Nissan Rogue: Blows Fuse For Marker Lights
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Date: 2023-03-14
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Comments and reviews: 13
Rich
For the first time I beat Eric to the right answer by 30 seconds or so - after years of watching! I have probably installed more radios than he has, occasionally with poor results - catching the amplifier power wire in the parking brake ratchet - before the fuse - was especially memorable - pull the parking brake, all the lights go out, the engine quits and there is smoke and fire rolling out from under the dash onto your legs. The fusible link between the battery and everything that wasn't the starter burned in two under the hood, but not before the amplifier wire got white hot.
As soon as I saw the naked wire end I thought - Try the lights now that that wire isn't touching something grounded.
Aftermarket remote starters and aftermarket radios (in that order) are the prime suspects now. Before manufactures made trailer wiring provisions the armature installed trailer plugs were almost always the cause of electrical weirdness that couldn't be explained by bad grounds - if everything is crazy at the same time, it's a ground problem.
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For the first time I beat Eric to the right answer by 30 seconds or so - after years of watching! I have probably installed more radios than he has, occasionally with poor results - catching the amplifier power wire in the parking brake ratchet - before the fuse - was especially memorable - pull the parking brake, all the lights go out, the engine quits and there is smoke and fire rolling out from under the dash onto your legs. The fusible link between the battery and everything that wasn't the starter burned in two under the hood, but not before the amplifier wire got white hot.
As soon as I saw the naked wire end I thought - Try the lights now that that wire isn't touching something grounded.
Aftermarket remote starters and aftermarket radios (in that order) are the prime suspects now. Before manufactures made trailer wiring provisions the armature installed trailer plugs were almost always the cause of electrical weirdness that couldn't be explained by bad grounds - if everything is crazy at the same time, it's a ground problem.
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kevin
Turns out it wouldn't have helped in this case, but at the point I found the fuse blown, I'd have looked under the back of the car and visually worked my way along the harness looking for an obvious problem. Most of the time when a tail light fault is involved (other than a bad bulb) it's a wiring issue. The harness run might be burned through somewhere on the exhaust system, yanked apart from having run over something, pinched from some previous shop work (like pulling the tank out to replace the fuel pump, or if there's a trailer hitch, always suspect those connections. Just taking a quick look is totally worth doing in my experience since those kinds of problems are almost always clearly obvious. In this case it was a sloppy radio installation, which offers its own indicators. If the radio is mechanically loose or otherwise fits poorly in the dash, it's a good bet the wiring to it was done badly too, as was the case here. That partially stripped wire should never have been left that way, obviously.
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Turns out it wouldn't have helped in this case, but at the point I found the fuse blown, I'd have looked under the back of the car and visually worked my way along the harness looking for an obvious problem. Most of the time when a tail light fault is involved (other than a bad bulb) it's a wiring issue. The harness run might be burned through somewhere on the exhaust system, yanked apart from having run over something, pinched from some previous shop work (like pulling the tank out to replace the fuel pump, or if there's a trailer hitch, always suspect those connections. Just taking a quick look is totally worth doing in my experience since those kinds of problems are almost always clearly obvious. In this case it was a sloppy radio installation, which offers its own indicators. If the radio is mechanically loose or otherwise fits poorly in the dash, it's a good bet the wiring to it was done badly too, as was the case here. That partially stripped wire should never have been left that way, obviously.
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aniBlueRoseVamp
Good Job Eric, and I had a suspicion that it was the aftermarket radio. That is because every time I have had a fuse blowing consistently like you had, it was usually the result of one of 4 things those being, 1: aftermarket radio, 2: aftermarket EQ/Booster, 3: aftermarket CB and 4: aftermarket trailer brake control unit. usually hacked in right off the cigarette lighter. And I know Eric that you remember CB radio's and those aftermarket trailer brake control units that everyone who had a truck back in the 1980's had in their truck if they pulled trailers. And sometimes the partial removal of an old CB radio or something, that left part of the glass fuse head hanging in the dashboard that would end up touching metal.
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Good Job Eric, and I had a suspicion that it was the aftermarket radio. That is because every time I have had a fuse blowing consistently like you had, it was usually the result of one of 4 things those being, 1: aftermarket radio, 2: aftermarket EQ/Booster, 3: aftermarket CB and 4: aftermarket trailer brake control unit. usually hacked in right off the cigarette lighter. And I know Eric that you remember CB radio's and those aftermarket trailer brake control units that everyone who had a truck back in the 1980's had in their truck if they pulled trailers. And sometimes the partial removal of an old CB radio or something, that left part of the glass fuse head hanging in the dashboard that would end up touching metal.
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autos
You know you re doing something right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) when other shops send you their head scratchers.
I ve diagnosed at least half a dozen vehicles that blew various marker or park lamp fuses due to a bad stereo install shorting that orange illumination wire. I ve even had it happen on my own car (that had a stereo professionally installed. I ve gotten so jaded by the crappy wiring that professionals install into vehicles and cause problems. Sometimes it happens immediately, sometimes it takes a while.
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You know you re doing something right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) when other shops send you their head scratchers.
I ve diagnosed at least half a dozen vehicles that blew various marker or park lamp fuses due to a bad stereo install shorting that orange illumination wire. I ve even had it happen on my own car (that had a stereo professionally installed. I ve gotten so jaded by the crappy wiring that professionals install into vehicles and cause problems. Sometimes it happens immediately, sometimes it takes a while.
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Mike
The only part I understood was how electricity flowed through the lightbulb and back to the battery. The rest of what you were doing was a little unclear (to say the least.
