Instrument Panel, Stereo, etc. on the fritz :-(

[steelman]

Are you going to make me go outside, in the rain, and look to see what that fuse is used for?

hmmmm...that would be better than ME going out into the rain! I'll pop my hood here and see what the lid says...

[steelman]

Are you going to make me go outside, in the rain, and look to see what that fuse is used for?

OK...All I see is that it's labeled "F17 I.O.D.". There is no chart in the owners manual that says specifically what each fues is for in the power distribution center like there is for the fuse box behind the glove box...

[TJSUPE]

From some research and talking with blaine we determined that that wire (pink with a shite stripe) went to the light/dimmer switch. Bob checked it and messed with it but it still blew...

Maybe it goes to a few different things....??....

[steelman]

From some research and talking with blaine we determined that that wire [COLOR="Red"](pink with a shite stripe)[/COLOR] went to the light/dimmer switch. Bob checked it and messed with it but it still blew...

Maybe it goes to a few different things....??....

I think Supe means pink with a WHITE stripe, although "shit-e" may be more fitting at the moment!!

[TJSUPE]

uh when I was under your steering wheel, It was Shit-e for sure!

[Dukes69]

do the following items work:

Sound bar/dome light
underhood light

?

[Dukes69]

In my dim understanding of wiring diagrams, fuse 17 (pk/wt) goes to the following items:
underhood lamp
instrument cluster
data link connector
left courtsy lamp
right courtsy lamp
Radio
sound bar/dome light

I would check in and around all those items for loose, frayed, broken, shit-e wires. If all else fails just start tracing wires from the fuse . . . you'll find it eventually.

[steelman]

In my dim understanding of wiring diagrams, fuse 17 (pk/wt) goes to the following items:
underhood lamp
instrument cluster
data link connector
left courtsy lamp
right courtsy lamp
Radio
sound bar/dome light

I would check in and around all those items for loose, frayed, broken, shit-e wires. If all else fails just start tracing wires from the fuse . . . you'll find it eventually.

Yup, all of those things are dead, and I have had them all disconnected at one point, and still the fuse blew, so it sounds like it's a shit-e wire somewhere...that sux! That bundle of wires coming out of the power distribution box under the hood is like an inch thick, and is wrapped like hell. This is going to be a LOT of fun...:confused2 :mad:

[TJSUPE]

This may be a cheap way of doing it, but if we just re route a new pink/shite wire from the engine compartment to where it needs to go maybe we wont have to unmount everything since we know its that wire. Though we would need to unwrap everything under the steering I think to follow where it goes, then unplug the old shit-e wire and plug the new one in.

Just a thought. thinking outloud.

[Russ Chung]

Bob,

I.O.D. = "Ignition Off Draw" circuit. It's the circuit that remains energized when the ignition is off.

When we were troubleshooting the problem on Sunday, we concluded that the short is AFTER the C203 connector (the one under the dash by the steering column) because once we disconnected it, the current draw decreased. There are only five components after the C203 connector:
1. Left courtesy light
2. Instrument Cluster
3. Data Link Connector
4. Radio
5. Right courtesy light

Since you disconnected all five components, and the fuse still blows, the short must be in the wire somewhere between the C203 connector and one (or more) of the five components. The diagram in post #9 above should give you an idea of which wire bundles contain the circuit. Notice that the schematic diagram shows that there is a splice (S204) where the wire splits off to go to the five components. According to the service manual, that splice is located in the wire bundle that runs along the bottom edge of the dash near the glove box. If you can find that splice, you might be able to isolate the source of the short circuit by disconnecting and reconnecting the five segments one at a time to see which segment is causing the problem.

[steelman]

Russ, if I'm reading your post correctly, I need to disconnect the C203 connection and then try the fuse. If it doesn't blow, then the problem should be between that connection and one of the components that follows that connection, correct?

Don't think I'll have time to work on this this weekend with the Easter Bunny coming and all, but looks like I have another 'troubleshooting night' to plan for next week.

[Russ Chung]

Russ, if I'm reading your post correctly, I need to disconnect the C203 connection and then try the fuse. If it doesn't blow, then the problem should be between that connection and one of the components that follows that connection, correct?

Yes that's right. On Sunday, with C203 disconnected, the ohm meter indicated that the circuit between the PDC and C203 is OK, so the problem is between the C203 and one of the five "downstream" components.

[steelman]

After spending WAY too much time on this thing Saturday evening (Thanks to TJSUPE for all of the help!), we discovered that when the 'blue' connector (not sure if it's C203 or not, but it is in the same location as Russ's diagram) is disconnected, the short goes away. Thinking that it was C203, we disconnected EVERYTHING that is listed above, and still the short did not go away.

Any way to determine the exact "identity" of that blue connector?

[TJSUPE]

Sounds like its time to start unwrapping the wires and following that wire to see where it is frayed.

[Russ Chung]

Any way to determine the exact "identity" of that blue connector?

Since fuse #17 blows when it is connected and doesn't blow when it is disconnected, that's pretty good proof that it is C203.

The blue is the color of the insulator. The connector diagram in post #9 above shows three connectors located together and marked as C202 "gray". C203 "green" and C204 "red". I suppose there is a colored tag or a stripe or something to identify them. Good luck; I just went out to my Jeep but I couldn't tell how the connectors are marked.

C202 only has 12 pins; both C203 and C204 have 14 pins. All of C203's 14 pins should be used (except that there is a possibility that since you don't have fog lights, pin #13 might be empty). C204 also has 14 pins but one pin (pin #5) is not used.