Could it be a fuse?

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Daniel Butler

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I hopped in my truck to come home from the store and it was dusk, so I turned on my headlights. When I turned on my headlights, I realized my Dashboard lights did not dim / come on, and also the light indicator for the fog lights was not lit, as I had them on (or I thought) as well. When I got home, I kept my lights on and got out and did a visual inspection of the exterior of the vehicle. Though I had the fog lights in the "on" position along with the headlights, my fog lights were not on, nor were my signal lamps dimly lit, and my tail lights were also off. Has anyone had this problem before, and if so, would you happen to know (because I'm assuming) what fuse it is? First time it's ever happened.



Thanks!



Dan
 
Had to install adobe reader (which took half a life time) but found the blown fuse (Fuse 5) for the park lamps, auto lamps, instrument panel dimming, and trailer tow. If anyone has a similar problem, look here! Hope it helps :banana:





Dan
 
Never mind...



Do you have a Daytime Running Lights? That could be why you have Headlamps without tail lamps.



Fuse 2.33 , 15A - Headlamps, DRL module, Instrument cluster, & Fog Lamp relay



[Broken External Image]:
 
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Surpisingly I do not. I'm not sure what cause the #5 fuse to blow :banghead: If it ends up going out again, I'll investigate deeper into it, but as of right now, I'm just happy everything is working again, but I will keep posted on what happens (If anything happens) next :grin:
 
I do have water in one of my fog lights from a broken seal, and actually the fuse just blew again, so I'm going to refrain from using the fogs and see if the problem re-occurs :banana:
 
Well i just blew the fuse again unfortunately. As soon as I even turn on my parking lights the fuse goes out, but there is no water in the signal lenses or the taillights.:banghead:
 
Since the fuse blew immediately upon turning the light on, there is obviously a short somewhere in the hot side of the circuit. Naturally, you need to closely inspect the wiring to try and find the short. BUT, don't forget to closely inspect the bulbs themselves. I actually found a shorted bulb years ago on my son's car when he had the exact same symptom. The bulb was internally shorted. It probably happened when the filament broke and a piece of it fell to the base and shorted the bulb internally.



Removing all the bulbs that should light when only the parking lights are turned on can be a clue. If the fuse still blows the short would be before the bulb in the circuit.



Let us know what you find.



 
Will do Bob. I was going to get to it today but ended up getting yanked around town doing all sorts of miscellaneous things. Tomorrow I'm going to just take out the parking lights and taillights, pop a new fuse in and try turning on the parking lights and see if the fuse still blows. If not, then I'll do process of elimination and see if a bulb is the culprit in this minor headache. :haveabeer:
 
Don't forget that your dash lights also come on with the parking lights. You probably want to save those removals for last resort as they are a pain in the rear to remove.
 
Forgot about the dash lights. I still have the screws out from my cluster when I replaced it last (The 3 screws about the cluster cover). I took out the parking lights and taillights and put a fuse in and turned on my parking lights. The fuse didnt blow. Once I realised the fuse was still intact, I place each light in 1 by 1 and tested the parking lights each time after putting a light in. It was a success.. Or so I thought. After I closed the hood, I tried a final test, and the fuse blew. I took out both front signal bulbs and tried again with another fuse. The fuse didnt blow, but my headlight switch started to smoke and my truck now wreaks of melting electronics (Nothing caught on fire). I took the fuse out and tested the headlights and turn signals to make sure they atleast still worked, and they do. I feel that this is going to have to go to a shop to get diagnosed for I have no idea what is causing the fuse to go. All I can think of at this point is that there is a wire someone that is killing the fuse. :toilet:
 
You might want to remove the cover over the steering wheel tilt mechanism. Maybe one of those wires in that infamous connector has pulled all of the way out of the connector and is touching some metal up there.



Some of those wires DO go to the turn signal bulbs. You might have had the wheel tilted up when it appeared to work OK and then had it tilted down when the burning odor started.. just a thought.



 
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I'll give that a check tonight if I can. I removed both front signal bulbs and both taillights and the fuse never popped. It was once everything was back together the fuse went out again. I'll check the connecter though. Thanks :grin:
 

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