yesterday during my new gauge install i was testing the tap for the dimmer switch when i dropped the exposed wire and it arced on the body. I checked all the fuses to find that the #5 illum. fuse (5 amp) did not blow...but instead somewhere between the power source and that fuse i have shorted a wire. now i must find where the short is...and it wont be easy considering it takes a few hours to remove all the dash pieces to get the fuse panel out.

the switch and all the bulbs are still good because when i use a jumper wire from another fuse to #5 fuse the lights will come on and all works well, and when testing the #5 slot there is no power there with a test light. is there an easy way to steal power from somewhere and tap it back into the #5 slot or do I need to take the whole dash apart and just trace the wire til i find the short?

 

When I installed my gauges recently I used my Clymer's (sp?) manual to find the best places to tap into for gauge lights and power for the pyro amp box (for ISSPro gauges). What I discovered is several of the fuses in the fuse panel on the driver's side of the dash are fed with lines that are fused upstream. I'd guess that the upstream fuse for that circuit is what is blown and I'm betting this fuse is probably in the power distribution center in the engine compartment where several relays and larger fuses are located. If not I'd recommend getting a Clymer's or Chilton's manual to help trace out the possibilities. They're not as complete on all topics as a factory manual is but they're not too bad for stuff like you're dealing with. Hope this helps.

Steve

 

well if this is there is a fuse upstream of this panel where would it be....the panel under the hood???

also the ONLY thing that is not working in my truck currently is the dash lights head light panel lights, and hvac control lights. if something somewhere else blew...wouldnt it take out more than this one small circuit?

 

Blown,

Check the fuse box under the hood. I would almost guarantee that is where the fuse is blown. If it isn't I will give you a 100% percent refund on the advice!

 

I'm not sure if your 02 has the power dist center (fuse & relay box) located in the same place as my 97, but mine is mounted on top of the driver's side fender in the engine compartment. It's a black plastic box about 4 inches by 8-10 inches and has a removable plaxtic top cover and large wire bundle feeding into it. Since our trucks are so far apart in vintage my wiring is likely different from yours but that shouldn't prevent you from being able to see if any fuses are blown. Just look at the visible indicator on top of each fuse to see if its intact or has a gap. Any with a gap are blown fuses and need to be replaced with the same size fuse. I'm still bettin' there's a blown fuse in this box.

Something else to pass on to you. When I was determining where to tap into for my gauges I found often times 2 or more fuses in the same circuit. Keep in mind the upstream fuses are often feeding several branch circuits which is why you may find a 10 or 15 amp fuse upstream of the smaller 5 amp fuse that you found blown. The 15 amp fuse has to protect all the smaller 5 amp circuits combined where as the 5 amp is protecting only one circuit. For me, coming from an electronics engineering background, this makes perfect sense, but if you're not familiar with electrics/electronics (and I'm not saying you are or aren't ) this could cause some confusion. I know everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in what they do and don't know and I'm sure you could probably teach me a thing or two in areas you're good at. Anyway, I hope this helps.

Steve

 

Much thanks to all your help but my own stupidity is to blame here. I checked all the fuses in the panel and checked the box under the hood but saw nothing concerning the interior, so i left it at that. well after many hours of frustration last night and thinking of how i am gonna fix the issue my father (insert old wide man) asks me if i have tail lights...checked it out and NO. so he says to check the fuse under the hood for the parking/tail lamps...sure enought the 15 amp was blown...a 5 second fix that caused me 8+ hours of frustration.

anyway i got my guages in...now i just need to re-wire my fuel pressure guage and get it working again so i can keep an eye on that and we will be good to go! Thanks again folks

 

Laughing with ya - I spend too much time looking around the garage for the tool that's stuck in my back pocket to laugh at ya

 

thanks again folks...it was def a fun foul word filled couple of days...i made up new words i was so mad

 

Yup, it is always worse when you know it is something that you did!!

 

These are the Cool threads, the ones that will be used by many a' member, for a long time. Otherwise useless info about ones' experience with his truck is sometimes the BEST!
Be forewarned, I should be doing MY gauge install in the next 10-14 days, aught to interesting.........

"What's this wire do?

 

Just drop by my house anytime and I will do the install for you. I have done about four pillar gauge installs so far.

Jim