first off i drive an 87 turbo II. basically the other night after dropping my girlfriend off at home i noticed that my my guages werent lit up (it was around 11 at night) and the taillights were also out, so the next day i checked the fuse box by the dead pedal and sure enough the illumination fuse was blown so i replaced it and tried that out. when i turned on the light i heard a click and although the headlights came on, the guages and tailights were still off. i checked the buse block and it was burned out again. i tried a couple more times and it just kept blowing them. basically does anyone have any idea whats wrong/ what a possible solution could be.

 

There is definately a short circuit somewhere. I can't tell you much beyond that. You'll need a multimeter to hunt down the source, unless there is a common cause that another forum member can tell you about. A multimeter usually has a conductivity checker. You can check conductivity between 2 points, start unplugging stuff, checking again, etc. until you figure it out.

Probably either a blown component that's shorting the power (a relay or transistor) or exposed wiring (insulation gone).

 

I just had to fix this problem with a mustang I just got. It ended up being very simple. It was the illumination wire for the stereo was grounding out and blowing the fuse as soon as I hit the lights. Hope this helps.

 

well i just had a new cd player installed a couple weeks ago so that might have something to do with it. either way, thx for the help, i at least know where to start now.

 

just an update for everyone: i opened up the dash and one of the wires for the cig. lighter light was bare and touching the metal of the cig lighter. so i taped that up and put in a new fuse and it was good as new.