damed electrickery

[thehanko]

2003 gu 4.2 diesel ute.

Im having what should be a simple problem which has me tearing my hair out.

im blowing tail light fuses, immediately when the lights are turned on - which means no tail lights and no dash lights.

I need ideas as ive checked everything i can.

Ive disconnected the entire loom from the cab back,
inspected the park lights up front,
removed the speedo cluster entirely,

and after all that it still blows immediatley.

where to look next im a little perplexed?

what else is connected to the tail light circuit which could be causing the problem?

any ideas would be appreciated.

thanks

[hokey]

has it got a a trailer lIght plug. if so most likely to be dodge trailer wiring earthing out somewhere. had the same problem in my old car

[thehanko]

has it got a a trailer lIght plug. if so most likely to be dodge trailer wiring earthing out somewhere. had the same problem in my old car

It was doing it before and I have since changed from a round plug to a flat 7 pin. so the plus itself is fine, and when i disconnected the rear loom i think it would have excluded the trailer lights, but i will double check it in the morning.

all the wiring is super neat and origional... weird to have this problem, normally its someone rats nest in which you find the issue

[its aford not a nissan]

fitted a new stereo recently ???

[thehanko]

current stereo was in when i bought it - however the issue was as well.

The audio is a seperate circuit - and its working when the fuse is gone...

[its aford not a nissan]

current stereo was in when i bought it - however the issue was as well.

The audio is a seperate circuit - and its working when the fuse is gone...

power is seperate but he may have used the dash light wire for the earth , rip it out and see what happens or atleast change the earth at the rear of the radio

[thehanko]

current stereo was in when i bought it - however the issue was as well.

The audio is a seperate circuit - and its working when the fuse is gone...

power is seperate but he may have used the dash light wire for the earth , rip it out and see what happens or atleast change the earth at the rear of the radio

ok, definitley worth a look then.

I have also just read that the cluster llights earth when the engine isnt running as a self test system to ensure warning lights are working. these lights are also powered by the park light circuit. i wonder if there is some trickery in there somehow... but not convinced.

[thehanko]

a guy on patrol 4x4 had the same problem a little while ago and the consensus seemed to be stereo or stuffed globe. this is a possibilty as the car was hit front qtr prior to my buying it and the origional indicator was reused.

so ive got a few go to points for tomorrow morning.

thanks

[thehanko]

and just realised your a mod on trol electrical so ill definitly listen lol

cheers

[rumpig89]

sounds like shorted parker lighting, or stereo earth wired to dash illumination (as already said). Not 100% sure on the patrol (think it may be pink with some other colour dots) but a lot of cars use a black with grey dots dash lighting wire... easy to confuse i guess.

[thehanko]

it was indeed the cd player!

thanks mav man!

Changed the earth and its all good.

funny part was just as i turned the lights on to check the system a car drove over a leaf on the street outside and it sounded just like a fuse going. there were many curses until i noticed the lights glowing happily. then i noticed the same noise under another passing car

sorted cheers everyone.