Fuse keeps blowing on instrument lights panel on a 1999 Honda Civic DX?

H

honda guy

New member
when the fuse blows you have a short circuit that causes a high current flow to melt the fuse. if the fuse blows as soon as it is put in then you have a 'dead short' that is a hot wire that is touching the metal of the car (ground).

if the fuse takes a while to blow then you can narrow down the cause.

i would recommend turning all of the following off:
headlight switch
heater control switches
stereo
hazard warrning switch
rear window defogger switch
cruise control switch (if on the DX)
brightness controller for the lights on the dash.

then replace the fuse. if the fuse does not blow, then start by turning the ignition ON and then turning the items on one at a time to see what item causes the fuse to blow. start with the stereo, rear window defogger, hazard flasher and cruise control if you have it (I don't think that is on the DX). if the fuse blows when one of those items is turned on, then the component or leg of that circuit is what is causing the problem. if the fuse is still good, then turn on the headlamps. if the fuse blows then its either the headlamp switch, the heater control panel or the automatic transmission gearshift light. if the car is a manual trans you can rule that out.

it sounds like the switch that turns the headlights on is what would most likely cause the problem but you need to be systematic in your approach to eliminating the other possible causes before you just change the switch.

also, if the fuse blows immediattely be sure to check the wires for the short to ground

if the fuse stays "good" after all the items are turned ON then wiglgle the harness and see if you can make the fuse blow by moving the wires around

hope that helps

then turn on the heater blower motor
 
when the fuse blows you have a short circuit that causes a high current flow to melt the fuse. if the fuse blows as soon as it is put in then you have a 'dead short' that is a hot wire that is touching the metal of the car (ground).

if the fuse takes a while to blow then you can narrow down the cause.

i would recommend turning all of the following off:
headlight switch
heater control switches
stereo
hazard warrning switch
rear window defogger switch
cruise control switch (if on the DX)
brightness controller for the lights on the dash.

then replace the fuse. if the fuse does not blow, then start by turning the ignition ON and then turning the items on one at a time to see what item causes the fuse to blow. start with the stereo, rear window defogger, hazard flasher and cruise control if you have it (I don't think that is on the DX). if the fuse blows when one of those items is turned on, then the component or leg of that circuit is what is causing the problem. if the fuse is still good, then turn on the headlamps. if the fuse blows then its either the headlamp switch, the heater control panel or the automatic transmission gearshift light. if the car is a manual trans you can rule that out.

it sounds like the switch that turns the headlights on is what would most likely cause the problem but you need to be systematic in your approach to eliminating the other possible causes before you just change the switch.

also, if the fuse blows immediattely be sure to check the wires for the short to ground

if the fuse stays "good" after all the items are turned ON then wiglgle the harness and see if you can make the fuse blow by moving the wires around

hope that helps

then turn on the heater blower motor
 
when the fuse blows you have a short circuit that causes a high current flow to melt the fuse. if the fuse blows as soon as it is put in then you have a 'dead short' that is a hot wire that is touching the metal of the car (ground).

if the fuse takes a while to blow then you can narrow down the cause.

i would recommend turning all of the following off:
headlight switch
heater control switches
stereo
hazard warrning switch
rear window defogger switch
cruise control switch (if on the DX)
brightness controller for the lights on the dash.

then replace the fuse. if the fuse does not blow, then start by turning the ignition ON and then turning the items on one at a time to see what item causes the fuse to blow. start with the stereo, rear window defogger, hazard flasher and cruise control if you have it (I don't think that is on the DX). if the fuse blows when one of those items is turned on, then the component or leg of that circuit is what is causing the problem. if the fuse is still good, then turn on the headlamps. if the fuse blows then its either the headlamp switch, the heater control panel or the automatic transmission gearshift light. if the car is a manual trans you can rule that out.

it sounds like the switch that turns the headlights on is what would most likely cause the problem but you need to be systematic in your approach to eliminating the other possible causes before you just change the switch.

also, if the fuse blows immediattely be sure to check the wires for the short to ground

if the fuse stays "good" after all the items are turned ON then wiglgle the harness and see if you can make the fuse blow by moving the wires around

hope that helps

then turn on the heater blower motor
 
when the fuse blows you have a short circuit that causes a high current flow to melt the fuse. if the fuse blows as soon as it is put in then you have a 'dead short' that is a hot wire that is touching the metal of the car (ground).

if the fuse takes a while to blow then you can narrow down the cause.

i would recommend turning all of the following off:
headlight switch
heater control switches
stereo
hazard warrning switch
rear window defogger switch
cruise control switch (if on the DX)
brightness controller for the lights on the dash.

then replace the fuse. if the fuse does not blow, then start by turning the ignition ON and then turning the items on one at a time to see what item causes the fuse to blow. start with the stereo, rear window defogger, hazard flasher and cruise control if you have it (I don't think that is on the DX). if the fuse blows when one of those items is turned on, then the component or leg of that circuit is what is causing the problem. if the fuse is still good, then turn on the headlamps. if the fuse blows then its either the headlamp switch, the heater control panel or the automatic transmission gearshift light. if the car is a manual trans you can rule that out.

it sounds like the switch that turns the headlights on is what would most likely cause the problem but you need to be systematic in your approach to eliminating the other possible causes before you just change the switch.

also, if the fuse blows immediattely be sure to check the wires for the short to ground

if the fuse stays "good" after all the items are turned ON then wiglgle the harness and see if you can make the fuse blow by moving the wires around

hope that helps

then turn on the heater blower motor
 
Just the other day, all the lights in my instrument light panel blacked out, I just went to replace the old blow fuse with a new one and as soon as I plugged it in, it just blew out again. I don't want to keep blowing fuses, so is there anything I can do to fix the problem so I can see again??
 
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