Tail light fuse blowing

-
crj1968

crj1968

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
745
Reaction score
354
Location
Idaho
Hey all I just sold my 72 swinger on ebay- the people who bought it want to drive it home 5 hours tomorrow, which I advised against but that was what they want to do. so..........

.....anyway I thought I'd give the car a once over and found the tailights/blinkers/etc circuit not working. (it was all working a while back...but I did have the instrument cluster out trying to fix the fuel gauge...hmmmm) Headlights work. Brake lights work.

I found the "tail light" fuse blown and put in another and it instantly evaporated. "POOF"

I did not have the headlight switch pulled out (at all) at the time so should that fact give me some indication of where to look?

Thanks!
 
Here's a link to a page where you can download some free service manuals. They don't have the 72 Dodge, but does have the 71 & 73 Dodge manuals.

Then you can look at the wiring diagrams and trace the circuit from the fuse block to the tail lamp. You have a short somewhere on the positive side.

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=109


You probably pinched a wire when you put the cluster back in, but it won't hurt to trace the whole circuit to be safe.
 
Thanks man- Yeah definitely have a direct short somewhere..
I figured since I had the cluster out I would pull the connector off of it (the circle one) put in a fuse....same problem. that might not even mean anything. I probably should have pulled the headlight switch connector. But would be hard to believe the switch is bad if it is "off" or should be.

I'll check out your link- I appreciate it.

(this is why you trailer 42 yr old cars home)

Looks like from the drawing that fuse feeds a bunch of non essential stuff....lets tie all that crap in with the taillights and blinkers shall we? Dumb.
 
Watch the headlight switch connector. It is known for getting too hot and melting the connector housing if the connections are not good and heat up. Common problem with a-bodies. Make sure that the connector and all of the wires are properly seated and connected.
 
OK I will check that out also.

Let me throw this out as seems some of you east coasters are awake.

-with the headlight switch off completely I threw in another fuse (this one was a higher rating I had lying around) When I put it in that horn/key in buzzer thing started buzzing.

Annoying so I reached up in there and unplugged it. The wire to it was hot. like really hot. And the fuse blew again.

So since I never touched the headlight switch I believe I am Ok as far as light sockets etc, as I never sent power past the switch.

Maybe my issue is this horn circuit thing, but I'm not sure how they are related...(same fuse?) I guess if I unhook the headlight switch and it still happens, I'll know.

thx
 
disconnect the lighter, if you use them to charge cel phones. try another fuse.
 
I'm not sure on the Swinger, but on my car (74 Dart Sport) there is a plug behind the driver side kick panel. Take the kick panel off and see, if the plug is there, unplug it and see if the fuse pops. If it does not, you have isolated the issue to the wire going back to the rear and the wiring in the trunk area.

It only takes a minute, and that may narrow it down for ya.

It could be a bad ground in the trunk area.
 
Thanks guys- I thought the box said "horn" on it....my eyes arent what they used to be... the 3rd fuse from the left is labeled "Tail" and "Horn" hopefully there is just a horn lead on the back I can pull off.


like this.


Now I just need the sun to come up so i can get it figured out
 

Attachments

  • fuse.jpg
    71.6 KB · Views: 215
Yeah, I'll pass on the cotter pin test. ;)

Update. Two wires coming off that fuse (pink, purple) Purple one had direct short to ground. I think it eventually goes to the buzzer/horn relay thing. Pulled that wire and good to go. Still a problem somewhere in that horn circuit somewhere....but that's OK for now.

Thanks once again FABO people !
 
Hope your buyers have a good ride home.... yeah, 5 hours is a bit iffy. 1+ hour can be a challenge!
 
nm9stheham said:
Hope your buyers have a good ride home.... yeah, 5 hours is a bit iffy. 1+ hour can be a challenge!
Click to expand...

Yeah that was my concern also- it was a lady and she just loved the car. Her friend that came with is a mopar guy so that was good. Really didn't expect someone wanting to drive it home that far, so I worked on it all last night and this morning to give them a sporting chance. :)

getting the wiring thing fixed was a big relief.
 
crj1968 said:
OK I will check that out also.

Let me throw this out as seems some of you east coasters are awake.

-with the headlight switch off completely I threw in another fuse (this one was a higher rating I had lying around) When I put it in that horn/key in buzzer thing started buzzing.

Annoying so I reached up in there and unplugged it. The wire to it was hot. like really hot. And the fuse blew again.

thx
Click to expand...


My son has a 71 Valiant. I believe that the buzzer was new to that year. His wire also got so hot that it melted the insulation off and shorted. The previous owner cut that circuit out.

You may want to bypass that buzzer circuit.
 
Yeah- I showed them the issue and told them "if you plug that connector in you'll have no tail-lights" Of course the thing worked perfectly until someone was on their way to pick up the car. I really appreciate your help last night ! I seriously had a hard time sleeping thinking about it.....losing my mind!
 
Just make sure they have this site name! When she shows up, we'll be sure to say "We warned him not to sell it like that!" LOL just kidding.....!
 
Ha! Well she made it home no problem. Said it ran great. Why did I doubt? ( I just limped that car home and parked it )

I am sure we will have a new member here soon...with a soon to be purple 72 swinger.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top