Blowin fuses, driving rouge

[muffinstar16]

So this morning i get in my 1999 gst and notice my dash lights arent on. Oh well. suns coming up, ill get a new fuse after work. I get new fuses pop one in, start my car and.... blown fuse again. happens multiple times and with every size fuse above a 15. I researched it and still cant tell if its my dimmer switch that needs replacing, im grounding out the circuit or maybe my alternator is going bad. I have done nothing electrically to the car since december and this is the first time its happened. I have an aftermarket deck as well as wiring for subs with a killswitch to use said subs. The previous owner wired in an HKS turbo timer that still works even when my dash lights dont. I have turn signals and headlights, but no dash lights or tail lights. I need this fixed asap as i work 30 minutes away and most of my commute is in the early morning. Any suggestions are Greatly appreciated. I know there are many other posts like this but none seem to have answers. Thank you all!

 

[Kryndon]

Get a multimeter and measure the alternator and battery to make sure they are operating in range both when the car is on and off.

 

[muffinstar16]

Get a multimeter and measure the alternator and battery to make sure they are operating in range both when the car is on and off.

What ranges might those be?

 

[SasaniFab]

Sounds to me like you need to go through the wiring on the stereo and turbo timer. I bet you have a loose or bare wire shorting out. Go through anything that isn't factory first.....check all the + wires for missing insulation or bare wires

 

[Kryndon]

What ranges might those be?

For the battery between 12.4-12.7 volts when car is off and accessories are off. And between 14.2-14.8 when car is on. Can't remember about the alternator but you can follow the guide from

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that video.

 

[Street9s]

I would also look into your grounds. Find a Chiltons manual, it has excellent breakdowns of the wiring. Make sure all of them are clean and secured properly. Blown fuses are the result of too much current, which is caused by a short in most cases. Having a bad ground will cause this.

 

[muffinstar16]

so yesterday i stopped by the autopart store and bought new tail light bulbsthinking one maybe burned out and offered no resistance. i also threw a 40a fuse in and low and behold my tails worked! however, my dash lights still did not work. After a few minutes smoke started coming out of what looked like my dimmer switch area and my horn started going off. I turned everything off and took the fuse out. Does this offer any more information as to what the issue might be? i couldnt see where the smoke was EXACTLY coming from as by the time i got under the dash, it stopped.

 

[Street9s]

I can tell you exactly what happened. There was a short, you put a big enough fuse to where it didn't blow and it continued to short. It started to burn shit up because of all the heat.

 

[muffinstar16]

I can tell you exactly what happened. There was a short, you put a big enough fuse to where it didn't blow and it continued to short. It started to burn sh** up because of all the heat.

i had a feeling it was a short but i wasnt sure, Hence why i put a bigger Fuse in. Wheres the most common short spot in 2g's? i read up on alot of dimmer switches going out.

 

[Street9s]

I cannot help you there. You're probably going to have to get lucky looking for a burn mark and finding what that is. If that doesn't work, grab the multimeter and a lot of beer.

 

[muffinstar16]

I cannot help you there. You're probably going to have to get lucky looking for a burn mark and finding what that is. If that doesn't work, grab the multimeter and a lot of beer.

i got the day off tomorrow, a 30 pack, 200 hours of music and the house to myself. Lets hope i wont need more beer.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Or a fire extinguisher!!!! I guess a cold beer COULD be wasted as a fire extinguisher tho!!!

 

[Street9s]

Or a fire extinguisher!!!! I guess a cold beer COULD be wasted as a fire extinguisher tho!!!

I'm willing to bet a warm beer will do just as well. But yeah a fire extinguisher is probably a good idea...