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Keep blowing taillight fuse

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Old 03-19-2011, 06:58 PM
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exarmyguy
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Default Keep blowing taillight fuse

Hey guys, need some help. Ok, so the other night I noticed my tail lights were out, but brake lights still worked... Popped the hood, found a blown fuse. Replaced it and tail lights worked. Drove around last night for awhile and once again taillights stopped working... and once again blown fuse.

A little about my Z. I have a 2005 Base. I upgraded to 06 Led taillights and 06 Bi-xenon headlights. I never replaced any fuses when I did the conversion. I've had this setup for over six months with no problems. So do you guys think I have a short somewhere, or do you think maybe the headlights are using more power then the stock halogen headlights thus causing blown fuses? I would think if that was the case the headlight fuses would go bad, not the taillights. Any help?
Old 03-19-2011, 09:31 PM
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davidv
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You are correct.

The fuse is blown when amperage draw exceeds amperage marked on the fuse. This is not a headlight problem. Most likely it it a short to ground where a hot wire contacts a ground.
Old 03-20-2011, 05:04 AM
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kevinkhan817
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Default headlight problem solution maybe

i had this problem come up before. try checking the wires going into your headlights they might be rubbing on one of your wheels.
Old 03-20-2011, 05:09 AM
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meanz
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ihad the problem, came to be that fuse block under the hood, had a short in it, bought a used one and never had a problem since.
Old 03-24-2011, 02:31 PM
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exarmyguy
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Thanks for the tip meanz. I replaced the entire fuse box under the hood with a used one I found on ebay and everything is working fine now. Must of had a short in it.
Old 03-24-2011, 06:35 PM
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exarmyguy
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Ok, so drove around tonight, taillights went out again! I guess its off to the stealership.
Old 03-27-2011, 10:22 AM
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meanz
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damn that sucks they went out again, go through all your wires in the wire loom and make sure there is nothing shorting out somewhere. before i replaced my fuse box i could literally clamp the thing together in my hand and make the lights come on...also did you replace the fuse box that is under the plastic trim on the passenger side, cant see it unless you take it apart? its called the IPDM i think

Keep blowing taillight fuse-ipdm.jpg
Old 05-26-2011, 05:20 PM
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seekanddestroy
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OP what was the resolution? I'm having the same problem.
Old 05-26-2011, 05:57 PM
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exarmyguy
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Ok, so I finally got the problem fixed. Went to a local shop and they were able to trace the short. Looks like the front wiring harness that goes from the front headlight to the drivers compartment had a bare wire that was rubbing against my K&N air filter box. Fixed the wire and now tail lights are working fine. Here is a picture-

The arrow is pointing to the wiring harness that had a bare wire exposed. The harness goes underneath the air filter and to the headlight. It was rubbing against the metal box which was causing the short.
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Last edited by exarmyguy; 05-26-2011 at 06:00 PM.
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Old 11-01-2016, 10:13 AM
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sreadon
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Originally Posted by exarmyguy
Ok, so I finally got the problem fixed. Went to a local shop and they were able to trace the short. Looks like the front wiring harness that goes from the front headlight to the drivers compartment had a bare wire that was rubbing against my K&N air filter box. Fixed the wire and now tail lights are working fine. Here is a picture-

The arrow is pointing to the wiring harness that had a bare wire exposed. The harness goes underneath the air filter and to the headlight. It was rubbing against the metal box which was causing the short.
Hi,

Just registered to say THANK YOU, I owe you a beer if you ever come next to Paris in France I had the exact same problem on my car, with in addition my left xenon that was not working..

Here is the pic of the wire before we changed it..



So guys, if you have the same K&N box as we do, take a look at your wires before this plate cut them..
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