Smythley

Got a 1993 Pickup, Ex Cab, 4WD, manual trans.

Just started blowing my 15 amp gauge fuse when, or shortly after I put the truck into reverse. Sometimes it blows immediatly, and other times it takes a second or two. If I dont put the truck in reverse, the fuse seems to be okay.

Any ideas? After some reading here the other day, I replaced the back up relay switch on the transmission, but it's still blowing them...Any other thoughts? I assume if it isn't that switch than maybe one of the wires running the back-up lights my be grounding out somehow? Also, just to make sure I switched out the right switch, where is it located and what's it look like? The one I changed was one driver's side of the transmission, and had what looked like a ball bearing in the end of it...Sound right?

On another note, the radio antenna is hooked up to an aftermarket stereo, but it will only pickup one station. Can an antenna go "bad"?

Thanks for any help you can provide. Turning the Yota into a daily driver, and working out some bugs...

rworegon

Which 15A fuse is blowing? Edit: Re-reading I see it's the Gauge fuse.
It may be a bad wire in the backup or tail light circuit.
Is the antenna cable tightly plugged into the stereo? It's possible the antenna wire is pinched or frayed and is shorting out too. Not real likely that the antenna itself went bad. Has the stereo ever picked up more than the one station assuming there are several local station to choose from?

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Mine was the Reverse Lights on the Tranny. It has a protective sleeve and depending on how the sleeve slides, it can cover the wires where they rub against the tranny leaving them exposed.

scope103

The gauge fuse does drive the backup lights (go figure), so you're on the right track.

So far as I can tell, only automatics have a back-up light relay. Both automatics and manuals have a back-up light switch. No truck has a "back up relay switch."

Here's what one looks like: http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1990-1995...e/backupli.pdf

So far as I can tell, the back-up light switch is on the passenger side of the transmission.


Almost certainly, you have a short to ground somewhere in the backup light circuit. How do you find a short? With a multimeter. The least likely place to look is at the back-up light switch (if the switch were shorted, the back-up lights would be on all the time but it would not blow a fuse). The easiest way to find it would be to remove one of the taillight assemblies, and check the wires to the back-up lamp for continuity to ground. Then work back to the back-up light switch until you find the short. (It's not past the back-up light switch toward the battery, because you don't blow fuses until you close the switch.)

You can replace random switches based on some reading, but it works only rarely, it's expensive, and very frustrating. ("Throwing parts at the problem.") Try looking at the manual first, and use the right tool (a multimeter).

Good luck!

rworegon

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1993/body.../4lighting.pdf

porcelain

I had this exact same problem when I first got my truck along with the blinker relays not working properly... my switch was on the pass side of the tranny.... getting a new switch didnt help and so I left the switch in and left the wires disconnected and ran a wire with inline fuse from the battery to a toggle switch next to my shifter and ran ran 2 wires back to the back up light wires. It's what I needed to do to pass safety inspection...I spent about a week straight reading wiring diagrams trying to figure it out... good luck on fixing it without the bypass....

Smythley

Thanks for all the replies ...here's an update. The back-up switch did test bad, hence the replacement. New switch didn't fix problem though. Found a spot on a red/black that was rubbed. Put everything back together and so far so good. Road test later today though.

Is the antenna supposed to have a ground wire hooked up?

porcelain

not sure about the antenna... most likely... let me know the spot that the wire got rubbed... so I can check it on mine... would be nice to bypass my bypass switch... if it doesn't short reversing in the driveway... should be good. Glad you got it working... (hopefully)

scope103

On your antenna:
The antenna wire is a shielded cable. If the ground is not connected, the most likely symptom is buzzing on all stations, which increases in pitch with engine rpm (you're picking up the spark plugs).

If you pick up only a single station (and it's a local station, so that it probably the most powerful signal), I would suspect a broken wire closer to the antenna. The antenna lead itself could act as a very poor antenna, picking up only the most powerful station.

Electrically, the antenna itself is just a chunk of metal (which is why you see old wire hangers shoved in there as a replacement -- they actually work), so your problem is unlikely to be the antenna itself.

TNRabbit

Many rear lighting issues are a result of a previous poor trailer wiring install....

chuckr

iTrader: (1)

I have the same problem kind of on a 94 4runner
The PO said it was doing this took it to shop and had a wire disco'ed at a relay i have not found it yet but the speedo and rev light do not work

I guess when put in rev it blew a fuse and you wouls lose speedo, rev light and ac fan
Guess he opt for ac
If anyone has any idea which wire or where to look i would like to get the speedo fixed and stop the code 41

Smythley

Thanks again for all the help. Removed the antenna last night...the plastic tube was broken, the ground wire was broken, and the antenna cable was 95% seperated where it.fed.into the antenna base. Ordered another one, should be here later this week.

Road test to check all the wiring in a few!

Thanks for all the help so far.

scope103

Chuckr -

I'm guessing you have three different problems; the back-up light and the speedometer don't have anything to do with each other.

If you have an automatic transmission (See? It helps if you tell us a little about yourself) you probably have a backup-light relay. So look in the manual for the pinouts, pull the relay, and using a multimeter find out if there is a disconnected wire.

Do you have a manual or electronic speedometer? (Look at the back of the transfer case on the passenger side; wire or big cable?) At our vintage a failure of the VSS1 sensor is sadly common.

I'm guessing you're trying to post through a phone with a poor keyboard, but take a little more time to compose your message. I can't tell what "Guess he opt for ac " means.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

This.

:wabbit2:

TNRabbit

Means "I guess he opted for air conditioning" to the best of my knowledge....