I lost my dash lights some time ago, no idea when, but I don't drive in the dark and haven't driven this car in over a year. I've tracked it down to the tail lamp fuse, which didn't look blown, but when I replace it and turn the lights on, it immediately blows. So the story goes, today I decided to go ahead replace all the lights in the back. Keep in mind these lights are all original. Half my bulbs came right out of their bases and I had to use pliers to twist them out and the rear markers were black as they could be. Next, I'm taking out the fronts because they're original too. The only external lights that have ever been replaced are the headlights and running lights next to them. Hopefully this fixes the problem.

 

Fuse blows = too much current

Usual reason for that is, a pinched wire somewhere, a bulb messed up in the socket, broken socket, etc., penny in the cig lighter. You get the idea no doubt.

Bulbs being "black" won't cause that. That's the natural way bulbs age out; the filament (part that glows) sorta evaporates over time, and slowly the metal vapor condenses on the inside of the glass. Obviously not "good", but, normal, and NOT something that'll blow fuses.

YOu may find that the sockets the bulbs plug into, are farkled somehow. One of the contacts down in the bottom touching the shell perhaps, maybe broken plastic or whatever. NBD you can buy em at any parts store and just swap em out.

 

Pull all the bulbs on that circuit, put a new fuse in, switch the lights on. Does the fuse blow?
If so, then the problem is in the wiring. If not, start inserting bulbs until the fuse blows.
You now have pinpointed the problem area.

 

The bulbs that came out of their bases pulled right apart. I'm just going to replace all of them while I'm in there.

 

I ordered a pack of 30's specifically for this.

 

30A fuses will find the problem right quick , course you may want to pick up a spare car for when the ensuing fire destroys the one you've got now .....

 

I've always taken for granted everything was correct. Turns out the person I bought it from over 20 year ago had put 30 amp fuses in the tail, courtesy, and hazard/stop slots and they're all supposed to be 20's.

 

Well I'm glad your smarter than the previous owner , the good ol "I'll just use a bigger fuse" lunacy has likely caused more wiring harness fires than any other single reason . Using your car's specified 20A fuses will still allow troubleshooting while not stressing the wires too greatly . Our cars are kinda notorious for inadequate factory wire size (hence the popular "Headlight relay mod." as well as the "power window relay mod") and there's no need in provoking the tiny little wires to go poof

 

Found it!
My radio ground got wired into the brown dimmer wire behind the dash.
I had no idea the power antenna was a ground point as well, so imagine my surprise when I cut the ground and it still turned on. I ended up bypassing the factory ground wire altogether and grounding it to the nut in the back of the pod and did some zip tying to clean it all up. Everything works again. Just need to install the new power antenna now and run a new green wire.

 

So did all your lights then flash like a disco when you cranked the radio up? Cue up Saturday Night Fever music.

 

I'm thinking about mounting a disco ball in place of the overhead light.