Blowing A Fuse
Thread Starter
|
Cross-Country
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 63
Likes: 4
Blowing A Fuse
Hi there,
In my '89 F450 SD I've suddenly started blowing the fuse on the clearance lights. I did a count and I'm running 16 lights on the circuit that are the small lights like on the top of the cab and clearance lights around the flat deck. The weird thing is I've had this light configuration for about 2 years and everything has been great up until about 2 weeks ago.
The only difference I can correlate is I'm noticing that my battery light is flickering intermittently on the dash. Could something in the alternator be the problem?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Barry
In my '89 F450 SD I've suddenly started blowing the fuse on the clearance lights. I did a count and I'm running 16 lights on the circuit that are the small lights like on the top of the cab and clearance lights around the flat deck. The weird thing is I've had this light configuration for about 2 years and everything has been great up until about 2 weeks ago.
The only difference I can correlate is I'm noticing that my battery light is flickering intermittently on the dash. Could something in the alternator be the problem?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Barry
Lead Driver
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 8,476
Likes: 37
From: Madison, WI
Well that suggests an alternator / charging issue independent of your lights / fuse issue (since the light circuit is "open" with the blown fuse). The usual suspects - alternator itself, drive belt, main wires to battery.
As for the light issue, one way to verify that it's independent of the alt. issue - shut off the engine, put in a fresh fuse and turn on the lights. If the fuse blows even with the engine not running, that problem can't be related to the alternator, since, well, the alternator's not turning.
"Brute force" light diagnosis - remove ALL the clearance light bulbs, put in a fresh fuse and turn on the circuit. If the fuse still blows, then yeah, sounds like a short to ground somewhere. If not, start putting bulbs back in until the fuse blows; at whatever point it does, that bulb base/socket may be the location of the problem.
As for the light issue, one way to verify that it's independent of the alt. issue - shut off the engine, put in a fresh fuse and turn on the lights. If the fuse blows even with the engine not running, that problem can't be related to the alternator, since, well, the alternator's not turning.
"Brute force" light diagnosis - remove ALL the clearance light bulbs, put in a fresh fuse and turn on the circuit. If the fuse still blows, then yeah, sounds like a short to ground somewhere. If not, start putting bulbs back in until the fuse blows; at whatever point it does, that bulb base/socket may be the location of the problem.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
barrys00
1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
7
Feb 16, 2004 09:28 AM
040498
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
12
Jul 17, 2002 02:59 PM
