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

[steelman]

Hey Gang,
Wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and/or knows how to fix; When leaving camp at Calico this afternoon, I noticed that my stereo was not working. Not even the clock that's usually there when the Jeep is on. A few minutes later it dawned on me that none of my guages in my instrument panel were working either. Upon further investigation, I also found that I cannot turn on the interior lights.
We discovered that the 10 amp fuse in the power distribution box was blown, and when we went to replace it, the new fuse blew immediately upon contact with the socket. Thanks to Russ Chung's volt/ohm meter and TJSupe's acrobatic crawling under my dashboard (I'llpost a pic later ), we believe that we have tracked a short somewhere between the firewall and the dash board. Not really sure how to pinpoint this exactly and I'm now officially seeking help from the pros here! Any help is appreciated!

[sam 15]

Look at this and see if it helps, Steelman. Hopefluuy your promlem is more simple to fix (anything electrical is a gamble with me. If I touch any two wires together I will usually get smoke........)

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1339049

[sam 15]

Hopefluuy your promlem

apparently the keyboard is a gamble from time to time..LOL

[steelman]

That's a great write-up. I'll definately give this a shot. Could something have gotten in there to create a short causing the fuse to instantly blow upon attempted replacement?

[steelman]

Look at this and see if it helps, Steelman. Hopefluuy your promlem is more simple to fix (anything electrical is a gamble with me. If I touch any two wires together I will usually get smoke........)

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1339049

Well, I tried what was done in this write up, and no luck :angry:. Even with the instrument panel removed, the fuse still blows upon immediate contact. I'M puzzled :dunno:

[RangerRick]

Bob,
Check your under dash cabin lights for a bad (glass bulb twists in it's metal base), bulb base. 97's & 98's have metal base bayonet style bulbs under the dash unlike the 99+ with glass base bulbs. The glue can fail & the wires can twist in the base causing a short that will kill that 10A fuse instantly. This can do what you described taking out lots of circuits running off that 10A fuse under the hood. Hope this post helps you. It was good to see you on the run this weekend......
Rick OllllllO

[TJSUPE]

Bob,
Check your under dash cabin lights for a bad (glass bulb twists in it's metal base), bulb base. 97's & 98's have metal base bayonet style bulbs under the dash unlike the 99+ with glass base bulbs. The glue can fail & the wires can twist in the base causing a short that will kill that 10A fuse instantly. This can do what you described taking out lots of circuits running off that 10A fuse under the hood. Hope this post helps you. It was good to see you on the run this weekend......
Rick OllllllO

That makes a lot of sense. I was looking in the manuel last night and learned the wire we were tracing that had the short led to the in cab light you are describing.

Thanks!

[steelman]

Bob,
Check your under dash cabin lights for a bad (glass bulb twists in it's metal base), bulb base. 97's & 98's have metal base bayonet style bulbs under the dash unlike the 99+ with glass base bulbs. The glue can fail & the wires can twist in the base causing a short that will kill that 10A fuse instantly. This can do what you described taking out lots of circuits running off that 10A fuse under the hood. Hope this post helps you. It was good to see you on the run this weekend......
Rick OllllllO

Interesting...I will definately check this today! Thanks Rick. Nice meeting you as well :thumbs_up

[Russ Chung]

Bob,
Check your under dash cabin lights for a bad (glass bulb twists in it's metal base), bulb base. 97's & 98's have metal base bayonet style bulbs under the dash unlike the 99+ with glass base bulbs. The glue can fail & the wires can twist in the base causing a short that will kill that 10A fuse instantly. This can do what you described taking out lots of circuits running off that 10A fuse under the hood. Hope this post helps you. It was good to see you on the run this weekend......
Rick OllllllO

Bob, the pink/white wire we were tracing is the correct wire for the circuit in question. After the C203 connector under the dash, that wire goes to a splice S204 and then branches out to five components:
1. Left courtesy lamp, pin A
2. Right courtesy lamp, pin A
3. Instrument cluster C2 connector, pin 9
4. Data link connector, pin 16
5. Radio C1 connector, pin 7

If removing/replacing the bulbs as Rick suggested doesn't fix the short circuit, here's what I suggest:
1. Remove both courtesy light bulbs
2. Disconnect the radio C1 connector
3. Disconnect the instrument cluster C2 connector
4. I assume that nothing is connected to the Data link connector, hence there should be nothing to disconnect.
5. Replace the 10A fuse in the power distribution center
6. If the fuse blows, then the problem is that the pink/white wire is shorted to ground somewhere under the dash
7. If the fuse doesn't blow, then reconnect the components one at a time until the fuse blows. When the fuse blows, the component that you connected last is the one that is causing the problem.

This diagram shows where the connectors are located:

[steelman]

Russ,
Thanks for all of the information...that definately gives me something to go on. I tried removing both lights in the footwells, and with both of them out, the fuse still blew. On to the next item on the list! Gotta love these Jeeps!

[maddmike]

you're more persistent than me...I would probably just leave the freakin thing broken.
if i break something and don't try to fix it, it will just stay broken. usually if i try to fix it, something else breaks too and i'm worse off than when i started...

[steelman]

Well...I have disconnected everything noted above and a few extras (like headlight switch, etc.) and still no luck. Maybe if I disconnect my swaybars, that'll fix the problem!!!

Anyway, I'm not sure what to do to this thing yet. Waiting for another user on this board to get back into town to see if I can twist their arm into taking a look at it, and then will go from there. aarrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!! lol

[Dukes69]

Bob-
You said a 10 amp fuse was blown, but which was was it? and was it in the glove box or under the hood?

[steelman]

Bob-
You said a 10 amp fuse was blown, but which was was it? and was it in the glove box or under the hood?

Hey Chris,
The fuse is in the power distribution box under the hood. I believe it's labeled #17.

[Dukes69]

Hey Chris,
The fuse is in the power distribution box under the hood. I believe it's labeled #17.

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