It started happening in October - its the little fuse that is responsible for the taillights and the dashboard lights - that's it. It seems like every 4-5 weeks the fuse will blow. Its one of those mini, size 15 fuses that looks like a tooth.
Anyone know what might be causing this to burn out?
(FYI - the car is in great shape, 60k miles, no water leaking inside anywhere...)
2007-12-21 00:34:26 · 7 answers · asked by South Shore 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Fuses blow frequently like this because you may have a short in your lighting system. In a shop, the first course of action would be to open up the tail lights and check for "green-death". Corrosion on your contact points. Also check inside the connectors with a flashlight for the corrosion.
2007-12-21 00:39:41 · answer #1 · answered by Quigi 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the fuse blows, then you are pulling too much current. There is a short or partial short in the system.
I assume that you haven't added any other devices to the circuit. Look around the socket for the lights, and try and trace the wiring back as far as you can, looking for nicks in the insulation, or any evidence of arcing.
Since you have already replaced the fuse several times, I doubt it using a larger fuse will do any good. You will be placing more current for a longer period of time stressing the wiring, before the fuse blows.
If you can't find the problem, then you should take the car to an automotive electrical repair shop.
2007-12-21 09:13:14 · answer #2 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This won't be easy. You'll have to check the circuit to see what is causing the ground and/or cross that is causing the fuse to blow. If it just happened once, then I would tend to believe it was a bad fuse. Since it continues to happen I would think there is something there (intermittently) blowing the fuse. There is no easy solution here, and if you can't do it yourself, it will be expensive in the area of labor costs. My suggestion would be if it only happens every 4 or 5 weeks, carry some extra fuses in your car. The other thing you could try is replacing your fuse with one that is a little stronger. Be careful doing this though.
2007-12-21 08:51:37 · answer #3 · answered by Hondo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chances are you have an intermittent short in the system. Sometimes, wires can rub against things and rub off the insulation, once this happens, if the bare wires touch metal that is part of or attached to the frame or body, this will provide a direct path to ground for the electrical flow. When there is a direct path to ground, there is little or no resistance, so the amps that flow will drastically increase. When you have that many amps flowing, you can burn up a wire, and it can actually catch fire. This is why we have fuses, fuses are designed to melt inside if more amps flow then are supposed to. Whenever the short hits metal and too many amps flow, the fuse is blowing to protect the wires in the circuit.
If you feel like taking this project on yourself, you will need alot of time to track down wires, and a wiring diagram, as well as a meter. This may be something you want to leave to a shop to track down and find.
***ADDED***
Please, DO NOT listen to bobweb, in this case he is wrong and following his advice could result in damage to your vehicle, and injury to you or your passengers. NEVER replace a fuse with a fuse rated for higher amps, that is a very dangerous and stupid thing for him to suggest, please do not follow that advice.
2007-12-21 08:44:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would just replace it will a fuse that is 5 Amps bigger. For example, if it's a 10 Amp fuse, replace it with a 15 Amp fuse, but don't go any larger than that to protect the wires from damage.
2007-12-21 08:42:53 · answer #5 · answered by bobweb 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Short to ground someplace in the wiring.
2007-12-21 08:40:02 · answer #6 · answered by Mad Jack 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a short somewhere, maybe check all the bulb sockets.
2007-12-21 08:46:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