91Z/28-406TPI

One night driving the headlight buzzer came on at that time I looked at my gauge cluster and they are all jacked up(tach buried, no volts, overheated which I know these are all wrong) SO I get the car home and find that my gauge fuse in blown. Now everytime I turn the key one click it will blow the gauge fuse. The car will start and run but when I turn the lights on with the door's closed the headlight buzzer stay's on. I have now diconnected the gauge cluster and the headlight switch and it is still blowing the fuse. Have you guy's ever heard of this? Could it be a short on the door jamb switch? This is a 1991 Z/28 with a 406 TPI and everything worked fine for months with the exception of the speedometer being off because of 373 gears and the tach has always been 1000 rpm lower than what the timing light showed.

chevymec

iTrader: (5)

Possible bad ignition switch. Could be shorting out internally.

BigBadLou

iTrader: (3)

Hey Dave, just got back online and got your email.

I would rule out the ignition switch if only one of multiple ignition fed fuses is blowing.

Have you tried pulling the chime module (audible warnings) under the dash? I'd suspect this little gizmo. If you remove the driver side knee panel, the chime module can be found to the right of the steering column, in the so called "convenience center". It's a bigger box (bigger than other boxes there). If you keep the door open with the key in, you will feel the sound when you put your finger on it.

Let us know.
Lou

91Z/28-406TPI

Yes I pulled the chime module and replaced the door switch, still blowing fuse. Some guys are saying check the pink/black wire coming out of fuse block or even the lighter.

BigBadLou

iTrader: (3)

Don't bother with the cigarette lighter, it's on a different circuit.

There are multiple circuits that are powered from the GAUGES fuse. A few that come to mind:
- cruise control - if you can find the C211 connector under the steering column and disconnect it, that would help eliminate the cruise control.
- TC lockup - remove the connectors from the brake switches to eliminate that possibility.
- EGR, canister purge and A.I.R solenoids - remove all 4 connectors to eliminate.

Hope this helps.
Lou

Speedfreak27

I'm having the same problem..... What did you find was your solution???

GMODUDE

iTrader: (2)

I have the same problem.....no one knows wht is the problem???

GMODUDE

iTrader: (2)

ttt i wanna know what is causing this. My car is getting exhaust put on it now but when its done I've got to find out what is causing my gauge fuse to blow.....If someone knew what it was then thated save me a lot of time and effort.

joey 350 LT4

OMG have exact same problem idk what happened but iwas driving home one day and than boom gauge fuse blows all gauges go dead i replaced the fuse worked again for about 5 mins than boom so i checked the only thing thats been added electricaly my singnal box for my 6-speed and the ground looked lose so i fixed it and i didnt help so now every time i go to start car i can here the gauges fuse blow plz someone tell me how to find solve problem and if i find out il let u know what happenes

ternandes

iTrader: (7)

I dunno if this helps, but my son and I did an extensive project on his 87 bird. We had removed his steering wheel in order to replace a sloppy turn signal switch and a broken wiper switch. This involved lots of disassembly of the column.

When we got it all back together, we had the same problem. The car kept blowing the fuse for the gauges. In our case, it turned out that we had pinched the cruise control signal wire, causing an intermittent short.

It's easy to check -- it is a black wire that you can unplug from a connector under the dash, near the base of the steering column.

89-bird

First off you all need to get the self resetting circuit breakers for your gauge fuse . Then check everything as posted in #5 and also check the gauges for loose connections or corrosion . I had this problem and put the self resetting breaker in place and didn't check anything for a few years until my volt gauge started going lower and lower and everything was fine so I pulled the gauges and found the volt gauge was loose and corroded . I still have the circuit breaker inplace incase of this happening again .

Jaysz28

iTrader: (30)

I have this issue, and its a bare/pinched cruise wire in the column....

took me forever to figure that one out. Unplugging the cruise fixed the fuse issue, but I lost my wipers in the process! LOL

Guess I better get that fixed soon

-jason

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

I put a new fuse in, and it will idle all day without blowing. You can turn the steering wheel and it doesn't blow. But stop and go traffic will cause it to blow after about 20 minutes.

