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Fuse blowing - instrument lamp circuit - '81 Pontiac ??

Hello Folks. I have a '81 Pontiac Parisienne, 305 Hcode engine. Recently the instrument lamp circuit (" ins lmp " on fusebox ) fuse was blown; resulting in dashboard lights out and headlights left on warning bell not sounding. I replaced fuse ( tough to get to - in top left corner of fusebox ), but it blew again ~3 hours later as I was driving.

Questions: What shoul I be looking for to remedy this? ( intermittent short somewhere? ) The instrument panel is printed circuit I believe so it's probably sound. I replaced heater core and spark plugs last week -- the only recent work on car.

- Could I get away with a crude workaround to problem by replacing the 5 amp. fuse with a 7.5 amp. fuse? Or will this fry the circuit?

Please reply to NG. Thanks, JS

Reply to
john
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I'd say that you have an intermittent short in the dash area. This could be because of a wire that was moved when you replaced the heater core, or just a normal time of life failure. The printed circuit panel is not always foolproof, and that could be a normal time of life failure as well.

What I would do is take apart the dash and check (and replace) the wires etc. (and look for any bulbs that are going bad as well :)

Do NOT replace the fuse with a higher current fuse. This may cause a fire, especially with a short circuit. It's prolly not worth your life to save a few hours of poking in the dashboard.

Vuarra

Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur. (That which is said in Latin sounds profound.)

Reply to
Vuarra

The first thing I'd do is disconnect the headlamp warning chime and see if the fuse blows again. (carry some spares)

The copper striping on the printed circuit will come loose with age, especially where the connector plugs in, so that would be the next thing to check. if the copper is peeling loose, you can glue it back down with super glue.

All underhood, all unrelated to the dash lights.

The weakest link is the printed circuit and yes, it will probably fry at 7.5 amps. I wouldn't over fuse it.

Reply to
Neil Nelson

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