just recently my dash lights (and therefore tailights) went out. now everytime i turn on the headlights it will blow the fuse. ive gone through three in like 5 minutes. is this a common problem with a known solution? i really dont want to pay some guy absorbant amounts of diagnostic money.

 

thought id add... i read all about the headlight switch issue that happens with FC's - i checkd all the connectors under the dash and the connectors right behind the guage surround. nothing is burnt, discolored, etc. all the harness' look new. only thing i can find is the fuse keeps popping.

 

The Head fuse is blowning or the BTN or the Illum fuse? Your post is not clear

 

very simple....go to junk yard and get the plastic cluster that goes around the gauges. It has to have all the switches on it.
This is very common for Second Gen. and easy to fix.

good luck...

 

I got the same thing with my car, I just hit it every time it goes out *easy fix for a week

 

there werent any burnt wires or anyhting in the dash area. everything looked spiffy. something else someone pointed out - this happened right after i installed a stereo. ive heard that can cause a short somehow- can anyone elaborate? BTW the fuse that keeps popping is the top right corner, 15A

 

On mine, when I hooked up my (aftermarket) stereo in the car, I somehow managed to ground out the dimmer wire (orange wire that dims/lights the stock stereo) and it screwed up my entire instrument panel and all my exterior lights (parking lights). All I did was pull my stereo and run the Dimmer wire into the 12V accessory and now it all works whenever the key is on. Parking lights & console don't work though unless the key is in *shrug* Not to mention everytime you open the door, it resets the clock

 

There was NO reason to splice that into the 12V line. Just cut off the excess wire and cap/cover the end of the wire. It doesnt get hooked up to anything.

And this SAME wire is most likely what is causing the original poster's problems. Pull your stereo out and check it. Make sure that wire isnt hooked up to ANYTHING and that it is capped/covered.

 

sounds like you hooked up the radios ground to the lumination wire... did micky mouse wire the stereo and hook up the red/black to the stereo ground???

That's pretty useless... what fuse???:

 

Im assuming ILLUM 15A, but thats just a guess as his description doesnt match the fuse box.

 

I don't have the money atm to go buying a new instrument cluster and have no blown fuses. Without it wired into the 12V none of the afforementioned items work. I had the same problem in my Dodge Shadow last year, except finding a replacement was alot easier. I really hate the dimmer....

 

yah its the illum fuse. sorry i dont have a fuse cover so i just had to pull fuses till i found the dead one. my illum wire, ground wire, and yellow wire are all in the same plug, so maybe the illum is ground out there. i'll unplug it and see what happens

 

There is no ground wire in the factory plugs. You wired the radio's ground wire to the dash lumination circuit.

If you didn't burn out your light switch'es dimmer circuit you will be lucky.

At the top of this section of the board is the FAQ for FC sticky thread. It has the radio wires in it (as well as the fuse box covers). Live by the FAQ for FC, Read the FAQ for FC.

 

yup i did indead ground the radio on the illum wire. whats wierd is i disconnected the radios ground and it still works fine. dunno whats up with that...
thanks guys