2000 dodge ram engine control fuse

anybody have a clue why my engine control fuse would keep blowing? My truck recently died on the road, got it towed to a service station, turned out to be the fuse. they replaced it and the guy told me if I put a 35 amp fuse in ( it takes a 30) I probably would not have a problem again. well, THEY put in a 30 and within thirty minuttes of driving it blew again. I swapped a 40 in there ( pulled from the tow lights fuse) and got back home. going to go buy some spare fuses, but was wondering if anyone had a clue why it would do that, and what issues I might run into if I put a bigger fuse in.

Reply to
edtheward
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Melting wires instead of fuses. You're heading for bigger problems going to 35 amps, 40 amps...

Reply to
Beryl

Fuses blow for a reason. That particular fuse powers the ASD relay, which in turn powers the fuel injectors (I'm assuming a gasoline engine here) and ignition coil. Check the wiring harness for any damage between the Power Distribution Center and these components. It's possible one of the fuel injector solenoids is drawing too much current, and causing your problem.

Putting in a larger fuse will (may) mask the problem, but allow for the overloading of the wires in your wiring harness. That leads to just as hard a breakdown, only the fix is much more complicated.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

And may involve a fire extinguisher.

Reply to
Max Dodge

Ya, when I was in the Navy we called that the smoke test. Jumper the fuse and see what smokes!

JAM

Reply to
Bill Dukenfield

yes, it is a gas powered 360 magnum.

thanks for the replies. both times the fuse blew I was accelerating from a stop sign or pulling out onto a road. I guess that may point to the injectors.

any way I can properly test this on my own? or test the current at the fuse? I am not an idiot when it comes to vehicles, but far from a mechanic. some sort of suggestion would be of help. I am a little peeved that the shop I went to fixed the fuse but did not look farther into why it was happening.

I bought a few spare 30amp fuses so If I do try anything I have a backup in case it is still blowing fuses.

thanks again for the replies. If anyone has any more suggestions I would be glad to hear them.

I will be inspecting the wiring harness cables ( that I can get to) visually first.

Reply to
EDTHEWARD

Well, not much point in testing the current at the fuse... it's already telling you it's >30A.

You can do a quick test on the injectors... disconnect the electrical connector (carefully... those little locking tabs tend to get brittle over time, and can break easily) from each injector, and measure the resistance across the injector terminals. The FSM says you should measure 12 ohms, +/-

1.2 ohms (10.8 to 13.2). Do this when the engine is cold.
Reply to
Tom Lawrence

what kind of tester do you recommend?

Reply to
EDTHEWARD

Any digital multimeter would be fine. If you're going to buy one, you don't have to spend a lot of money, but make sure you get one that takes "normal" (AA, AAA, 9V) batteries, and not some hard-to-find specialty battery.

The one I normally use on my vehicles cost me less than $20, IIRC.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

I use one like this

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'cept mine is yellow.

Reply to
Beryl

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