So I have come into a issue where the car is Almost instantly blowing a fuse , it is the gauges fuse on a 1986 Firebird. All I was curious about was if anyone knew what exactly was all connected directly to that fuse ? And where exactly I can find the connectors to unplug? I plan on testing all the different things connected to determine where I should be looking for broken wires. Any diagrams would help. I did find one diagram but it didn’t have a buffer box or anything else on that fuse so I was confused . Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

It's gonna' suck chasing this one down The schematics are for an 86 Firebird.









With any luck you can narrow down your starting point based on the schematics. Start with a handful of good 10 AMP fuses ! The first thing I'd do is remove the audio alarm then try a good fuse. If that don't work,...... you're on your own ! ( Gonna' have to keep probing circuits or unplugging accessories till you find the short. )

 

Using an old fuse, with wires attached to each terminal , or tool below, wire a headlamp in series where the fuse was. This will prevent the fuse from blowing while you test. When the light goes out, you have found your short, or the wire causing the short.

Link wont post.

https://www.harborfreight.com/30-amp...ter-67724.html

This way you won't waste a bunch of fuses.

 

Headlight used for locating shorts - about the 4:00 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZEN...8#action=share

 

i recently discovered a aftermarket immobilizer with some questionable wiring, could this potentially be my issue do you think? I am in the process of removing it anyway because it definitely isn’t doing what it should be. Anything I should know?

 

Any used veh. I buy, first thing to go, is any aftermarket Alarm or immobilizer.

 

CHECK YOUR BATTERY and Alternator. I had this issue happen to me twice. I checked everything connected to the fuse all of them were fine, I kept unplugging things no difference. Eventually my battery died. Jumped it and the fuse stopped popping. Until a few days later it happened again and then my alternator died.

Second time happened a month or so ago, I made a thread about it. Try unplugging everything again, turns out my battery was bad.

Get your battery and alternator load tested. Even if your battery is showing 12.68-12.8 volts it may not be drawing full strength under load which causes a short somewhere and the gauge fuse pops.
For whatever reason our cars the Brake Light Staying On and the Gauge fuse popping are our two electrical indicators. It's how they were built.

 

that is something I will definitely check then! My brake lights are not staying on though. I will look into it and see. I’m sure whoever swapped this motor in did it very rushed ( it shows on how things are connected) is it usual one or another? Or the fuse and the lights both stay on?

 

I figured out the issue I do believe. After removing the immobilizer ( which was terribly wired and needed to be removed.) I tested again and blew yet another fuse. Then I ripped out my head unit for the 3rd time. Discovered 2 RCA cables that were uncovered and decided to make sure they were free and not touching anything . Then sure enough I turned the key and put in a new fuse. And all was good. Thanks everyone for all the help

 

It's going to be nice having everything connected to that Gauge fuse working again; Congratulations !!!

 

The stuff that blows that fuse. There is just way too many things connected to it.