Regardless, I would have went right to the aftermarket parts and started checking connections. When things go wrong I usually ask myself what's the last thing that was touched and start there. In this case the last thing touched was the aftermarket crap. A little primitive for sure but chasing sparks will drive the average guy nuts!
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The only part I understood was how electricity flowed through the lightbulb and back to the battery. The rest of what you were doing was a little unclear (to say the least.
Regardless, I would have went right to the aftermarket parts and started checking connections. When things go wrong I usually ask myself what's the last thing that was touched and start there. In this case the last thing touched was the aftermarket crap. A little primitive for sure but chasing sparks will drive the average guy nuts!
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autorepair
I used the high amp bulb method finding a hard short on a 98 Toyota 4Runner blowing the EFI fuse. Similar string of sensors but not as many. Traced it to the vacuum switch valve at canister where the wires were pinched between the completely rotted blown out shock tower and the body of the truck. It was a beautiful sight to see. Good news the customer got to drive their car again bad news they need some fabrication done before next nysi.
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I used the high amp bulb method finding a hard short on a 98 Toyota 4Runner blowing the EFI fuse. Similar string of sensors but not as many. Traced it to the vacuum switch valve at canister where the wires were pinched between the completely rotted blown out shock tower and the body of the truck. It was a beautiful sight to see. Good news the customer got to drive their car again bad news they need some fabrication done before next nysi.
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Droz
I had something similar happen a long time ago when I was a teenager in a VW Scirocco. The illumination wire on the radio hit the case, but instead of blowing a fuse, it smoked the lamp dimmer rheostat. Had to drive home with no interior lights (including the gauges) which was fun. It only had like a 5A fuse on it too but I guess like with electronics, the part will always sacrifice itself to protect the fuse.
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I had something similar happen a long time ago when I was a teenager in a VW Scirocco. The illumination wire on the radio hit the case, but instead of blowing a fuse, it smoked the lamp dimmer rheostat. Had to drive home with no interior lights (including the gauges) which was fun. It only had like a 5A fuse on it too but I guess like with electronics, the part will always sacrifice itself to protect the fuse.
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MrTonyPiscatelle
I was hoping it was a Best Buy Bumble. Working for the worlds largest air compressor company they would have us take our new service vehicles to BB for a GPS tracker install so they could track our movements. Those clowns sure could hack up a dash installing those tattle tail devices. I don't care what anyone says, I think your way of diagnosing is the best, Proof is in the pudding people!
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I was hoping it was a Best Buy Bumble. Working for the worlds largest air compressor company they would have us take our new service vehicles to BB for a GPS tracker install so they could track our movements. Those clowns sure could hack up a dash installing those tattle tail devices. I don't care what anyone says, I think your way of diagnosing is the best, Proof is in the pudding people!
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roberto
Were you looking for PRAISE? haha you went to the wrong kitty> Here LUNA, here kitty kitty. Who's your daddy. haha That's a great lesson on the light bulb trick, test a burned out fuse to see if it is grounded by lighting up the bulb. I don't quite understand why the non short doesn't light it. Does it just act like a solid wire that needs more amperage before it glows? thanks ERIC.
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Were you looking for PRAISE? haha you went to the wrong kitty> Here LUNA, here kitty kitty. Who's your daddy. haha That's a great lesson on the light bulb trick, test a burned out fuse to see if it is grounded by lighting up the bulb. I don't quite understand why the non short doesn't light it. Does it just act like a solid wire that needs more amperage before it glows? thanks ERIC.
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dvddmc
nissans are kinda funny some times. installed an aftermarket radio in my nissan with out knowing that they dont run a ground wire in the same harness so when i went to check to see if it worked or not blew the new radio. after that checked what happend and found out you had to do the ground wire on your own not though the harness. First one i have installed with that problem.
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nissans are kinda funny some times. installed an aftermarket radio in my nissan with out knowing that they dont run a ground wire in the same harness so when i went to check to see if it worked or not blew the new radio. after that checked what happend and found out you had to do the ground wire on your own not though the harness. First one i have installed with that problem.
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Bluejay
Nice going! Uhh get yourself some extinsion wire for the test light and when in the cab the light that holds the load would be visible on the outside of the windshield. or in the cab clipped on the visor of the rear view mirror. etc. I use a 15' small extension cord so if by the rear end it is clear to see the short when the power to ground is removed
THANKS
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Nice going! Uhh get yourself some extinsion wire for the test light and when in the cab the light that holds the load would be visible on the outside of the windshield. or in the cab clipped on the visor of the rear view mirror. etc. I use a 15' small extension cord so if by the rear end it is clear to see the short when the power to ground is removed
THANKS
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autos
Great video Eric! I fixed a few of my friends cars and I tell you, I cringe when I see people cut into harnesses. My radio was ordered from Crutchfield and I installed it but what the nice thing about Crutchfield is, they will make the conversion adapter so you don't have to cut wires specific to auto manufacturer and model!
Alpine still running great
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Great video Eric! I fixed a few of my friends cars and I tell you, I cringe when I see people cut into harnesses. My radio was ordered from Crutchfield and I installed it but what the nice thing about Crutchfield is, they will make the conversion adapter so you don't have to cut wires specific to auto manufacturer and model!
Alpine still running great
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Dakota
What's crazy is if you were a little too hard on something in the car or they hit a pot hole on the way there they coulda fixed the problem and might not ever find it again. Insane. Wish my shop provided us with good resources for our big rigs I could have fixed a ton of problems if our solution was to just send it to the dealer!
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What's crazy is if you were a little too hard on something in the car or they hit a pot hole on the way there they coulda fixed the problem and might not ever find it again. Insane. Wish my shop provided us with good resources for our big rigs I could have fixed a ton of problems if our solution was to just send it to the dealer!
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