instrument lights blowing fuse

[markeo]

so last night i get in and start my car and turn on the lights...headlights work, but the instrument lights went out

i learned that the blinker, brake, seatbelt, etc and the lights that show where the fan is blowing (windshield, feet, head, etc) are not on the same circuit as the back lighting for the instruments and the heat controls


anyway...i quickly came to the conclusion that i blew a fuse, but figured i would check it in the morning when i could see what i was doing

turns out i did blow a fuse, no problem, i swapped in a new fuse and the lights worked...til i blew that fuse


its gotta be a short, but i was wondering what the best way to find out where it is so i dont have to tear my car apart or pay to have somebody else tear it apart

[kommon_sense]

best bet would be to use the wiring schematics in the helms to see what circuit all of those items are on. trace it back to a root cause.

[poopflingr1]

ya, either that or if u dont wanna mess things up if it gets messy, take it to some people that are good at electrical problems.

I had the same kinda thing happen to me...

problem? the guy who installed my car alarm cut some wires, and tried to tape em together again... and then the tape came apart a year later and it shorted.

wasnt hard to fix tho. was right near the fuse box under my dash.

[markeo]

yeah, i found something that said to check the wires around the stereo (aftermarket) and make sure they aren't shorting anything.

i taped a couple wires up and last night didnt blow a new fuse, so im hoping that was it, i just thought it was funny that it was fine for 4 years.

the other thing is i dont really know if i fixed it, i mean, whats to say whatever caused it didnt go back to how it had been for 4 years, you know hit a bump and it makes contact, hit another and it comes off...?

anyway, for now i think im good, thanks for the help guys