Blowin' too many fuses...

[TimboSHO]

I recently did the foglight mod, and installed a new head unit at the same time. I have the accesories lead going to the power antena wire on the car (yellow and black). My car is not equipped with a power antenna, and there doesn't seem to be anything else. I also hooked up this to the foglight switch because it's on whenever the car is on, and i couldn't find a parking lights power lead. ??? Anyways, since i did that, the fuse to my dash lights has blown 3 times, and the fuse to my power windows twice, and the fuse to my parking lights once. What is going on? Why would a power antenna connection blow all of those fuses? Do you thing a relay would help? Anyhelp would be fantastic! Thanks.

 

[projectSHO89]

Hmm, just looked up these circuits in the 89 EVTM.

There is no commonality in these 3 circuits on the power side (haven't checked the ground side yet) that would explain the fuses popping. Fuses usually don't blow by themselves, they require a current in excess of their rating in order to blow.

Best suggestion is to remove the foglight mod, and then confirm that you used the correct wires to supply your new head unit. Also pull the stereo out and inspect the wiring harnesses for any connection that may be shorting out.

Parking light power is the BROWN wire coming off the main headlamp switch. If you add the load of the fog lamps to the parking lamp circuit, you run the risk of overheating the headlamp switch.

You can download electical diagrams from http://www.ford-taurus.narod.ru/ . The site is slow and is in Russian, but the diagrams are real. I always right click on the link, and do a Save Target as... and download the .pdf file to my computer. The server limits you to only 4 concurrent downloads, so you have to wait for them to finish before getting more. 15 minutes will get you all the diagrams for your 89.

Of course, the Helms EVTM is much easier to use, you just have to get your hands on one. It took me 5 months to get mine...

Steve

<small>[ September 19, 2002, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: projectSHO89 ]</small>

 

[SHOZ123]

You should always use a relay when adding electical loads of any size &gt; 1 amp.