Fuse keeps blowing

cashmoneyspeed · Post by **cashmoneyspeed** » June 3rd, 2005, 1:35 am

The fuse keeps blowing that powers the taillights, instrument cluster lights, clock, and my indiglo gauges. If i put a new fuse in, it won't blow right away, but usually doesn't take more than 20 minutes of driving and all the lights go out agian. Whats the first thing to check? Keeps blowing the 15amp fuse(just for kicks, i popped a 20 amp in there and that blew too)

My indiglo gauges are wired off the power supply of my dimmer switch so that's why those go out too.

freyguy_412 · Post by **freyguy_412** » June 3rd, 2005, 3:21 pm

Did it start doing this right after you installed those indiglo guages? I would check the ground for your guages first thing. Also my friend had problems with his tail lights in his S-10 when he installed LED light bulbs. If you have those try switching back to regular bulbs. Just a place to start.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » June 4th, 2005, 1:03 am

Uh, don't ever try a larger fuse to keep it from blowing. Why the hell do you thin Mazda decided that it neede a 15amp in the first place. Maybe b/c a 10 amp was too little and a 20 too large. geezum, your going to start a fire in your car or blow up something else. There are two reason it would blow the fuse.
1. your pulling too much power from that circuit. You may need to find a different place to hook up the power for the indiglow.
2. you have a ground short, means a power wire touching a ground somehwere. The way to check is have someone test the circuit for a ground fault. I know you probably don't know how to do this so take it to a mechanic and ask them to test it. You may want to print this and take it with you so you ask for the right thing. If it tests positive for a ground short you need to find the problem, it may even be easier to get a new set of wiring for that circuit from a junk MX and replace yours.

cashmoneyspeed · Post by **cashmoneyspeed** » June 5th, 2005, 2:22 am

UH, NO there isn't a "ground fault" and yes i do know how to check for this. Problem didn't start right after i installed the indiglo gauges, the gauges have been hooked up for more than 2 years with no problems with all stock bulbs and no l.e.d. bulbs. I put a 20A fuse in becaust the 15A blew for whatever reason and after testing the amperage for the gauges, i concluded that i was pulling an extra 2 amps. And as for Mazda putting a 15A fuse in there and not a 10 or 20A, i'm sure they had good intentions, just like using the thinnest/cheapest wire available.

freyguy_412 · Post by **freyguy_412** » June 5th, 2005, 1:48 pm

Have you tapped into any of that thin/cheap wire anywhere? I would just go back and check all connections I have made to make sure I hadn't cut any corners in the past.

Also, maybe check the actual tail light assemblies. The wiring back there might not be the best. I noticed about a month ago that the outside passenger brake/tail light bulb was blown, so I changed it. Well after changing it and testing it it wouldn't light up for parking, and it lit up the parking filament when pressing on the brake. Haven't figured out why yet, ended up just removing the outside brake lights on both sides. Check the connections back there maybe, especially with installation of altezza's

cashmoneyspeed · Post by **cashmoneyspeed** » June 6th, 2005, 9:56 am

Yeah thats a good idea. Haven't checked back at the tail lights yet. Altezzas have been in there a few years but i guess it could be a wire grounding out back there.