92firebird 305

i have the same dam problem how can i fix it

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

do you have an aftermarket alarm system

92firebird 305

no i dont

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

What fuse is blowing to be exact? Have you change your brake booster or messed with your steering column?

panhead201

Do you have a digital dash?There's a little module that increases voltage on cold days so the lcd will brighten.Its in the drivers footwell where the steering column goes through the firewall.I've had this go bad.I also had a factory alarm system trembler switch located real close to the drivers side manifold.It melted or shorted out,don't which,and caused all of this.The headlight relay wiring ran through it.panhead201

92firebird 305

no idont have digital dast its a 92 firebird i put a new cluster that has 140 mph i had a 120 i thought that fixed it i went 1.5 miles with the new one and poped the fuse then came home put a new fuse in it and it poped the fuse as soon as i turned the key on and also when the headlights r on i have that noise like u left your headlights on and your keys are on in the car sound

92firebird 305

its the gauges fuse and no idid not mess with anything

TreeFiddy

Guys thru the ages: There is usually no magical single cause that will make ANY particular fuse blow. You're going to have a short or failed part that is unique to your vehicle - there is no one-size-fits-all easy answer. You are going to have to doing some informed troubleshooting.

Start by unplugging everything that the fuse runs. If the fuse stops blowing, plug things back in until it blows again. Then investigate whatever that is, and the wiring feeding it. A multimeter, and knowing how to use it, will help.

In the case of the gauges fuse, it runs a lot of stuff as mentioned previously:

http://92b4crs.tripod.com/86wiring/dia-pics/11-7.jpg

A lot of potential for things to go wrong.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

ok, now find a schematic for the gauge fuse and test every wire or devices that runs off that fuse. you may have a short or defective unit on that circuit. finding a short in wiring is like finding a vacuum leak it is long and tedious.

on my car it was ram air unit's wiring harness. the stupid alarm place decided to use use it as a ground.

92firebird 305

hey treefiddy well i checked a few things on my gauge fuse blowing again today its not the chime its not the cruise control so what could it be that link you have is for a 86 camaro will that work on my 92 firebird?

92firebird 305

i fixed mine if you have the same problem unplug your cruise control under your hood and alls your chime box under your dash its the black box on your right side of your steering wheel and it should work it fixed mine me so very happy lol

gta_knight

Just thought id kick this thread back up as this has just started happening on my car last week ! i recently had my hand up near the fuse panel running some new wiring through into the drivers door (these wires arent connected to anything yet)

The car has been stood in the garage for months while im doing bodywork and when the gauges died all i had done was run them wires and i had also adjusted the timing as it was off by 1 degree.

Ive had my head up under the dash checking for bad wires etc but couldnt see any dodgy looking ones. Im gonna try disconnecting the cruise control or the convienience centre and see what happens.

The strange thing with mine is when it first started, the SES light, handbrake, and seatbelt light would come on when i turned the ignition on then they would flicker and the fuse would blow, but after ive been under the dash wiggling the wires around, the lights on the dash are fine now, but its when you start the engine the fuse blows.

Marine_Marauder

I just had this problem and solved it by using a 20 fuse instead of a 10.

I think the viper alarm is causing the problem.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

do you have a remote starter?

gta_knight

Thats the first thing i tried when mine started but it didnt work, i actually put in a 25amp fuse and it popped too

Marine_Marauder

Nope

Marine_Marauder

I have a lot of experience troubleshooting thirdgens and c4 vette, usually these kind of things are minor and very stupid like a kinked wire or worn wire coating exposing the wire and allowing it to make contact somewhere. You'll figure it out when you don't read too much into it.

spiderg2251

My 2000 Pontiac Firebird is blowing the gauge fuse and occasionally the turn signal fuse. After gauge fuse blows, gauges of course stop working but cannot restart car once shut off, no crank no start. I disconnected the aftermarket alarm checked wiring under dash. It seems the gauge fuse is also part of the daytime running lights...didnt know if the DRL module could be the problem or bad ignition switch...it started out as an intermittent problem but has progressively gotten worse.

Marine_Marauder

Sounds like it's grounding somewhere. Does it happen randomly, when you hit a bump in the road, or when you use something specific like the cruise control? Figuring out what triggers it is the key to finding the short.

jsuitor

I have a problem blowing the 3A crank fuse, and it only seems to do it when I turn on my hazards. If anyone has any idea what this could be your help would be greatly appreciated

Tim Agnew

I have an 88 TA. Headlight retaining ring came loose and prevented the headlights from popping up all the way. Fixed that but now it blows a fuse only when trying to turn them off. They come on and pop up fine. Wth

MickB

I had this problem on my 75 and found the starter solenoid was shorting to ground internally . I was going on a hunch after searching for damaged wires , I dropped the started leaving all the wires attached , set it on a shop rage to be sure it wasn't grounded , reattached the battery ground , put in a new fuse , turned key to on and no blown fuse . Hope this helps somebody

FlumpDuster

my guage fuse keeps blowing and the buzzer comes on too