The connections to the output of the dimmer are Black/Blue wires - there is a wire connector in the pod that splits this to multiple connections - try to locate this connector (all the wires are Black/Blue). There is another of these in the console - look for that one - trace the wires back from the clock, ac head unit etc.

One option is to tag & disconnect all these and reconnect the rheostat jumper and see which of these wires causes it to blow the fuse - one of these probably is shorting to ground (or is actually connected to something it shouldn't be...)

By a process of elimination you should be able to deduce where the fault lies.

Variable goes to Clock, Instrument pod, AC button, HVAC head unit, Central locking panel, Fog switch, Hazard switch, Defogger Switch, Odo Reset Switch.

Alan
Alan

 

THANKS ALLOT ALAN! I really appreciate the help on this, otherwise i am lost when it comes to electronic troubleshooting.

I will check these things out, should be easy as i have no pod in the way.

 

UPDATE AND NEW PROBLEM

I had my dimmer switch pulled for quite awhile as i noticed that when it wasn't plugged in the fuse wouldn't continue to blow up.

Well I plugged it in and turned the lights on and no fuse blew (it maybe blown already, need to check) but the small area inside the "plastic cage" is VERY HOT after just a few seconds!

Is the problem the dimmer switch, or is the fuse blowing because there is too much power and thats also causing the green part of the dimmer switch to overheat?

Which is the cause and which is the effect? (New dimmer switch is ordered)

 

As mentioned upstream somewhere in this thread, the dimmer is a rheostat. Rheostats varies voltage by adding resistance to the circuit. Increased resistance causes heat generation, so - ipso facto, ergo propter hoc, quod erat demonstrandum - a rheostat will generate heat.

Maybe it's generating a normal amount of heat, or maybe too much (that could be connected to the fuse blowing problem). Clean your existing dimmer wheel real good for now. See if the new one runs any cooler.

Now to my next question - is the fuse blowing again or not?

 

last time i tried it (lastnight) the fuse didnt blow, but i also didnt have any lights on the center console and the lights in the dash go out when i turn the headlamps on, so i have no lights, but the fuse hasn't blown.

The heat from the switch was pretty intense, enough so that i couldn't touch it and there was that awful electrical burning smell.

 

If you smell the electrical-burning smell, then something is definitely wrong.

Did you ever try to bypass the dimmer and connect the two wires directly to each other like Alan suggested? That should at least get the dash & console lights on.

 

yes I did try to bypass the switch, I recall getting illumination then blowing the fuse.

The burning is coming from the switch itself, nothing else. Also this is on a 90, which does have a different switch from the earlier cars.

 

You forgot to mention res ipsa loquitur...

 

When I do this Ryan, I get in to trouble.

 

It won't shut up, though.

 

It's producing that smell and the heat because there is too much current running through that circuit. It might be grounding out just a tiny bit somewhere - maybe a frayed wire end, as Alan suggested. The only way to get at it is to trace each wire from "downstream" of the dimmer to each of the dash lights and look closely for melted insulation, exposed wire strands, charred insulation, charred spots on metal where a wire might be grounding. The more disassembled the pod & console are, the easier it will be and the more likely you will be able to find it the problem.

Reading over this thread again, it occurs to me that the other possibilities are that a set of wires you cut and repaired got mismatched, or some of the wires you reattached in the pod got mismatched (most likely, IMHO), or that a bulb is in the wrong socket and drawing too much current. A small short would likely cause the problem to come and go, but since the problem is constant it seems to me that something is plugged in wrong somewhere.

Did you put in a new headunit? Did you have this problem after it was put in, or did it start after you took the pod apart?

In answer to your question about why the dimmer causes the fuse to blow - it's sort of a rough device, as it has that arm that swings across the curved spring. As it does, the point of contact changes a lot, and I'd bet that the current changes with it too. If you're at the limit of the circuit & fuse already, and you rattle the cage, so to speak, the fuse will blow.

 

Gaz,

The problem started after pulling the pod apart and when i reattached the instrument cluster and all the switches back up. (Ive been driving the car like this for awhile now, I NEED TO REINSTALL THE DAMN POD ALREADY)

The HU install is not related, just something i was doing at the time.

 

The pod is still out?!?! They why are we even having this conversation?! Put it back together like it's supposed to go! :-) (Man, no wonder I was confused - I thought you had put it all back together again!)

Your earlier observation about the metal frame on the pod is was prescient - it probably is used to complete some of the electrical circuits. One of the instruments or lights is probably grounding where it shouldn't be, which is adding current to the circuit, causing the load that's causing the burning smell from the rheostat and the fuse blow-outs.

Replace the dimmer anyway - you'll get a nice smooth fade out of it. When I bought my GT, it was like it was operating randomly - the disco dimmer. Now it works like a champ. Replaced the intermittent wiper adjustment wheel while I was at it.

Good luck getting it all back together!

 

HA HASo now someone tells me to put the damn thing back together! I figured it had something to do with the pod being out but no one seemed to have agreed with that suggestion so ive been chasing this unicorn for the past few months!

CRAP, now ive decided to replace my AC diaphrams as well so the dash will remain apart for the time being.

 

Sorry Ryan - I found it hard to follow what you had done/undone/redone across the whole thread and which things were maybe related to the lights and which weren't (i.e., the HU). Describing these problems and their history on forums is NOT easy!