Blew 3 fuses in a row.....

[hypewhat?]

Having a spontaneous electrical problem...first off i own a 92 sentra se and heres me dilemma.all my lights were working perfectly fine this afternoon and when i went to get in it around dusk i noticed my dash lights didnt come on when i put just the intermittent lights on...so i checked the fuse box and the tail lamp fuse burnt out. so i put another and as soon as i cut on the lights it burnt out and as well as another. anyone have any idea whats causing this?? thanks

[SteveTheTech]

Hi there and Welcome to Nico,

I am a bit confused as to what you are referring to when you say intermittent lights, I think it is a regional dialect think but that is a new one on me. :1

Lets take a quick second to think about whats going on here.
In a normal circuit the small filament of the fuse acts like a circuit protection device against a short to ground. The normal resistance of the bulbs acts like a balance, something has happened between the fuse and the load most likely. If you continue to blow fuses there is a short to ground.

If you are new to electrical diagnosis the old Sentra is one of the best Nissans to learn on. These cars are very cut and dry. In this case you have a short to ground and now you need to find out where. I suggest you go buy a big ole box o fuses and try to find the issue. Or you could replace both headlights and a box of fuses and save a potential trip to the parts store.

When does the fuse blow-

When it is put in?
Or
When it is turned on?

What happens if you remove the connector from the headlights?

[hypewhat?]

thanks for the welcome =)

my fuses blow when i twist the headlights half way as in just the rear and corners lights no headlights.
i tried a bigger fuse and the dash plus corners lights cut on but very dimly. i left it on for about 2 mins and then started to see smoke come out of the dash so i just cut the car completely off.

and i havent messed around with the headlights.what should i do with them?

[mau5trap]

DO NOT USE BIGGER FUSES, you're gonna f*** up the car even more.

you probably have a short somewhere same as me. right now my dash and tail lights don't work.
I'm trying to find out how to get to the wiring.

[SteveTheTech]

Do you have an aftermarket radio?

Fuses blow because you have a problem....replacing them with one with a higher burn resistance will allow the short to ground to continue. This is extremely dangerous.

If you have never performed this type of repair you may want to take it to someone who can actually help you. Electrical repair on a daily driver is not always recommended for the weekend warriors.
Unless you can find the problem and fix it your issues will persist.

Here is a link to the electrical section of the 94 Sentra service manual (it is the oldest available in digital format).
http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Sentra/1994_Sentra/el.pdf

What you are going to need to do is since you saw smoke under the dash is start pulling things out. Remove the radio and look behind it.
Given the age of the car I would bet you a beer that the problem is going to be around a point of contact from exposed metal to a wire that part of the illumination circuit somewhere inside your car.

In all honesty though it could be anywhere. You could potentially damage your car far worse if you get in over your head. If you don't know what you are getting into you might want to take it somewhere.

[hypewhat?]

awesome thanks for the advice im going to see if i can give it a shot and if not ill just take it to the local mechanic. thanks again.