Alan L.
Elite Member
My 1994 Ford F250 has been blowing the taillight/instrument panel fuse. Wouldn't blow it immediately, usually only have drive a few miles. I found this tool and although I am not sure I have actually fiixed the short it gave me a good shot to locate it. You connect the buzzer/breaker to the terminals of the fuse socket for the fuse that is blowing and if there is a short the buzzer goes off.
My fuse has been blown for months, and I am about 9 months late on getting an inspection because by time I get it to the inspection station it would blow the 15 amp fuse and the tail lights wouldn't work. I pulled the fuse and broke it, inserting the metal tabs into the fusebox and connecting the device to the tabs. I turned on the lights and they worked, so the tool works as a breaker. I crawled around under the truck wiggling wires and could not get the alarm to sound and the lights still worked fine, until I closed the hood, when the alarm sounded. This time the alarm kept sounding and I could not find the wire that I could move around and get the alarm to stop.
Since the short shorted when I closed the hood I looked around under there and finally discovered a wire that seemed to not belong. There had been a CD changer behind the seats someone had installed before and had been discharging my battery until I took i out. So I figured this must be the wiring to that. There is a fairly heavy wire, actually two wires inside another layer of insulation. I could there were actually two wires and there was a roughly punched hole in the firewall that the 2 wires came out of. One then went down to the frame area, the other went from the left side of the firewall to the right and then toward the front of the truck. Mounted midway to the front on the right was a small terminal of some sort where the wire was connected. Couple of other wires coming off of this terminal were just lying there disconnected from whatever they used to be disconnect to so I taped them up.
When I saw the two wires coming out of the rough hole the firewall I thought for sure I had found the short. But I could push and pull the wire and no sign of the insulation being rubbed off and the alarm was still sounding. Turns out the wire going down to the frame went all the way to the rear bumper where it tied into the tail lights and trailer lights. Apparently there must have been a problem with this and so somebody rewired the tail lights. At this point I started tugging on the wires right where they connect to the harness leading either the tail lights or the trailer lights, and the alarm stopped. I kept tugging trying to get it give me a hint where the short was, but no more short.
After being unable to get it to short again, I put a 15 amp fuse and drove about 5 miles and the fuse didn't blow. Happy for that, but I still don't know exactly what was shorting out so who knows how long this will last.
This would have been impossible without this great tool. Actually there is also a meter than supposedly you move it up and down the supected wire and the needle will show you right were the short is. I didn't have any luck with it, but really by the time I "found" the general area of the suspected short, it was no longer a short, at least for now.
Here is the tool
http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-25300-Circuit-Detector/dp/B000RFOP1I
My fuse has been blown for months, and I am about 9 months late on getting an inspection because by time I get it to the inspection station it would blow the 15 amp fuse and the tail lights wouldn't work. I pulled the fuse and broke it, inserting the metal tabs into the fusebox and connecting the device to the tabs. I turned on the lights and they worked, so the tool works as a breaker. I crawled around under the truck wiggling wires and could not get the alarm to sound and the lights still worked fine, until I closed the hood, when the alarm sounded. This time the alarm kept sounding and I could not find the wire that I could move around and get the alarm to stop.
Since the short shorted when I closed the hood I looked around under there and finally discovered a wire that seemed to not belong. There had been a CD changer behind the seats someone had installed before and had been discharging my battery until I took i out. So I figured this must be the wiring to that. There is a fairly heavy wire, actually two wires inside another layer of insulation. I could there were actually two wires and there was a roughly punched hole in the firewall that the 2 wires came out of. One then went down to the frame area, the other went from the left side of the firewall to the right and then toward the front of the truck. Mounted midway to the front on the right was a small terminal of some sort where the wire was connected. Couple of other wires coming off of this terminal were just lying there disconnected from whatever they used to be disconnect to so I taped them up.
When I saw the two wires coming out of the rough hole the firewall I thought for sure I had found the short. But I could push and pull the wire and no sign of the insulation being rubbed off and the alarm was still sounding. Turns out the wire going down to the frame went all the way to the rear bumper where it tied into the tail lights and trailer lights. Apparently there must have been a problem with this and so somebody rewired the tail lights. At this point I started tugging on the wires right where they connect to the harness leading either the tail lights or the trailer lights, and the alarm stopped. I kept tugging trying to get it give me a hint where the short was, but no more short.
After being unable to get it to short again, I put a 15 amp fuse and drove about 5 miles and the fuse didn't blow. Happy for that, but I still don't know exactly what was shorting out so who knows how long this will last.
This would have been impossible without this great tool. Actually there is also a meter than supposedly you move it up and down the supected wire and the needle will show you right were the short is. I didn't have any luck with it, but really by the time I "found" the general area of the suspected short, it was no longer a short, at least for now.
Here is the tool
http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-25300-Circuit-Detector/dp/B000RFOP1I
:shocked:
