63 Dart Mystery Circuit Board Washer
If the splice is bad, the connection will be poor or non-existant. It would not blow fuses.
Since the fuse is blowing, the short must downstream of the fuse.
I don't know the details of a '63, but usually the parking and the tail lights are on fuse, and the brake lights may or may not be on a second fuse.
In my '67 they are all on one fuse that feeds the dome light as well. That's what I have sketched in the diagram above - a work in progress for a '62 that I was helping someone here with.
That diagram is from an unknown source, probably something like a Motor or Chilton's manual. They have a higher percentage of errors than what you'll find in a '63 Dodge or Plymouth shop manual.
That point is the 'main splice'. It's a welded splice joining the alternator output wire, the battery output/charge line, and the various circuit hot feeds. Those are the key switch, the headlight switch headlight terminal, and the hot fuses in the fuse box.
If the splice is bad, the connection will be poor or non-existant. It would not blow fuses.
Damaged insulation can be a cause of shorts. If the conductor touches a second circuit, it could draw more power through the fuse than it is rated for. More common is the conductor touching ground. In that case it will draw much more current and the fuse will melt.
Since the fuse is blowing, the short must downstream of the fuse.
I don't know the details of a '63, but usually the parking and the tail lights are on fuse, and the brake lights may or may not be on a second fuse.
In my '67 they are all on one fuse that feeds the dome light as well. That's what I have sketched in the diagram above - a work in progress for a '62 that I was helping someone here with.
