>Is there a more elegant solution to my problem? Am I barking up the right
>tree?
>
>Any suggestions most welcome.
>
>Greg
>
Greg:
When diagnosing automotive electrical circuits, it is best to use a single
strand from a small wire between two clip leads as a temporary fuse. As you
test the circuit, the wire strand will melt. Just walk down the wire with
the two clip leads (2 jumper wires with alligator clips on each end) after
each blow out. This will save you lots of fuses during diagnosis. When you
find and correct the problem, install a proper fuse.
Find the wiring diagram for your car and trace out and highlight the
circuits covered by the fuse in question. Blown fuses can be caused be
shorts to ground, general overloads (too many accessories on the circuit),
or an accessory or other component that is drawing too much current
(electric motors with bad bearings that run too slow or stop can draw lots
of current).
Run the car and start operating things like the breaks (break lights), turn
signals, headlights etc. until you find a correlation between the problem
accessory and the blown fuse. Once you have isolated the problem, use a 12V
test light or ohm meter to test for shorts to ground...
You may want to modify your electrical system so as to divide circuits among
more fuses. This will make it easier to diagnose problems in the future.
Rick
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