well the electrics are at it again. the fuse for the 'room clock' blows for no apparent reason, causing the light that illuminates the key hole to come on and flatten the battery without you even knowing. it actually stays on for so long sometimes you smell the plastic melting, but what scares me is the thought that one day it will probably incinerate the hole dash. i should probably add that the fuel gauge hasn't worked in 5 years and the electronic dash clock works sometimes, other times you give the dash a swift bang and away she goes thats all normal and its easily worked around.

the fuse use to blow quite allot years ago but hasn't given trouble until today and im hoping it isn't an indication of things getting worse again. i find it really bizarre that the light only comes on after the fuse has blown and not before. it would make sense the the other way around but this gets me stumped.

i have been told to replace the dash but dont really want to until i can solve what the hell the problem is. i would imagine its a short that blows the fuse, but cant see a connection between that and this dam light. the only thing that i suspect is that maybe there is a relay that is activated somehow by the dash clock that is meant to time how long the light stays on for and when the clock is not functional the relay just stays closed or something i dont know.
any help / suggestions gladly appreciated
thanks allot!
regards jay

Simple. You have a short circuit somewhere. Take it to an auto electrician to get looked at. Until you do, park away from the house and have a fire extinguisher ready.

i would take it but money is an issue! i have thought about getting in there with the multimetre and seeimng if i can sort it out but the fire extinguisher sounds easier
thanks
regards jay

check the relays under the bonnet and above
the accelerator pedal under the dash

pull the instument panel out look for breaks in the printed circuits
and corosion on the plugs and pin ins



what other devices run through the fuse that is blowing

just typical with old cars the wiring goes funny with age

Is it the stock globe? If its burning the plastic, it sounds like someone has put a higher wattage globe in.

Its the other way around. There is a short circuit somewhere, causing the light to go on, plastic to smell overheated, a fuse to blow. If thumping the dash cures the problem, inside the dash is the best place to look. One way to trace it is to wait for the fault to occur, then pull all the fuses and check with a multimeter set to amps to see which fuse is pulling power. This will tell you what part of the electrics is having problems. With the fuses out you can take the positive off the battery and use the current meter between the battery terminal and cable clamp to see if there is a power draw in the unfused part of the circuitry. Locating the problem will be 99% of the repair job, once located the fix should be easy.

im in the process of replacing the dash now as indicated in another post.
i believe the short is in the dash board its self so hopefully when its replaced problem fixed. the only thing about being a short is that the light only comes on when the fuse blows. as soon as you put a new fuse in there its gone strait away and doesn't come back till next time it blows. as to the wattage of the globe i think the problem is more the period its on for considering sometimes it can go days before its detected. the only reason its normally detected is at night when you can see the light or when the battery is almost flat and everything is very dim.
all of this is not so much a problem thought because its always a simple fix if you catch it soon enough.the only reason im really worrying about it now and not 5 years ago when it started is because i need a roadworthy soon and for that you need a working fuel gauge.
thanks
regards jay

i should probably mention that to stop it from blowing all the time there is a 25 amp fuse in there (originally 10 amp). although this is not ideal its been like it for 5 years and only last week did it become a problem again. the battery never goes flat so it is only a intermittent short. if it were shorting all the time then it would flatten the battery over night considering it draws over 25 amps at some time or another.

NEVER PUT A BIGGER FUSE IN SOMEPLACE ITS NOT MENT TO BE, it can casue wiring to melt and catch fire if its below the rating of the fuse (the fuse it there to protect the car if something shorts, uprating the fuse will stop this protection and can cause fires