Hello guys,

I've got an annoying issue with my '87 Trans am for which I can't find a solution after many tries. Hoping somebody here can help me out.

So here's the story. I've got an 87 Trans am with the Digital Dashboard. My fuse for my front- and back lights always breaks down after fitting a new one. Even a fuse of 35 A breaks down while one of 20 A should be sufficient.

If the fuse breaks the headlights still work fine but won't move down (not a headlight motor issue, these are brand new). After putting in a new fuse, they do go down without any issue. The tail lights & gearbox lights on the other hand don't work after the fuse breaks. Putting in a new fuse means aprox. 30 minutes of function, then breaks down. On my dash I get the 'F' lamp code.

Does anyone have an electrical wiring of the lights, an idea where to look or have a permanent fix for my problem?

Thanks in advance!
A fella thirdgenner

 

Some questions that answers to might be of some help in diagnosing your problem....

You state that the fuse for the front and back lights blow.

What exactly are the front and back lights? Parking/turn signals in the front? Stop/tails in the back? How is this fuse labeled on the fuse block?

Does the fuse blow with the headlights on?

Does the fuse blow with no lights on?

Does the fuse blow when the parking lights are on?

Does the fuse blow when you step on the brake pedal?

Does the fuse blow when you operate the turn signals? Left only? Right only? Both?

Don't install higher rated fuses. That's just asking for trouble.

Wiring diagrams can be found here:

http://www.austinthirdgen.org/?pid=19

 

uhm brake light and parking light still work when fuse is blowed so are the turn signals. And no it randomly blows the fuse.

everything works like: turn signals, stop lights and reverse, the headlights work (but won't go down automatically), only the back lights don't work and the gearbox light. So when i'm driving and i see my gear panel going dark, then i know that my back lights aren't working anymore..

also the link doesn't work for me

 

I'll ask again: Which fuse is blowing? How is it labeled on the fuse block?

Try cutting and pasting the link in your browser address field. Or try his link:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...ing%20diagrams

Click on the first link at the top.

 

The tail

 

Since the tail light fuse blows, that narrows it down a bit.

I would pull the tail light sockets and inspect them, confirm that the bulbs are in the sockets correctly and that the correct bulbs are installed.

 

Well I did that, I stripped the whole back for my cable tree and checked everything. And did some wiring and it was working, put back the original 20 fuse and it was working for an hour so I thought I'd make a test drive and I made the second turn and blows again. So is It possible that it is in my steering column? Also, I checked everything and connected everything separately and measured the power. This all worked until I made a turn..

 

more info over this?

also i'd like to know everything that is connected to the tail fuse. i can't seem to find a decent post or diagram.

also I unplugged the front lights and wen't driving and the tail fuse blowed again, so the the front lights aren't the problem