guys working decided to install a new cigarette lighter in it since the original was fried. He did it. One day, the battery wire fell off of his connector at the lighter and shorted to the frame. The fusible links at the battery were long-replaced years ago with straight wire! The burning wire from the lighter fried its way all the way out the cab and into the engine compartment before the guys were able to get the wire cut away from the accidental ground on the dash.. The wire welded itself.
They continued to drive the truck. About a week later, they couldnt turn off the heater motor, and some of the lights were on all the time. The company decided to get rid of the truck. I bought it, replaced the harness with a doner unit from another truck, and ran it for almost 7 years before I sold it for several times the amount I paid for it.

I am in no waay trying to hijack this thread. Just wanted to remind you about the over-fusing problems!!!

 

My Haynes Manual for my truck (1980 F150 w/300 l6) showed the wrong fuse locations as well. I had do go through all the wiring because I thought someone had hacked it all up and just started splicing. Turns out that my wiring was still all factory. Don't know why the diagram was wrong but I traced all the circuits and made my own. The circuits ran the right lights and what have you but were listed in the wrong place in the book.

 

Im not totally sure if the wrong fuse is being used anymore because of the differance in the diagrams. Does anyone have a fuse diagram for a 81 f150?

 

You can get one along with all chassis wiring diagrams on Auto Zones website. They have online repair manuals.