taillight and dashboard problem.....HELP ME!!!!!

[spider_slayer]

well, i've posted this on the sr message board but havn't gotten to far so i was wondering if anyone could help. the problem occured about a week ago. i was driving on the highway and my dash went out and was then pulled over because my taillights were out. i'm no electrical wizard so i'm afraid. i was hoping it was jsut the fuse that blew..and it was...the 25 amp fuse in the taillight socket was blown. i replaced it turned on the headlights and the fuse was immeditally blown, i think put in a 30 amp fuse jsut to see what would happen, the dash lights came on for probally 5-10 seconds then the fuse blew. however, while the dash was on the car seemed to be losing power (interior lights dimmed, idle dropped). i checked the tail lights to see if anything looked out of place wiring wise and everything is super clean and looks in good operating condition.....i have no clue what to do, this is my daily driver, and without tail lights i am FuXoReD!!!!

[bangstanger]

It sounds like a short to ground somewhere.. my first guess without looking is possibly the switch itself.. the first position is for the running lights, tails, dash,etc...then all the way for headlights..I suspect somewhere there is a prob with that whole circuit....I am afraid I dont know where to start looking though other than under the wheel.. the fact that it worked with a higher fuse leads me to believe its getting power..but shorting out..so I would imagine that any fusible links would still be ok.. sorry I cant help more...its just really hard to guess at electrical probs..maybe someone else has had this prob..?

good luck

[spider_slayer]

yea, i know.....i was hoping it was the tail lights them selves that were shorting but i doubt it. now, how would i go about looking for a short to ground??

[bangstanger]

I dont really know.. I have always had to do either the wiggle test (grab the wires and wiggle) or try for continuity.. start with where you can get to.. say..the tail lights... try to follow wires back as far as you can looking for cracks breaks burnt...etc..as far as testing the switch I dont know.. maybe you can search for a schematic or something.. sorry I cant help much...

[bangstanger]

heres a link I just saw in another thread...looks like it could be worth a shot ..

http://www.tamparacing.com/for...02648

[amolao]

I read in the past that the way the light wiring is done on 240's is that if you dont have tailights, the cluster lights go off to make the driver aware of the malfunction, kind of when you loose a turn blinker then the dash blinker stays on....to let you know... sooo I will say that you need to work on fixing the taillights issue first. I have troubleshoot many light issues and is not that easy. But start with the easy checks, physical inspection of wiring.... and connections...you mentioned SR forums, did you replaced the gauge cluster???? If you are having problems with your cluster...it will affect the lights on your car....trust me on that.....