Ford Fiesta 1.4 2003 popping fuses wildly

Jan 07, 2007 6 Replies
S

You may have noticed the thread earlier about getting decent access to the fusebox of said vehicle.



The fuse was replaced for the head lights and they worked fine for one full night. The problem now, is that the fuse keeps popping when trying to turn on the head lights!



Side lights come on fine, it's when turning to 'two' (main beam) that the pop noise from the box appears and the fuse dies.



I have tried disconnecting the connectors from the headlight bulbs and replacing the fuse; same result.



Do Fiesta's of this vintage have a common electrical fault in this area?



If it's any help, it's also constantly popping the 3A fuse that tells the CD player that the engine is running and not to revert to "1 HOUR" mode. Examine the wiring and there's nothing obvious with the wiring such as dampness or dirt, so no clear cut shorts.


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S

"Sandy Nuts" wrote in news:OS0oh.26730$ snipped-for-privacy@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

Regarding the lights, I would first try removing the bulbs and then see if you're still blowing fuses with the circuit switched on. Don't know about the CD player one of where it's fed from.

Stu

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C

The OP said that it blows the fuse with the connector removed from the bulbs...

Usual DIY way to find this type of fault is to make up a test lamp with a reasonable size bulb - say a 21 Watt indicator one. Remove the fuse, then carefully push the test light wires in to where the fuse plugs in. Disconnect the headlight connectors. Switch the circuit on.

Now, every time the fault is present the test bulb will glow brightly. You will need to go around the wiring loom, connectors and switches and move them about. You can also try disconnecting parts of the loom at the various connectors to isolate the fault. When the fault is clear, the bulb will go out.

It would be easier to use a wiring diagram to help you with this, but I suspect if you were able to use one, you wouldn't have asked for help :-)

HTH

Chris

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S

Chris Whelan wrote in news:ez4oh.42711$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe2-win.ntli.net:

Oops...sorry!

Stu

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S

Sound possible switch at fault

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L

I second that. You may find a buzzer in place of the 21W test lamp more convenient if you have to concentrate on the wiring looms, etc.. A simple lights-on reminder buzzer, perhaps from a scrappy, is suitable.

Another option is a short circuit finder. This is again placed between the fuse terminals, generating electrical pulses continuously. The whole loop of this circuit, upstream and downstream of the fuse box, emits electromagnetic pulses along the wire in concert. A simple detector with a needle dial hovering along the wire sensing the electromagnetic pulses then deflects rhythmically. Where this stops is where the short is. Needless to say, this saves a lot of time and bother, and is especially useful when the elusive gremlin is intermittent. "Find That Short the Easy Way"

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12V, some short (circuit) finders/detectors: (No standard name yet)
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