how to trace a short?

[darkshadow]

ok my dash lights have been out for a wile now, keeps poping fuses right when i turn them on, when i had my whole dash apart last night, i checked them and they worked fine. When i put it all back togeather it pops them again. so how do i chase this???

 

[dyeager535]

Does it pop the fuse with the cluster out but the lights turned on?

 

[darkshadow]

as i hit the switch it pops head lights fine, intirer lights fine.

when i had the dash apart i olny unpluged the speedo caple and it worked fine. thought it was all ok, but as soon as i put it back togeather pop pop pop /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[dyeager535]

You kind of lost me there.

With the cluster out, does the fuse pop? That narrows the search by 50%. Either it's the harness to the cluster, or it's the cluster itself. If it still pops with the cluster out, (disconnected) something in the cluster is the likely culprit.

 

[jekquistk5]

i use one simalar to this! i picked it up at lowes for 40 bucks really easy to trace shorts

Clicky

 

[TSGB]

Look at my DIRTYROTTEN... post, I'm experiencing the exact same problem!

 

[darkshadow]

[ QUOTE ]
You kind of lost me there.

With the cluster out, does the fuse pop? That narrows the search by 50%. Either it's the harness to the cluster, or it's the cluster itself. If it still pops with the cluster out, (disconnected) something in the cluster is the likely culprit.

[/ QUOTE ]

sorry when i had the cluster out (but still pluged in)and the dash apart the lights worked ok, the only thing that was unpluged from the cluster was the speedo, and i had not disconected anything elce. that is why i dont understand. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

and it is poping the fuse even a 30 amp instantly. it dosent even last half a second

 

[dyeager535]

First I'd pull the cluster, and with the light switch on, reach my hand in there and move all the wires in the dash around. If it pops, you know you've got a problem in there.

If nothing from that, look at the cluster connector part of the printed circuit board, and make sure the copper hasn't peeled up and is touching another lead.

 

[diesel4me]

I wouldnt put more than a 5 or 10 amp fuse in the dash light curcuit--the printed curcuit can double as a toaster if you put more than 5 amps or so through it with a dead short--ask me how I know this /forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif.Did you check all the bulb sockets in the dash?--some of them have a thing that holds a fiber optic cable thing that shines on the ashtray and heater controls,that has a bare metal tab on it,its easy to accidently ground it out against the dash,also I had a similar problem on an older K5,I never did figure out why it blew fuses occasionally,but at my brothers suggestion I installed another ground wire right to the dash cluster(drilled and sheet metal screwed a wire to the metal part of the cluster)and it never popped again,but I was never sure if thats what fixed it,or removing and installing the cluster --maybe a wire was pinched,dont know for sure-. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif